FIM Moto2 World Championship
Jerez, Spain
May 2, 2014
Free Practice One & Two Combined Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:43.486
2. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:43.564
3. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), 1:43.666
4. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), 1:43.668
5. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 1:43.744
6. Nico TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:43.813
7. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:43.814
8. Maverik VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), 1:43.930
9. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), 1:43.937
10. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:43.984
11. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:44.000
12. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:44.002
13. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 1:44.025
14. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), 1:44.105
15. Simone CORSI, Italy (FORWARD KLX), 1:44.114
16. Rathapark WILAIROT, Thailand (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:44.198
17. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), 1:44.201
18. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), 1:44.359
19. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), 1:44.387
20. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 1:44.440
21. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), 1:44.631
22. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:44.634
23. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:44.745
24. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FORWARD KLX), 1:44.980
25. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), 1:45.012
26. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), 1:45.367
27. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:45.377
28. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:45.392
29. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:45.468
30. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), 1:45.553
31. Tetsuta NAGASHIMA, Japan (TSR), 1:45.855
32. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), 1:46.032
33. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), 1:46.658
34. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:47.458
35. Edgar PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:47.136
More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:
Wilairot Impresses on Debut with AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing
Circuit: Circuito de Jerez
Circuit Length: 4.423 m
Bike # 5 – Johann Zarco
FP1: P11; 1’44.000 – 20 laps
FP2: P8; 1’44.197 – 18 laps
Bike # 14 – Ratthapark Wilairot
FP1: P16; 1’44.198 – 18 laps
FP2: P13; 1’44.471 – 19 laps
Weather
FP1: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 25°, (track temp) 33°
FP2: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 32°, (track temp) 53°
Under blue skies and in sweltering heat the AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing Team made a promising start to the first European round of 2014 at the Circuit of Jerez.
Standing in for injured rider Josh Herrin, Ratthapark Wilairot put in an impressive performance in his debut on the Caterham Suter.
Accomplishing his fastest ever time around 4.423 m circuit, Wilairot moved into the top 12 within the first 30 minutes of FP1. Continuing to adapt to the #14 bike the Thai rider finished FP2 in a respectable P13, just 0.719s off P1.
With the increased track temperature in FP2 teammate Johann Zarco worked hard to improve his feeling on the bike despite the lack of grip on track. Bettering his time from the IRTA test the Frenchman finished FP2 in P8 and feeling positive for tomorrow’s qualifying.
#5 Johann Zarco:
“Today hasn’t gone like the last Grand Prix as Jerez is not my special track but we don’t have to be disappointed. P11 is not so good but everyone is very close so the position at the moment doesn’t mean that much.
“We are setting up the bike and I have improved since the IRTA test, but in this heat we need to make some different adjustments.
“My aim now is not too push too much and to stay calm and focussed. I must prepare for the race because with the hot temperatures it’s going to be difficult. We will see tomorrow morning and maybe if we make the step in FP3 we will be more in the direction for Sunday and the qualifying.
“We are not worrying, we are working, the work is good and the technical side know what to do.”
#14 Ratthapark Wilairot:
“Today has been really good. This is my first time here after stopping racing for nearly one year. It’s been a nice surprise to get on the bike and quickly get a good feeling on it.
“The team works very well and I’m very happy with our plan for today, it’s perfect. We now understand the tyre for the race and we were able to do our best lap time on it, which means our bike and the suspension works very good and I’m happy.
“I want to say thank you to the AirAsia Caterham team for bringing me here and tomorrow I hope we can continue to get better. We have a couple of small adjustments to make in the morning and then together combining every sector, I think we can do well in qualifying which is very important in this class.”
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Rabat and Kallio lead the way in Jerez
Jerez, Spain – 2 May 2014: The Marc VDS Racing Team’s Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio laid down the gauntlet at Jerez, ending the opening day first and second on the timesheet and separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Rabat and Kallio, who are also first and second in the championship standings, set their fastest times in the cooler conditions of FP1 this morning. With the track temperature increasing this afternoon and the conditions more closely matching those expected for Sunday’s race, both riders focussed on machine set-up on used tyres. With less grip available on the hotter track, none of the top ten riders improved on their lap times from this morning.
Livio Loi was 11th in this morning’s first Moto3 free practice session, but slipped down the order to finish the day 19th, after going in the wrong direction with the set up of his Kalex-KTM machine. The 17-year-old Belgian is confident that reverting to his original set up will bring improvements tomorrow,
Tito Rabat // 1st // 1’43.486
“I’m quickest overall today with my time from this morning, but I’m not really happy with how things went this afternoon. The track conditions changed as the temperature went up and we had many problems getting the bike to turn in the fast corners. We need to work to find a solution, as conditions for the race on Sunday are likely to be very similar to today. This is my home race and I want to win. Like always, I will do my best.”
Mika Kallio // 2nd // 1’43.564
“This morning we started with the hard option rear, because we think the softer tyre will be the choice for both qualifying and the race. Initially I struggled to find a good feeling with the tyre, but we made some changes to the bike and I was able to go a second faster for the last three laps. We continued on the same tyres this afternoon, as the race will be run in similar conditions. Grip starts to drop after about five laps, so it was important to get a feel for the bike in this condition, as this is how the bike will be for most of Sunday’s race. In terms of settings, we’re pretty close and will only need a few small tweaks for qualifying tomorrow.”
Livio Loi // 19th // 1’48.780
“The feeling this morning was generally good, apart from some issues on corner entry at certain parts of the track. This afternoon we made some changes to the bike to address this, and to compensate for the change in the conditions, but they made things worse rather than better. Tomorrow we will go back to a set up closer to that which we used this morning and I’m confident I can be back on the pace ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.”
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
Not enough grip in the summer heat: West 13th, Ramos 32nd
At the first day of practice for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, the warm and sunny weather was almost too good for QMMF Racing Team: When asphalt temperatures rose from 33 degree in the morning to 53 degree in the afternoon, both Anthony West and Román Ramos struggled with a lack of rear tyre grip on their Speed Up bikes and ended the day below their own expectations. West, who tested a new rear swingarm in the afternoon, found it impossible to properly evaluate the latest improvement for his bike and will try the new swingarm again in the third free practice session on Saturday morning. Spanish team-mate Ramos also struggled in the summer heat and is now evaluating all possible options to improve the set-up and to turn his home Grand Prix into success.
Anthony West –13th in 1.44,025
“We started well this morning. I was comfortable with the bike and I felt good everywhere. We were going fast for the track conditions and we had a good pace with consistently fast lap times. This afternoon, we tried a different swingarm that we had never used before and it is quite different. But it was difficult to evaluate the swingarm properly, because the asphalt temperatures had risen a lot and one problem that we always seem to have with this bike is a lack of grip when it get’s really hot. When the track condition is good, the bike is fast, but when it’s hot like this, we seem to suffer more than the other bikes. It was really slippery and really difficult to ride the bike. I think the new swingarm might be better, but the conditions were so bad that it was hard to tell. We are going to use it again in the session tomorrow morning so we can make a comparison in similar conditions!”
Roman Ramos – 32nd in 1.46,032
“In Argentina, we had a good race and I had a great feeling with the bike, so I had high expectations for my home Grand Prix here at Jerez. But here, nothing seems to work. It’s almost as if the team had given me a completely different bike. Nobody out there seemed to have any grip and we made no exception. I struggled on the corner entries and also at the exit of the turns, when you first open the throttle. But we will work hard to find a better set-up and turn the bike back into the good motorcycle I’m used to!”