FIM Moto2 World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain September 18 Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 21 laps, 40:20.575 2. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), -2.466 3. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), -2.574 4. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), -3.054 5. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), -10.831 6. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), -10.870 7. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), -11.005 8. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), -11.212 9. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), -11.810 10. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), -11.939 11. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), -12.108 12. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), -12.114 13. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), -12.180 14. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), -12.908 15. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), -13.329 16. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), -13.875 17. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), -13.954 18. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), -15.251 19. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), -18.470 20. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), -20.128 21. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), -38.974 22. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (PONS KALEX), -39.072 23. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), -39.340 24. Tomoyoshi KOYAMA, Japan (SUTER), -48.695 25. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), -48.843 26. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), -62.670 27. Sergio GADEA, Spain (MORIWAKI), -65.633 28. Joan OLIVE, Spain (FTR), -66.619 29. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), -71.832 30. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), -87.512 31. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), -91.402, crash 32. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), -93.725 33. Elena ROSELL, Spain (SUTER), -96.548 34. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), -4 laps, DNF, retired 35. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), -12 laps, DNF, crashed twice 36. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (FTR), -12 laps, DNF, crash 37. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (SUTER), -12 laps, DNF, retired 38. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), -18 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 17 races): 1. Bradl, 221 points 2. Marquez, 215 3. Iannone, 132 4. De Angelis, 122 5. Corsi, 115 6. Smith, 112 7. Luthi, 105 8. Takahashi, 71 9. Rabat, 67 10. Aleix Espargaro, 65 More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Siméon battles into Top 20 in Aragón After a disappointing start of a 28th position in the Warm up session this morning at the Motorland Aragón, Xavier Siméon was able to improve his starting position of the race, which was a 24th position, to finish 18th. The Belgian is happy and disappointed at the same time as his rhythm and feeling with the Mistral 610 improved a lot since yesterday and he was hoping to add some more points to his championship tally, but unfortunately gearing problems prevented him from doing so . Nevertheless the 22 year old will move on to round 15 of the 2011 season in Japan happy and relaxed as he just signed his contract for the 2012 season with the Tech3 Racing Team. Xavier Siméon, 18th – 40’35.826: “I am not too happy with the out coming of this race. I really thought it would work out better for me as the bike felt so much more comfortable than yesterday. But during the whole race I had to deal with gearing problems and I lost a lot of time because of that. I am disappointed as I really had the rhythm and feeling today to finis h much higher than 18th, so I hope we can do what I was missing out at in Japan.” Hervé Poncharal, Team Manager: “žI am very happy with Xavier’s race after the disappointing qualifying. I thought the announcement that he will stay with Tech3 next year did give him a booth and it finally arrived today. He had a very good race with some of the Top-guys. He is a rider that we have to take into consideration to collect points each race and I am sure that this will be easy next year. He is happy with the Mistral 610 package and it was a good day for the Tech3 B Team.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Smith and di Meglio show fighting spirit in Aragon thriller Bradley Smith proved once again why he is one of the toughest competitors in the Moto2 World Championship after he produced a heroic fightback into the top six in today’s Motorland Aragon race. And it was almost a double top 10 finish for the Tech 3 Racing Team after Mike di Meglio produced an outstanding ride to finish 12th, the former 125cc World Champion finishing less than 1.5s away from fifth at the end of a thrilling race. Smith’s awesome surge through the field was one of the highlights for a crowd of over 63,000 fans packed into the state-of-the-art Motorland Aragon track. The 20-year-old finished the first lap in 16th before embarking on an overtaking masterclass . He moved inside the top 10 on lap 16, as he engaged in an enthralling fight with nine other riders contesting fifth position. He started the final lap in eighth place but two more brilliant passes on Mika Kallio and Thomas Luthi secured him a seventh top six finish of the campaign. The race was one of the best of the season for di Meglio, who made a lightning start from 19th on the grid to gain 10 places on the opening lap. Immediately able to set a fast pace, di Meglio’s climb up the order continued when he moved into seventh place two laps later. After eight laps di Meglio was only 2.3s away from the front and by the end of lap 10 he’d brilliantly forced his way to the back of the leading group of nine