FIM Moto2 World Championship Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar April 7, 2012 Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:00.187 2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 2:00.259 3. Andrea IANNONE, Italian (SPEED UP), 2:00.296 4. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KALEX), 2:00.597 5. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SPEED UP), 2:00.625 6. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (KALEX), 2:00.658 7. Esteve RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 2:00.793 8. Claudio CORTI, Italy (KALEX), 2:00.874 9. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 2:00.898 10. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 2:00.986 11. Julian SIMON, Spain (FTR), 2:00.992 12. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), 2:01.015 13. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (KALEX), 2:01.031 14. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 2:01.111 15. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), 2:01.181 16. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:01.374 17. Toni ELIAS, Spain (SUTER), 2:01.618 18. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 2:01.718 19. Johann ZARCO, France (MOTOBI), 2:01.910 20. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 2:02.018 21. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 2:02.097 22. Angel RODRIGUEZ, Spain (FTR), 2:02.142 23. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (AJR), 2:02.500 24. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 2:02.535 25. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (SUTER), 2:02.637 26. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 2:02.811 27. Gino REA, Great Britain (MORIWAKI), 2:02.934 28. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (MORIWAKI), 2:03.031 29. Anthony WEST, Australia (MORIWAKI), 2:03.621 30. Alexander LUNDH, Sweden (MZ FTR), 2:04.130 31. Marco COLANDREA, Switzerland (FTR), 2:04.424 32. Elena ROSELL, Spain (MORIWAKI), 2:05.183 33. Nasser Hasan AL MALKI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 2:05.591 More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: Top 20 for Team JiR in Moto2 qualifying despite last minute crash Team JiR and rider Johann Zarco will start in 19th position for tomorrow’s race at the Losail circuit, despite a crash in the final minutes of qualifying. In the desperate rush to secure a time in the dying seconds of the 45-minute qualifying session, the circuit was busier than ever and Johann had the front-end of his MotoBI machine taken from under him by another rider going into the first turn, ending his qualifying session with just two minutes to go. The young Frenchman had spent the entire qualifying session in the top 20 positions, in his first ever qualifying session on a four-stroke Moto2 machine. This left the 21-year-old in 19th place, disappointed that those precious last minutes could have given him a much improved time. As it was, he took just over one-tenth off his Friday time, with a lap-time of 2m 01.910s only a second away from a top ten grid slot. Now the team will try to make even more improvements to the Moto BI ahead of tomorrow’s 20-lap race around the 3.343-mile Losail circuit. Fastest rider of the event so far is Swiss rider Thomas Lüthi, who has topped the time sheets all weekend. Johann Zarco Position: 19th Best lap: 2m 01.910s This is my first Moto2 qualifying and tomorrow is my first race, but I am still disappointed. I did my best time today behind another rider and then I was waiting to break away and put in my fastest lap, but when I tried to I had waited too long to overtake a slower rider and I touched the guy in front and crashed. I’m a little angry at that and the fact that I’m further away from pole position than I want to be, but I will go away now and watch free practice from yesterday and the race from last year to try and analyse where I can improve. In 125cc last year I know I could do a good lap time on my own, but with the Moto2 machine being so new to me, it is easier at the moment for me to follow someone, watch their lines and slipstream down the long straight. I know I can improve so this will change with time. I’m pushing my limit and improving every time on the bike, but I also don’t want to have stupid crashes, so I have to be on the limit and always be thinking! Tomorrow we have warm-up to make some improvements and improve still further my confidence in the bike. After that, the race is always long, so we have to be relaxed enough and not rush things, but also fight hard with the other riders. I will try and catch the group ahead of me, wherever I am on the track. My target is still a top 10 finish, even though I am starting 19th. I think it is good to aim high and I trust in my team and my ability to do my very best. More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: West just half a second behind fastest Moriwaki Rosell and Al Malki in pain but determined to race Anthony West, who jumped on the Moriwaki of QMMF Racing Team on short notice after having been away from racing for four months, made significant progress in the qualifying session for the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar and cut the gap to the fastest Moriwaki in the Moto2 field down to just half a second. Spanish team-mate Elena Rosell, who suffered a cracked pelvis in a testing crash, is now also battling a shoulder inflammation, but pushed through the pain barrier to qualify for the race. Wild Card entry Nasser Hasan Al Malki wasn’t well either after the removal of a bad tooth, but showed the same amount of