FIM Moto2 World Championship Motegi, Japan October 2, 2010 Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), 1:53.008 2. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:53.292 3. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (TECH 3), 1:53.439 4. Toni ELIAS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:53.504 5. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:53.507 6. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 1:53.545 7. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (FTR), 1:53.561 8. Stefan BRADL, Germany (SUTER), 1:53.591 9. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (BQR-MOTO2), 1:53.601 10. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (FTR), 1:53.747 11. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:53.817 12. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:53.830 13. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:53.920 14. Fonsi NIETO, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:53.929 15. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (I.C.P.), 1:53.954 16. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (MORIWAKI), 1:53.961 17. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (TECH 3), 1:54.070 18. Simone CORSI, Italy (MOTOBI, 1:54.252 19. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SUTER), 1:54.363 20. Sergio GADEA, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:54.390 21. Kenny NOYES, USA (PROMOHARRIS), 1:54.417 22. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (BIMOTA), 1:54.498 23. Michael RANSEDER, Austria (SUTER), 1:54.504 24. Hector FAUBEL, Spain (SUTER), 1:54.529 25. Yusuke TESHIMA, Japan (TSR), 1:54.565 26. Alex DEBON, Spain (FTR), 1:54.596 27. Shogo MORIWAKI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 1:54.631 28. Gabor TALMACSI, Hungary (FTR), 1:54.645 29. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:54.837 30. Kazuki WATANABE, Japan (SUTER), 1:55.413 31. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:55.544 32. Valentin DEBISE, France (ADV), 1:55.548 33. Ferruccio LAMBORGHINI, Italy (MORIWAKI), 1:55.955 34. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (BIMOTA), 1:56.139 35. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:56.148 36. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (BQR-MOTO2), 1:56.280 37. Joan OLIVE, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), 1:56.445 38. Yannick GUERRA, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:56.474 39. Vladimir IVANOV, Ukraine (MORIWAKI), 1:56.624 40. Hiromichi KUNIKAWA, Japan (BIMOTA), 1:56.849 41. Kouki TAKAHASHI, Japan (RBB), 1:57.115 More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: Lüthi third in free practice, Chattering problems in the afternoon Thomas Lüthi started the Grand Prix of Japan at the Twin Ring in Motegi with third place in the morning session, but could not match the result in the afternoon, as he will start the race tomorrow from fourth row on the grid. Chattering problems like they were not experienced since a while were holding him off to match the third place again and the 24 year old Swiss was detained to qualify any better than 16th position in the afternoon. For tomorrow’s race the Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 Team has to sit down with the suppliers and see what they can do to help to achieve a better race result. Tom Lüthi, 16 1’53.961: “The free practice this morning went very well. We found very good settings for the bike. This afternoon the asphalt cooled down and our problems started. Chattering started again and we don’t know why, as we did not change any settings and it went well all the weekend until now. We used the same settings as in the morning session just to be sure, but it didn’t help. I am not at all satisfied with the 16th starting position and we have to find a solution for tomorrow.” Terrell Thien, Team Manager: “This morning all went fantastic, then the Chattering started and we don’t know why. We did not change the settings, only the tyres. Now we have to see what the problem is, also Dunlop we have to see and discuss how they can help us.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: REDDING FLIES TO FOURTH CONSECUTIVE FRONT ROW Scott Redding will start from the front row of the grid for the fourth race in succession, after qualifying in second position for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. Hector Faubel faces a tough race from the sixth row of the grid tomorrow, after a crash during qualifying left him down in 24th position. Redding struggled with traction problems during this morning’s free practice session and crashed without injury at the hairpin. Changes to the set-up of his Suter MMX machine improved things for qualifying, but it wasn’t until the very end of the 45-minute session that Redding felt confident enough to push for a fast lap time. The 17-year-old Briton jumped from seventh up to second with his last flying lap, finishing