MARC VDS ALL SET FOR MOTO2 SEASON FINALE
Valencia once again hosts Grand Prix racing’s season finale and after top ten finishes last time out in Malaysia, Mika Kallio and Scott Redding head to Spain determined to end their season on a high with a strong showing in the final race of the year.
Kallio took a season best sixth place finish at Sepang but the flying Finn is determined to break into the top five for the first time at Valencia, a track at which he has won in both the 125cc and 250cc classes previously.
A podium finish has so far eluded Redding this year, but the 18-year-old Marc VDS rider is keen to sign off his 2011 season with a strong showing this weekend in Valencia. Redding took a hard fought fifth place in the final round 12 months ago, a result he is determined to improve upon this time around.
The Valencia circuit is relatively slow-speed, and features a unique layout that was designed with the spectator in mind, as fans enjoy an unrestricted view of almost the entire track from any of the massive grandstands that ring the circuit.
The 14 turns, nine of which are to the left and five to the right, are tightly packed together, meaning that the riders spend most of the lap either cornering or changing direction. This requires a bike set-up to turn quickly, combined with tyres that can withstand the stress of almost constant cornering over full race distance.
As a mark of respect to MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who was tragically killed in a crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix just over a week ago, Redding and Kallio will run black numbers on their Suter Moto2 machines this weekend at Valencia.
Mika Kallio #36: “Our trend has been upwards during the last few races, so fighting for a top five finish is a realistic goal this weekend. Of course, I still have a podium finish in mind, and Valencia is the last chance this season, but we’ll have to see how the weekend goes. We have found a good base setting and a good balance on the bike, which means we haven’t had to make so many changes for the last three or four races, so I think we’re in good shape going into the final round. It will be a sombre weekend, after the tragedy that took Marco from us in Malaysia. He was a racer and that’s why, when the helmet goes on at Valencia, we must put last weekend from our minds and race. I think it’s what Marco would expect of us.”
Scott Redding #45: “It will be tough, but I think a podium is an outside possibility this weekend if everything goes well. We made a big step with the 2012 bike in Malaysia, but there’s still a lot of work to be done on the set-up before it’s completely right. Hopefully we’ll have the chance to improve it further during practice and qualifying, ready for the final race of the season. This weekend isn’t just about the results though; it’s also about paying tribute to Marco. He was one of the most exciting riders we’ve seen in recent years and I hope we can do him proud with an equally exciting Moto2 race this weekend.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “It’s fair to say that this season hasn’t delivered what we were expecting in terms of results, but we head to Valencia determined to end the year on a high with two good results for Mika and Scott. It will be a difficult race for everyone in the Grand Prix paddock, coming as it does so soon after the sad loss of Marco Simoncelli, but we need to remain focussed. The best tribute we can pay to Marco is for Mika and Scott to race as hard as he did, and that’s exactly what I expect from both riders this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO:
FTR MOTO CHASING FINAL MOTO2 SUCCESS OF 2011
FTR MOTO is aiming to repeat last year’s final round victory as the Moto2 World Championship reaches its 17th and last round of 2011 at Valencia in Spain on Sunday.
Twelve months ago it was Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham giving Buckingham-based FTR its fourth win of the year and this weekend FTR’s leading three World Championship riders, Simone Corsi, Esteve Rabat and Pol Espargaro, are eager to end the year with victory.
Corsi, on the Ioda Racing Project M211, will be out to make amends following a crash in the last round in Malaysia his first non point-scoring race of the year. Corsi needs a strong finish to guarantee sixth place in the World Championship.
Blusens STX FTR M211 rider Rabat will make good use of his six years spent racing around the 2.49-mile circuit in an effort to protect his eighth place in the Championship while Espargaro arrives at Valencia in confident mood after taking his second podium finish of the year with second place in Malaysia 11 days ago.
“We’re hopeful of a good finish in Valencia,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “A lot of our early development of the FTR Moto2 machine was done in Spain so it’s very much like a second home and we carry a lot of data for the Spanish circuits now.”
Having not scored points in the last two rounds, the MZ-FTR pair of Max Neukirchner and Anthony West will be looking to finish the season on a high note at Valencia while Yonny Hernandez will be aiming to rediscover the top six form he displayed on the Blusens STX M211 in Germany in July.
Corsi’s Ioda team-mate Mattia Pasini can finish in the top 20 of the World Championship with a top 10 finish in Valencia while American Kenny Noyes (FOGI/GP Tech M211), young Frenchman Valentin Debise (Speed Up), Santiago Hernandez (SAG) and Joan Olive (Aeroport de Castello Team) continue the search for a first World Championship point of the year in Sunday’s final, 27-lap race.
“We’ve had a handful of podium finishes in 2011 to add to the victories of 2010 and, overall, this year’s Moto2 World Championship has helped increase the awareness of the FTR brand as we head into MotoGP and Moto3 projects for 2012,” added Bones.