determination and also qualified for his home Grand Prix. Anthony West 29th in 2.03,621 “Qualifying started out good, but then I made silly mistakes just because I haven’t ridden a bike for about five months now. I am still trying to learn the bike and I’m driving the data guy crazy, because I am changing my line in every lap just to understand the bike and trying to get a feeling of what works and what doesn’t. I now understand more how to go faster on that bike, as I’m only half a second away from the fastest Moriwaki, which is not bad for me considering that the others had the whole winter to prepare themselves. We are not happy with our practice result, but with our progress. We are just trying to take this race as a test!” Elena Rosell – 32nd in 2.05,183 “Qualifying was really tough because I have a lot of pain in my right shoulder. Apart from my pelvis fracture, I have some sort of tendinitis in the shoulder joint, it got inflamed, and even though I’m getting the best possible treatment from the crew of Dr. Claudio Costa, I can’t wrestle and push the bike the way I’d like. I can do two or three decent laps, but then I am in too much pain to keep my pace. I’m suffering a lot out there, but I still want to race and be part of this Grand Prix, since it is the home race of my team and therefore very important. I hope to be in better shape tomorrow, because the race is going to be long and hard. More than anything, I’m happy that I was able to qualify and that I’ll be on the starting grid close to my team-mates. I really want to put up a fight!” Nasser Hasan Al Malki 33rd in 2.05,591 “Today was very different to yesterday. We made many changes and I improved by one second and a half, which is very good for me. My problem is that I am still sick. On Thursday, I got an agonizing toothache and I knocked on the door of a dentist surgery at three o’clock Friday morning to get the tooth removed. I felt really dizzy and ill afterwards and now I’m under medication to battle the infection. Nevertheless, I really tried to push today. If I felt better, I could have gone faster, but I was too tired. I hope I feel better tomorrow, because I now really enjoy riding the bike. In the first practice it wasn’t good, I fought the bike too much. Now the feeling is much better and I hope to be able to push more tomorrow!” More, from a press release issued by Blusens Aprilia Racing: JULIÁN SIMÓN ON FOURTH ROW IN QATAR FOR HIS DEBUT WITH BLUSENS AVINTIA MOTO2 Julián Simón and the Blusens Avintia Moto2 team gave a good performance today at the Moto2 qualifying practices at the Losail circuit. Although a twelfth position might seem a bit of far from the front row, it must be stressed that Julián is only 805 thousandths away from the pole. It is no secret that Moto2 is a very evenly-matched category in which the races are hard-fought and a good pace and regularity are the key elements to success. And these are two qualities which define Julián Simón as he constantly shows an ever-increasing regularity and aggressiveness throughout the races. A few minor issues regarding rebounces on both wheel assemblies has caused him to start from a more remote position on the starting grid than expected but both the team and Julián are convinced that they can achieve a good result at tomorrow’s race. 60 Julián Simón (11º 2.00.992 +0.805): “In spite of the fact that I will start from the fourth row on the starting grid I am happy with the job that we have done. It is the first qualifying practice of the season and I have posted a much better time even though it is still not enough to be on the first row. But the race is tomorrow and I am motivated. The times are close, the gaps are narrow and even though it will not be easy somehow we will find a way to improve the front and rear wheel assemblies which have rebounces issues. I have been giving the mechanics a lot of work and I would like to thank them for the effort they have been making. I hope that I will make a good start and put myself among the best riders straightaway. The top-five will be a good result for the moment.” More, from a press release issued by Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2: TOUGH FIRST GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING SESSION FOR ROOKIE REA It was a disappointing first Moto2 qualifying practice for Gino Rea tonight and he faces a difficult race debut tomorrow night, with a host of changes to his Moriwaki failing to bear fruit so far. The Brit and his team face a major challenge to come up with a set-up before tomorrow night’s race that allows him to be challenging higher up the order, where he belongs. Gino Rea ( 27th 2′ 02″ 934) “We really haven’t improved the bike over the last couple of days. We’re just going round in circles, we’re a long way from the top guys and we need a lot of development and a lot of time to try and get the Showa suspension working with this new Moriwaki frame. Everything we try seems to result in the same problem or something worse so it is frustrating. I feel like I am riding well, I know the track now and I’m just being held up by the bike. We know when the bike is right we can be fighting in the top fifteen at least but all I can do right now is try to get a good start tomorrow night and battle hard to stay in the mix. ” Fausto Gresini “We have to sit down with our engineers and the guys from Showa to come up with an explanation for this. Our bike is not performing and we have a lot of work to do to give Gino a more competitive machine because his potential is much higher than his position shows.” More, from a press release issued by Team Thai Honda