FIM Moto2 World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Spain
September 26, 2014
Free Practice Two Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:53.838
2. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:54.101
3. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:54.145
4. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 1:54.302
5. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), 1:54.437
6. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:54.447
7. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:54.581
8. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), 1:54.740
9. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), 1:54.758
10. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 1:54.814
11. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), 1:54.825
12. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), 1:54.827
13. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:54.827
14. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), 1:54.970
15. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:55.076
16. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), 1:55.106
17. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), 1:55.224
18. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:55.235
19. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:55.314
20. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:55.339
21. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), 1:55.409
22. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:55.424
23. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), 1:55.546
24. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:55.666
25. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 1:55.711
26. Riccardo RUSSO, Italy (SUTER), 1:55.720
27. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:55.752
28. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), 1:55.845
29. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), 1:55.888
30. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), 1:55.957
31. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:56.143
32. Florian MARINO, France (KALEX), 1:56.231
33. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), 1:56.457
34. Kenny NOYES, USA (TSR), 1:57.685
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Rabat leads the way at Aragón
Aragón, Spain – 26 September 2014: Moto2 World Championship leader Tito Rabat posted the fastest lap on the opening day at Aragón, with his Marc VDS teammate Mika Kallio finishing free practice just two places further back in third.
Rabat, fourth in the first free practice this morning, wasted no time stamping his authority on proceedings this afternoon. The 25-year-old Spaniard moved to the top of the timesheet after just 10 minutes and was never headed as he continued to improve upon his own time, eventually dipping under the lap record at the end of the session.
Mika Kallio endured a difficult opening free practice this morning, crashing at turn one in the first few minutes and then struggling with a lack of feedback from the front for the remainder of the 40-minute session. Set up changes for this afternoon’s second free practice brought a significant improvement, allowing Kallio to jump back up the timesheet to finish the day in third.
Jorge Navarro ended the opening day at Aragón in 20th position, after missing most of this afternoon’s second Moto3 free practice following a crash early in the session. The 18-year-old Spaniard, who was tenth in morning practice, only had time to complete seven laps this afternoon, although he did improve on his previous best time by more than half a second. Navarro is confident of further improvement ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
Tito Rabat // 1st // 1’53.838
“We made a good job today, but we still need to find some small improvements with the bike for tomorrow. I also need to practice for the start, the opening few laps of the race and to try and find a better rhythm in the final free practice session. We have to keep our focus right through tomorrow and into qualifying, as it’s very close at the top of the timesheet.”
Mika Kallio // 3rd // 1’54.145
“This morning was strange because the bike felt totally different compared to previous races and I had no confidence at all in the front. Then I crashed on what we think was oil in turn one, which lost us some time, but I never really found a good feeling in the first session. We made some changes for this afternoon and there was a big improvement. To make up for the lost time I did a long first run, after which we switched to the new specification front tyre for the last ten minutes. The feeling was different; I’m not really sure if it was better or worse, but I was happy with the lap time, especially as it was done on a rear tyre that had already done race distance. If we can make another small improvement with the front for tomorrow then everything should be good for qualifying.”
Jorge Navarro // 20th // 2’00.242
“This morning the feeling with the bike was good and then we made some changes to the bike for the second session which gave some more improvement. I was on a quick lap early in the practice when I came across two riders in front of me. I managed to pass one, but the other turned in to the corner in front of me. I had nowhere to go and clipped his rear wheel. The team did a good job getting me back out for the last few minutes and I managed to get four laps to rebuild my confidence. The bike is working well, so I’m confident I can improve my position in the final free practice and qualifying tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
West slowed by a lack of grip – Ramos starts well at his home Grand Prix
QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West had to settle for 24th place in the combined practice times for day one at the Grand Prix of Aragón. The 33-year-old Australian had a promising start with 18th place in the morning session, but wasn’t able to improve on his lap time in the afternoon, when he ran into problems with rear tyre grip. Since there was not enough time to make the necessary changes to the set-up of his Speed Up prototype during the session, West and his team are now focused to turn things around on Saturday.
GP rookie Roman Ramos was right behind his experienced team-mate in 25th place and had all reasons to be happy about a strong start at his home Grand Prix. The 23-year-old from Santander, who was a newcomer to most of the circuits in this year’s racing calendar, was able to put his track knowledge at MotorLand Aragón to good use straight away, taking 26th place in the first free practice session. In the afternoon, he improved by eight hundredths of a second and moved up one spot in the combined times.
Anthony West – 24th in 1.55,538
“In general, things are not too bad, but my problem here is the lack of rear tyre grip. I almost crashed a few times in the afternoon session trying to get on the gas. The slides were so bad that they kicked me out of the seat. We are using the setting that we’ve been using at the other tracks, but it is not working here. The last time that we tested here, in June, I was really fast, about one second faster than today. But now we are using a different set-up and I think we need to go back to what we had previously. This morning it was not too bad, the rear wheel was just spinning a bit on the corner exits. But this afternoon, the rear would come around when I only touched the throttle. There was no time to change the set-up during the session, but we will definitely work on that for tomorrow!”
Roman Ramos – 25th in 1.55,546
“Finally we have arrived at a circuit that I know! It’s nice to be able to start here at my home race and I was training as hard as I possibly could to be well prepared for this challenge. We also worked very hard on the first day of practice and it shows in the time sheets. There are still some improvements pending, we also need to find a bit more speed, but all in all, I am very happy with the bike and with the work the team is putting in. All the effort is finally starting to pay off. I was in 23rd place this afternoon and I look forward to fine-tune the bike tomorrow morning and then to attack in qualifying!”