just two tenths of a second behind pole-sitter and reigning 125cc World Champion, Julian Simon, and claiming his fourth consecutive front row start. Faubel crashed after just four laps of qualifying, losing the front of his Suter MMX machine after encountering once again the grip problems that have plagued him all weekend. The 27-year-old Spaniard knows he faces a tough race from the sixth row of the grid tomorrow, but is determined to try and fight his way into the points Scott Redding #45: 2nd – 1’53.292 “I’m happy to be on the front row for the fourth race in a row, especially as we had some problems with the bike today. Traction is a real issue here and I had a crash at the hairpin this morning after running out of grip. We made some changes to the bike ahead of qualifying and then continued improving the set-up during the first half of the session. I was lucky to get a clear track right at the end of qualifying and managed to string a good fast lap together to finish second behind Julian Simon. The race will be tough, as grip is a real issue here, but I’ve got my sights set firmly on the podium and I’ll be pushing as hard as I can to achieve this tomorrow.” Hector Faubel #55: 24th – 1’54.529 “The bike felt good at the start of the session, but then I crashed after just four laps when the front closed on me with no warning. After the crash the plan went out of the window and I just tried to get in as many laps as I could in the time available. In the end we simply ran out of time and I’m far from happy with the result. Tomorrow my best hope is for rain, which everyone tells me is a real possibility, as this would make it easier to fight my way through the field and into the points.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “I’m really happy Scott has, for the fourth time in succession, qualified on the front row of the grid. He worked closely with his crew to overcome problems with the bike, which they only really got on top of towards the end of the session. The fact that he was able to go out and immediately set a fast time shows how much confidence he has in the bike after his recent run of form. It will be a tough race, as it always is in Moto2, but I’m confident he’ll be up there fighting with the leading group. Hector has had a difficult weekend, with a crash yesterday and then another today. Obviously this has knocked his confidence, which was reflected in his qualifying position, but I’m sure he’ll be pushing hard to finish in the points tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Yuki Takahashi storms to stunning home front row in Japan Yuki Takahashi was in outstanding form at his home track in Japan today, the Tech 3 Racing rider claiming a brilliant front row grid position for the Twin Ring Motegi Moto2 race. The Japanese rider has worked tirelessly with his Tech 3 Racing crew to find a comfortable set-up at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, which is renowned for its stop-and-go nature with a series of hard braking points linked by long straights. And his efforts paid off handsomely this afternoon, Takahashi storming to a stunning third place in the decisive final moments of another typically hard fought Moto2 qual ifying session. A best lap of 1.53.439 thrilled a large home crowd and put Takahashi on the front row of the grid for the fourth time in 2010, setting him up perfectly for what is sure to be an emotional race at the Twin Ring Motegi. Takahashi is determined to mount a podium challenge tomorrow as a fitting tribute to compatriot Shoya Tomizawa, who was tragically killed during the Misano Moto2 race in early September. Raffaele de Rosa was just over 0.5s behind Takahashi but only 17th on the grid, a result that perfectly illustrates the close level of competition in the Moto2 class. The Italian set a best time of 1.54.070 and is determined to fight for his third point-scoring finish of the campaign in tomorrow’s 23-lap race. Yuki Takahashi 3rd 1.53.439 18 laps “I am really happy to be on the front row of the grid for my home race. It is always special to race in front of the home fans and we’ve all had to wait a long time for this moment after the race was cancelled in April. I am really satisfied that we could get third because it has not been an easy weekend and my Tech 3 Racing crew have been working really hard to improve the bike. We have had to change the bike a lot but we have finally found a setting that allows me to push at my limit. At the end of the session I had a good rhythm and I was able to get third position on my last lap. I think that Shoya was with me on that last lap and now I am going to give my maximum effort tomorrow to get a good result for him.” Raffaele de Rosa 17th 1.54.070 19 laps “This weekend has proven to be quite difficult so far and it has not been easy to find a g ood pace. I’ve been struggling a lot with hard braking and that is one of the most crucial factors at this track. I can’t stop the bike and although we’ve tried some different settings to improve in this area, it is still not enough for me to push at the level I am capable of. It is clear that the bike is competitive because Yuki is going very fast, so we need to try and find some more confidence in the hard braking points. I’ll try and adapt my style a little bit tomorrow, taking some different lines, to see if that can help. Although I’ve had some problems, I am still in 17th position on the grid, so I am confident I can fight to score some points in the race.