Gresini Moto2: NO JOY IN QUALIFYING FOR RATTHAPARK WILAIROT Yesterday’s optimism quickly dissolved under the glare of the Losail floodlights tonight for Ratthapark Wilairot, the Thai rider unable to rediscover the confidence in the bike that he found last night. He now needs to find something in the warm-up to improve the bike and be able to recover positions in tomorrow night’s race. Ratthapark Wilairot (28th 2′ 03″ 031) “Qualifying was a complete disaster. I had no feel for the bike and it made me ride nervous. I didn’t have any confidence even though I tried to push, unfortunately no matter what we changed didn’t work and the session was a disaster.” Fausto Gresini “There is not much to say tonight Feem was a second slower than yesterday so it seems the bike wasn’t as good. We seem to have taken a step backwards so now we have even more ground to make up tomorrow. Our guys and the Showa engineers will have a look at things now and see where we can recover.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Tech 3 Racing aims for strong start in Moto2 opener Tech 3 Racing Team riders Bradley Smith and Xavier Simeon are confident they can both fight for points-scoring finishes when the ultra competitive Moto2 World Championship gets underway in Qatar tomorrow night. British rider Smith qualified his Mistral 610 machine in 12th position on the grid for the 20-lap race after a typically closely contested qualifying session under the spectacular Losail International Circuit floodlights this evening. Less than a second split the top 15 riders and Smith’s best lap of 2.01.015 was less than 0.4s away from placing him inside the top six. The 21-year-old was hoping to qualify higher up the grid after ending practice in ninth position, but he has put in a tremendous amount of work improving the race set-up of his Mistral 610 machine and he is optimistic that he can fight for a top six finish when the third Moto2 World Championship campaign kicks off. Simeon is also optimistic that he can commence his second season in the Moto2 category with a strong ride inside the top 15 after an encouraging performance in tonight’s qualifying session. He ended practice in 21st place but he was able to improve his time by almost 0.5s in qualifying to climb up to 18th position on the grid with a best time of 2.01.718. Bradley Smith 12th 2.01.015 17 laps: “I’m a little bit disappointed to be back on the fourth row because you really want to be on the third row at least in a class that is as competitive as Moto2. But looking at the guys around me, a lot of them beat me and were a bit faster in winter testing, so I have to be happy because we made some important improvements to the bike. Tomorrow it will be very important to get a good start and try to attack right from the beginning to pick up some places and get as close to the lead group as quickly as I can. After that it is likely to become a slipstream race with the home straight being so long. As it is the first race we are going into the unknown a little bit, but our bike is definitely better over the longer race distance than it is for one fast lap in qualifying. I’m sure we will really come on strong after half distance, but after a long winter I am just really excited to be racing again.” Xavier Simeon 18th 2.01.718 18 laps: “I am reasonably satisfied with the performance of the Mistral 610 but I definitely wanted to be a little closer to the front. My pace is not so bad and I am confident if I can get a good start and be aggressive in the first few laps that I can be battling for the top 10. I think that’s a realistic target because over a race distance we seem to be more competitive than when we need to push for one outright fast lap. We need to improve the bike for qualifying because a good starting position is so important in Moto2.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: Doha, Qatar – 7 April 2012: Scott Redding and Mika Kallio face a tough task in tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Qatar, the opening race of the 2012 Moto2 World Championship, after qualifying well below expectations in 13th and 14th places respectively. Redding was unable to significantly improve on his time from free practice yesterday, after the front-end chatter that has been an issue all weekend returned with a vengeance during qualifying. The Marc VDS rider tried a number of set-up changes on his Kalex Moto2 machine during the 45-minute session, to try and reduce the chatter, but with little success. Having lost most of yesterday’s practice session to a technical problem, Kallio was forced to continue evaluating set-up options during the first part of today’s qualifying session. Unfortunately for the Finn he was unable to find the same feeling with the bike and the rhythm that had seen him finish top six on the timesheet on Thursday. Redding and Kallio are hopeful of finding a solution for tomorrow’s race, and both remain confident they can battle their way to a top ten finish. Scott Redding #45: 13th – 2’01.031 “The front-end chatter was a real issue in qualifying, much worse than it was in the free practice sessions. We tried a couple of set-up changes to try and at least reduce it, but we weren’t even slightly successful. Why it should have been so bad today I have no idea, as we haven’t really changed anything on the bike. It made it almost impossible to push for a fast lap time tonight. We need to sit down and find a solution to the problem ahead of the race, as battling through from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow will be hard enough without having to ride around a chatter problem as well.” Mika Kallio #36: 14th – 2’01.111 “The fact that we missed most of yesterday’s session put us on the back foot today. We were still trying things on the bike in qualifying that we should have tested yesterday and, as a result, my lap times were up and down. It meant I couldn’t find the good rhythm needed to set a fast lap and we ended up on the fifth row of the grid. The good news is that we finally found a good set-up in warm-up, so I’m still confident we can go out tomorrow and fight for a decent result. The pace of the front guys is fast, but I think if I can get a good start and make up places in the opening laps then a good start to the season is still possible.