riders. In a frenetic conclusion to the race, di Meglio finished 12th to score points for the third time of the season. He was only 1.3s behind Smith, a result which gives him great encouragement for the final four races of the Championship. Bradley Smith 6th 112 points: “Nobody can say I don’t like working hard for my results after that. I had a bad start and it took a little while for me to get into my rhythm and find a good feeling with the tyres. I was a little bit worried at the beginning as there were many riders in front of me and I thought it might be difficult to reach the top 10. But I kept improving my pace and got more comfortable with the Tech 3 Racing Team bike and I started to make my way forward. As I was overtaking people I kept thinking this might be the last one but I just put my head down. It was definitely a crazy battle but really good fun. There were a lot of close moves and I loved every minute of it. It was something that I haven’t done for a while and holding my own in a tough fight is something I’ve been told I’m no good at, so I put a few things straight this weekend. We did a good job to finish sixth having started 15th. We didn’t quite get the result that I was looking for, but I learnt a lot in this race and although I lost some points to Iannone and de Angelis in the Championship, I am confident for the last four races.” Mike di Meglio 12th 12 points: “That was an amazing race and it was all thanks to my fantastic start. I just attacked from the off and at the end of the first lap I’d gained ten places and fought my way through to ninth. From that point on it was one of the best races I’ve experienced in Moto2 because there was no chance to relax even for one second. It was a lot of fun with many overtakes, but what was difficult for us was my engine it was a bit slow compared to the other riders. I needed to push very st rong in the corners to follow the others. I am sad that I lost too much time when I tried to pass, but it was still a brilliant race and I got points in the Championship. Twelfth doesn’t sound like a fantastic result but considering how close the gap is to fifth, I can’t be too hard on myself and I can look forward to the flyaway races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia in optimistic mood.” Hervé Poncharal Team Manager: “That was a typically chaotic Moto2 race again where there was a lot of action in a lot of places and you couldn’t take your eyes of the race for one second. We were clearly very competitive this weekend but unfortunately a small crash on Saturday morning ruined Bradley’s qualifying and starting from 15th makes it very difficult. We got to show our true potential again in the warm-up when he was third, so we started the race with high hopes that he could figh t his way through to the top six. This time the start of the race was not very good and for a few laps he was out of the points, but Bradley never gave up and pushed really hard. He was lapping at the same pace as the leading group and making some brilliant overtakes that showed when the lights go out he is one of the most determined guys on the grid. Considering where we started and where we were for the first few laps, we can’t be unhappy to finish in sixth. This shows how good the Mistral 610 package is and how good and motivated Bradley is. I have to say big congratulations to Mike too. He had a great start and all through the race he was fighting for a top 10. At one stage he was closing on the leading group at a really fast rate and I think we saw the true Mike di Meglio today, because he rode with a lot of aggression. Unfortunately there was so much happening at the end that he ended up 12th, but four-points in the Championship is a good result for him.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of Aragon, race: De Angelis fourth An enthusiastic race took place today on the Motorland Aragon circuit, with a large number of riders that battled hard for the most of the race, continuously switching their positions. Among these was our own Alex De Angelis, who kept in touch with the leading pack taking a leading part in this show of continuous overtakes that faded only in the very last laps. For the Team JiR rider, a fourth place at the line pays back the efforts made over the weekend and the good set-up found for the MotoBI. Gianluca Montiron A hard-fought race that saw the riders in the leading pack overtake each other many, many times. To be close to the podium is always a good sign, we are aware of how competitive this category is, it will be an interesting end of the season to see who will take the third place on the podium of the Riders’ World Championship. Beside this, today the MotoBI took the fourth place in the Manufacturers World Championship together with Tech3. Alex DeAngelis It has been a good race, in the early laps I kept the control trying to find the right feeling with my MotoBI as conditions were very different compared to the practices. We were good in finding the optimal gear ratio and the best set-up and having made the maximum with what we had. More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: KALLIO AND REDDING COLLECT POINTS IN ARAGON CLASSIC Marc VDS Racing Team riders Mika Kallio and Scott Redding played starring roles in an enthralling Motorland Aragon race today, the 21-lap encounter providing a fantastic advert for the ultra-competitive Moto2 class. Kallio recovered superbly after being boxed in at the tight first corner to fight his way back through to a determined 10th place finish. The race started in fantastic fashion for teammate Redding, who led for the opening two laps. But the luckless Briton’s podium assault was ended by a major rear tyre blistering issue that left him 15th at the chequered flag. Starting from ninth, Kallio got dropped back to 19th having touched fairings with at least two riders at the first corner. The Finnish rider quickly regained his composure to commence an impressive surge back into contention for the top five. Locked in a