More, from a press release issued by AGT Rea Racing:
Great start to Aragon GP for Gino Rea despite tyre wall crash
Gino Rea began the Aragon GP weekend on a high, meeting his desired target of a Top 15 finish in Free Practice 1 on Friday. Rea put in a strong and confident performance, lying in 14th place until the final seconds of FP1, when he dropped to 15th at the flag. This morning’s session saw Gino Rea make significant improvements in dry track conditions, demonstrating the progress the rookie team, AGT REA Racing, continue to make.
In the afternoon, Rea crashed after only four laps and had to sit out the remainder of the session. Gino had lost the front but saved it, causing him to run off track and onto an area where there is little run off. Hitting the tyre wall at high impact, Rea injured his knee and has since undergone two X-Rays. Although the X-Rays show no apparent fracture, it is suspected that he has ligament damage. Despite the afternoon crash, combined free practice times show that Gino finished the day in 19th position and AGT REA Racing are happy to remain within the Top 20. The team go into tomorrow hopeful that Gino can improve upon his performance in FP1.
Gino Rea:
“The day started off really well, my best ever Friday session, finishing in the Top 15. In the afternoon, I made a very small error which turned out to be very costly. We had changed the set up slightly and I lost the front going into turn 7. I saved the front slide but it ran me off track and I hit the tyre wall at 45km/h. I tried to jump off the bike but only managed to in the last metre so I went into the wall with the bike. I was winded and hurt my knee really bad and there was damage to the chassis so the guys are working hard to repair the bike for tomorrow. It would be nice to pick up tomorrow morning where we left off in FP1 so hopefully the loss of track time won’t affect us”.
AGT REA Racing will be back on track tomorrow in Moto2 Free Practice 3 and the Aragon Grand Prix qualifying session at 15.05 local time. Follow the team on Facebook www.facebook.com/agtrearacing and Twitter @AGT_REA_Racing for further updates.
More, from a press release issued by Teluru Team JiR Webike:
Lots to do on first day for Noyes at Aragon
Kenny Noyes has knuckled down to a tough re-introduction as life as a Moto2 rider today at the Spanish circuit of Aragon.
The 35-year-old American had a frustrating first session of the day, spending only half of it on track, but he got back out on track in the afternoon and has been surprised at the difference to his normal production Kawasaki Superbike machine. The time spent in the pits in the morning meant that he could not improve his time in the afternoon. He will now check the data with his experienced JiR team in a bid to make alterations to both the bike – and his own riding style – to knock more time off his best lap for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Today’s fastest time was set by championship leader Esteve Rabat.
Kenny Noyes, Teluru team JiR Webike’s rider
“Well today was very interesting indeed and pretty tough! It was different to what I was expecting and tougher than I thought it would be. We had some rear brake issues early on so I spend half the session in the pit garage. The second session wasn’t perfect for us, but the key is for me to do as many laps as I can so that’s what I did – I stayed out as long as I could. The big thing is that I need to go back into a Moto2 and Supersport way of riding the Team JiR Moto2 bike. With these bikes you need a lot of corner speed, a lot of lean angle and the bike itself is faster to react to things. It’s a prototype chassis. The team are great and with a lot of experience and data, so they are helping me towards changing my style to the bike and making the bike better for me at the same time. So we should meet somewhere in the middle! Either way, I’m upbeat as this is a great opportunity and I’m enjoying it.”
More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:
Strong Start for AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing on Day One at Aragon
Circuit: MotorLand Aragon
Circuit Length: 3.155 miles
Bike # 5 – Johann Zarco
FP1: P2; 1’54.277 – 20 laps
FP2: P2; 1’54.101 –20 laps
Bike # 14 – Ratthapark Wilairot
FP1: P22; 1’56.006 – 19 laps
FP2: P15; 1’55.076 – 18 laps
Weather
FP1: (Conditions) Wet; (air temp) 18°, (track temp) 22°
FP2: (Conditions) Wet; (air temp) 23°, (track temp) 27°
As the on track action got underway at MotorLand Aragon, AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing rider Johann Zarco continued to show his strength within the Moto2 field. Pushing for the top spot on the timesheets, the Frenchman concluded practice in second position, just 0.263s off P1.
Determined to start in strong form, teammate Ratthapark Wilairot worked hard to adapt his riding style on the #14 Caterham Suter. Consistently chipping away at his time, Wilairot finished the day with an impressive last lap that saw him launch into the top fifteen and break his own personal best time around the Spanish circuit.
#5 Johann Zarco: “I was twice second this Friday so this is good. Of course I always prefer to be first but it is only day one and our pace was good this morning. It was maybe a little more difficult in FP2, but we made a choice for the setting and for the tyres which helped towards preparing us as well as possible for the race, so I am pleased with this afternoon’s practice too.
“I need to keep calm, give the right information and stay strong on the bike. The more reference I can take on the track, the more it will help me to improve step by step.
“I am happy about this first day. We will see tomorrow, also the weather and the temperature, as this may change the setting and feeling on the bike, but in the dry conditions I hope to fight for the first row and maybe pole position.”
#14 Ratthapark Wilairot: “We made a good step today with the set-up of the Caterham Suter and it’s working well. When I rode in the first free practice this morning I had a good feeling on the bike and was also able to get good information for the afternoon. With this data we made some small adjustments for FP2 and I was easily able to break into the 1m55s lap times and have a good pace.
“For tomorrow we still need to make our own run and further understand how it works but I am confident we can improve more.”