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of Motegi, qualifying It will be a hard fight tomorrow at the Motegi circuit for the JiR Team riders. During today’s qualifying Alex De Angelis managed to find a good set-up after a not so good second free practice session and the typical traffic at the end of the session prevented him doing better than the 6th-best time. Corsi had some troubles in finding a satisfying set-up and could not do better than 18th place. Both riders are determined to do a good race tomorrow. Alex De Angelis – 6th place – 1’53″545 “In this morning’s session I suffered some difficulties, therefore we decided to apply relevant modifications to my MotoBI for qualifying and things definitely went better. We still have room for improvement so I’m pretty confident for a good race tomorrow. I could have also improved my performance in qualifying if only I wouldn’t have found a slower rider that made me waste some time, but what matters is the race and my pace is not so bad. If weather conditions don’t change the tyre choice has already been made, but in case of rain I don’t know because I’ve never ridden this machine in rainy conditions, however I have a good feeling and I hope for the sun!” Simone Corsi – 18th place – 1’54″452 “Thing didn’t go how I was expecting today. I had problem with grip under acceleration and I couldn’t find my usual confidence in entering the corners. After this morning’s results I hoped to do better, other riders went faster and we’ll need to find out something to be more competitive for tomorrow’s warm-up.” More, from a press release issued by Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas: Kenny Noyes Aiming To Be Big In Japan On Sunday Kenny Noyes goes into Sunday’s Japanese Moto2 Grand Prix with renewed confidence after a strong qualifying session on Saturday. The Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas Racing rider headed east for the first of the three flyaway races at Motegi, and his first ever race at the Japanese circuit. The stop-and-go nature of the track made it one of the easier tracks to learn for Kenny, and it suits the nature of his Promoharris Moto2 bike. Kenny was quickly up to speed at Motegi, improving his time by over a second between each session of practice. After a lot of hard work by Kenny’s team to improve the feeling with the front end of his Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas machine, the American scored his best qualifying result since Barcelona, and is confident of getting back into the points at Motegi. Kenny will be aiming to find a little bit more rear grip in the morning warmup, and then focus on sticking with the lead bunch for as long as possible. The trip to Japan is Kenny’s first visit to Asia, and so far the American is reveling in the experience. Kenny has quickly adapted to traveling to Japan, the only real obstacle he has faced being what to do about breakfast. Though Kenny is a big fan of sushi, the thought of raw fish first thing in the morning is a little bit too much adventure! Kenny Noyes 21st, fast lap 1’54.417 Kenny said: “Motegi’s a fun place to ride, it’s super demanding as far as you spend so much time braking, but then again the braking areas are pretty straight. It’s a pretty straightforward track, but to go quick you have to be aggressive both on braking and on the gas.” “We made a few adjustments to get the front feeling a little better, which was our main problem yesterday. It improved a lot, but we’re still short on rear grip. Luckily, at this track we can get a lot of time back on the brakes. If we can find a little bit more rear grip, I think we’ll have a good shot at being in the points on Sunday.” “Tomorrow, I’ve got to get the best start that I can and then push hard to get with the right group and get a rhythm. The way these Moto2 races work out, it’s important to be in the group you want to be in from the first four or five laps to not lose touch with the race.” “It’s a cool experience going overseas and doing these races, Japan is really different from anything I’ve ever seen, so that’s pretty cool. I’m suffering a little bit with the Japanese food, I’m having trouble finding breakfast. I got excited because there was a Denny’s, but then there was nothing in there I could recognize! The only thing I could recognize was the name, everything else was not your typical Denny’s menu.”