pulsating ten-rider battle that had the 63,267 crowd on the edge of their seats, he started the final lap in seventh but slipped back to 10th, finishing frustratingly just 1.1s away from fifth. Redding made a blistering start from the front row of the grid and the opening lap gave a hint of the nail-biting action that was to follow with the Briton exchanging the lead numerous times with title contenders Stefan Bradl and Marc Marquez. The 18-year-old was immediately on lap record pace and Redding held the lead until lap three when home favourite Marquez seized the advantage. As the action intensified at the front with six riders battling for the lead, Redding forced his way back into the rostrum places on lap seven when he suddenly lost grip from his rear tyre. Redding did his best to defend positions and he successfully kept himself in the point-scoring places with some heroic riding in extremely difficult circumstances. Mika Kallio #36: 10th Position “That was an unbelievable race and I’d say it was easily the best I’ve had all season. The battle was really intense but it was really good fun and you needed to be 100 per cent concentrated at every corner because you were trying to overtake while other riders were attacking you. It is a pity that the defining moment of the race for me was at the first corner. As always the battle for positions was crazy and I lost a lot of places. The bike felt really strong and I knew I had a good race pace, so I pushed as hard as I could and it was a shame that I lost three places on the last lap. I was looking to try and get my first top six for the Marc VDS Racing Team when I think Bradl nudged me a little bit and I dropped to 10th. It was still a fantastic race and the closest I’ve been to the winner, so hopefully we can build on this result now to have a strong finish to the season.” Scott Redding #45: 15th Position “The start of the race was incredible. I felt really good on the bike and was giving as good as I was getting because there were some hard but fair moves going on. I was gaining confidence and feeling I could fight for the podium when I suddenly started losing the rear. It felt really soft and I just kept getting slower and slower. I thought it was sliding because I was pushing so hard, but at the end it was really bad and the worst thing was I didn’t understand what was going on because it was a sensation I’d not experienced before. On the slowing down lap I could see there was a big issue with the rear tyre, so that is a bit frustrating when you lose a podium chance through no fault of your own. All I can do is look at the positives and when everything was working I was battling for the podium again.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “What a race that was! I don’t think anybody can say they weren’t entertained by Scott and Mika today. Mika rode a fantastic race and he was fighting all the way through, showing lots of aggression and skill to give himself a great chance of a top six. He lost a few places on the last lap but to finish so close to fifth makes me very happy with his performance. Unfortunately we are left contemplating what might have been with Scott. To have a podium chance taken away by something out of our control is a bitter pill to swallow. It has been a tough season for us and everybody at Marc VDS has worked incredibly hard to get us back at the front where we belong. So to have a big issue with the rear tyre while Scott was battling for the podium is very upsetting. We’ll have to investigate the cause and try and bounce back from this disappointment at the Twin Ring Motegi, but the positive thing is Scott showed all weekend he has the speed to fight at the front.” More, from a press release issued by Kenny Noyes’ publicist: Fun Race And Slow Progress For Kenny Noyes After a couple of tough weekends for Kenny Noyes, there are finally a few signs of progress for the Avintia-STX rider. A problem with a vibrating disk meant that Kenny could only use one of the two soft tires he’d saved for qualifying, leaving him stuck a couple of rows behind where he had expected to be. But a new rear shock fitted to his FOGI-Racing FTR during warm up gave the American the improvement in stability that he was looking for, and he entered the race feeling hopeful. During the race, Kenny pulled his usual feat of battling his way forward. The Avintia-STX rider quickly gained ten places, before getting involved in what turned into an entertaining battle with Randy Krummenacher and Alex Baldolini. The better feeling from the revised rear shock meant he was closer to the front, but came up just short to close in on the huge group of fourteen riders who were fighting for positions five thru nineteen. Kenny now heads to Motegi for the first of three flyaway rounds, with Phillip Island and Sepang following shortly afterward. Though Sunday’s result was still too far off Kenny’s target for scoring points, he faces the long round-trip with a renewed sense of optimism. Kenny Noyes 23rd, Fastest Lap: 1’56.031 Kenny said, “We’ve been trying a whole bunch of things over the past couple of races, and it finally seems like we’re getting better. We’re still not where we want to be, but this race, we were only half a second back off the big group fighting for 5th. That’s the group we need to be in, and we were just off the tail end of it.” “On Saturday, we didn’t do a good job out there. I had to start from a couple of rows back from where I wanted to be. But in the race, I started having fun again, enjoying the battle with Krummenacher and Baldolini.” “A lot of times when you’re struggling and things aren’t working out, it’s not a lot of fun out there, but I had a lot of fun this race. It kinda reminded me why I’m here, and how much fun this is. It is the world championship, it is a high level, and sometimes you struggle. Sometimes you go out there and it seems like nothing’s working, everything’s a problem, but when you get out there and race and have a good battle like this, it comes back to you.”