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “I’m disappointed, because we expected to be starting this race from the front two rows of the grid. Scott and Mika were fast in preseason testing, they were fast during free practice here but, when it came to qualifying today, there was something missing. We’ve made only small changes to the bikes over the three days and the track conditions have been pretty consistent since Thursday, so why the lap times didn’t improve significantly in qualifying is something of a mystery. We will sit down tonight with both riders and their crew chiefs, to find out what we can do to turn things around ahead of the race tomorrow. We did not realise our true potential today and now we need to understand why.” More, from a press release issued by Speed Master Moto2 team: GREAT QUALIFYING SESSION FOR SPEED MASTER RIDERS, WHO WILL START FROM 1ST AND 2ND ROW IN TOMORROW’S RACE The starting grid for the first Moto2 race of 2012 season was defined after today’s qualifying session. Andrea Iannone carried out, together with his technicians, the last modifications for the Speed Up machine setting, in order to face the race. During the last minutes at disposal, the rider from Vasto set some great lap times, ending the session with the third time and conquering therefore the first row. Mike di Meglio started the session on a good pace, joining the fast riders immediately. On the last lap at disposal, he managed to improve even more: the Frenchman ended with the time of 2’00.625, 0.438 seconds off the pole position, and tomorrow he’ll start from the fifth spot of the starting grid. Andrea Iannone #29 – 3rd with 2’00.296 “I can say that this was a positive day. I’m happy because we got the Speed Up machine to the first row on its debut. We did an overall good job, we were fast and this is a positive result. I hope there’s a chance to improve even more, to be some tenths faster so we can be more competitive. This is going to be a tough race, especially with Tom Luthi and Marc Marquez as rivals, we need to stay calm and do our best. Thanks to the team for the awesome work they’ve done.” Mike di Meglio #63″”5th with 2’00.625 “I’m really happy with the result we achieved today. Yesterday things didn’t go quite as we had expected, but we knew in which direction we had to work. Today we were fast since the beginning, we set times close to 2’00 as we were hoping for. We tried out a modification to the settting and the bike went even better. Now we need to make a further step and be more consistent, so we can maintain a good rhythm without risking too much. I’d like to thank my crew, the team and my sponsors: I’m really glad I was given this opportunity and to have the chance to prove I’m still competitive. I have fun on the bike and this is really important.” More, from a press release issued by Mapfre Aspar Team: GP of Qatar – 07/04/12 – Losail Circuit – Moto2 Qualifying Practice SIXTH AND NINTH ROW STARTS FOR ELÍAS AND TEROL IN FIRST RACE OF NEW SEASON MAPFRE Aspar riders hoping to improve race prospects after difficult night The first qualifying session of the new Moto2 World Championship proved to be equally as chaotic as those that preceded it over the past two years, with thick traffic fighting for positions on track and a potential tow to a fast lap time. Thomas Luthi managed to find enough space to set a deserved pole position after dominating practice so far this weekend and the Swiss rider is the current favourite for victory, although anything can happen in Moto2 and usually does. MAPFRE Aspar riders Toni Elías and Nico Terol both need to show the fighting qualities that made them World Champions in the Moto2 and 125cc classes respectively, after a difficult qualifying session saw them finish some way down the grid. Both worked hard to find more grip, Elías focusing on his chassis set-up in the fast corners whilst Terol’s work was based around tyre choice, the pair qualifying in 17th and 26th place respectively. 17th Toni Elías 2.01.618 (16 laps): “I am struggling more than I would like and we are some way down the grid but we have to be optimistic and keep working to improve before the race starts. Hopefully we can do that and then it is a case of me fighting as hard as I can once the race starts. We still need laps on the bike to get up to speed so the objective tomorrow has to be to leave Qatar with as many points as possible. We are all working hard and we will turn things around soon.” 26th Nico Terol 2.02.811 (17 laps): “It was a strange session tonight and I struggled to get feel. I spent too much time chasing a tow instead of focusing on my own pace and that cost us. I changed tyre a few times because the bike kept giving me scares, I don’t know whether that was because of the track or because the rubber wasn’t up to temperature. When changing things didn’t work I started to lose confidence so now we need to focus on getting my pace back together for the race.”