More, from a press release issued by Italtrans/AAGP Racing:
Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana Valencia, November 4th 6th, 2011 Preview
Robertino Pietri (#39) Claudio Corti (#71)
Last stop of the season, at a very peculiar track a kind of amphitheater of the motor sport, presenting a twisty track to grandstands built on the slopes of the hills surrounding it. From most of the seats spectators can see a big part of the action, and maybe because of this fans always participate in an intense way. Italtrans squad lines up in Valencia after two Grand Prix, in Australia and Malaysia, where great progress has been shown, as well with the capability of excellent results. Team are confident that the Spanish venue can reward them with a placement reflecting the value expressed in the last period.
Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director) “Valencia is were the season got under way, and with a good placement Corti was fourth. Claudio loves this track, and I’m convinced that, both for set-up and feeling, we can perform well. Everybody is still shaken by the death of Marco Simoncelli. Anyone, in our garage, was well acquainted with him. For four years I worked with teams he was part of, as a rider. And even if I was not in his crew, to live and work in the same garage was enough to grow fond of him. We all miss Marco”.
More, from a press release issued by Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team:
MAVERICK VINALES AWARDED 2011 MICHEL METREAUX TROPHY AS THE BEST 125 CC CLASS RIDER. JOSEP RODRÃGUEZ EXPECTS A GOOD RESULT ON VALENCIA FAMILIAR TRACK
The 2011 Michel Metreaux Trophy, which is granted according to the votes of the riders from each category and which determines who has been the best rider in both 125cc and Moto2 class will be awarded to Maverick Vinales during the FIM MotoGP Awards ceremony which will be held in Valencia on Sunday, 6 November right after the final race of the year. Maverick’s fantastic season with eight podiums and three wins have made it possible for the young Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team rookie to be elected by his mates/rivals the best rider in the 125 cc class. In this last round of the season Vinales aims to get a fantastic result which would enable him to reach the absolute third position in the world championship which he has been battling for against Cortese. Anyway the sure thing is that he is the rookie with the largest amount of points earned in the history of the 125 cc class world championship. The total 223 points Vinales earned after his victory in Malaysia beat the 202 points earned by Marco Melandri in the 1998 season which had made this latter the best rookie before Maverick came along. For his part Josep Rodriguez aims to get a good result on track he is very familiar with and before his supporters. Since he was incorporated into the Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team he has been on an ascending path and he hopes to round off this season with a spot among the best.
25 MAVERICK VINALES: “As you can imagine I am very excited to ride in Valencia. We’ll be at home, I am familiar with the track we won the previous round and we’ll be supported by our folks. What more can you ask for? As usual it’ll be difficult but I really would like to reach the third position in the world championship and above all give a good performance. No matter what happens it’s been a fantastic season. We have achieved good results and won a few races. I am really glad and proud to earn my fellow riders’recognition and be awarded the Michel Metreaux Trophy. Thanks.”
28 JOSEP RODRIGUEZ: “There’s always an advantage to be riding at home. I like Valencia and if we’re lucky and I should say if we’re not jinxed I believe we can achieve a good result. I belong to a great team and you best believe I don’t want to let the opportunity pass me by. I’ve been keeping on improving and adapting as time has gone by. Now we’re riding at home on a track which I am really familiar with and this is the final round of the season. I want to do a good job and I will give it everything I can.”
More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team:
GP of Valencia, preview
The 2011 season has come to its last race that will be held, as usual, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, for the GP de la Comunidad Valenciana. Places in the Moto2 World riders Championship are still open: far away the two leaders Bradl and Marquez will play between themselves for the title, while the third step of the championship podium is still up for grabs. In the fight for third place our Alex De Angelis is still in the game, only two points away from the Italian Andrea Iannone. The race in Valencia thus holds the key to the final championship positions, counting also to the usual huge presence of fans that will crowd the circuit stands. These will join the whole paddock to commemorate the missing “Super-Sic”, Marco Simoncelli who passed away at the previous round.
Gianluca Montiron
It will be a bold weekend and on our side we will give our contribution to pay honour to the event in the best way, fully aware that this would have been the wish of such a tenacious and fair rider as Marco was. The weekend will assign the top three places in the Riders Championship we expect a hard fight for the third place of the podium. According to the classification our rider has been the most consistent along the season, thus giving us good hope, and he knows well the Valencian circuit as this is also where we had the tests. I hope for good weather, even if the forecasts are uncertain. The last race of the season is always exciting, it is the last chance to put ourselves under the spotlight, the track is engaging and all riders will be highly competitive so we can expect some surprises.
Teams and riders will stay in Valencia also after the race, on Monday 7th there will be the first IRTA tests for 2012 when we will discover all the news for the next season, including the usual huge shift between riders and machines.