FIM Moto2 World Championship Phillip Island, Australia October 15, 2010 Free Practice One Results (wet conditions, all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 1:36.295 2. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:36.313 3. Fonsi NIETO, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:36.697 4. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), 1:36.769 5. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (FTR), 1:37.021 6. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:37.223 7. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SUTER), 1:37.229 8. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:37.296 9. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:37.356 10. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (MORIWAKI), 1:37.427 11. Stefan BRADL, Germany (SUTER), 1:37.596 12. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (FTR), 1:37.606 13. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (I.C.P.), 1:37.610 14. Alex DEBON, Spain (FTR), 1:38.022 15. Toni ELIAS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:38.207 16. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:38.233 17. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (TECH 3), 1:38.243 18. Hector FAUBEL, Spain (SUTER), 1:38.344 19. Wayne MAXWELL, Australia (MORIWAKI), 1:38.355 20. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (TECH 3), 1:38.360 21. Gabor TALMACSI, Hungary (FTR), 1:38.686 22. Simone CORSI, Italy (MOTOBI), 1:38.770 23. Michael RANSEDER, Austria (SUTER), 1:38.804 24. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (BIMOTA), 1:38.807 25. Sergio GADEA, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:38.825 26. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:38.877 27. Javier FORES, Spain (BIMOTA), 1:39.411 28. Alexander CUDLIN, Australia (BQR-MOTO2), 1:39.449 29. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:39.490 30. Vladimir IVANOV, Ukraine (MORIWAKI), 1:39.503 31. Valentin DEBISE, France (ADV), 1:39.757 32. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (BQR-MOTO2), 1:40.102 33. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:40.200 34. Kazuki WATANABE, Japan (SUTER), 1:40.373 35. Yannick GUERRA, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:40.728 36. Kenny NOYES, USA (PROMOHARRIS), 1:41.028 37. Joan OLIVE, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), 1:41.083 38. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (BQR-MOTO2), 1:43.004 Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:43.035 39. Hiromichi KUNIKAWA, Japan (BIMOTA), 1:45.187 More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 Team: Extreme conditions for Lüthi at Phillip Island The riders of the Moto2 class were the ones waiting the longest for their first free practice at the racetrack at Phillip Island today, as all the sessions were delayed by two hours due to the heavy rain and strong wind. This meant that Lüthi was not able earlier than 5 pm to jump on his Moriwaki MD600. Until then, the rain had stopped, but the stormy wind was still present and the felt temperature outside was 3°C. For tomorrow the concentration will be on the adjustment of the bike to these conditions and Lüthi will try to gain a similar starting position for the race on Sunday during tomorrow’s Qualifying. Tom Lüthi, 10 – 1’37.427: “We had to wait a long time until we were able to start with the practice as it was so stormy and rainy outside. It is really, really cold and that is not easy. I lost a few positions at the end of the first free practice. But we will try to adjust the bike better to this conditions tomorrow and then we will see where we are.” Terrell Thien, Team Manager: “The conditions are difficult and not usual at Phillip Island. We didn’t have any similar situation during the whole year on any other track until now and we have to change the bike’s settings to fit in these conditions and this work is not done yet.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: REDDING SECOND AS RAIN DISRUPTS PHILLIP ISLAND SCHEDULE Scott Redding ended today’s delayed opening practice session in Australia second fastest, with Marc VDS teammate, Hector Faubel, 18th on the timesheet, after struggling in the cold and windy conditions at Phillip Island. Free practice for all three Grand Prix classes was delayed for two hours this afternoon, as the torrential rain and high winds that hit Phillip Island this morning caused flooding on parts of the circuit. Redding started the delayed session on wet tyres, but switched to slicks after just four laps as the damp track started to dry out. The Marc VDS rider increased his pace with every lap, eventually claiming the top spot on the timesheet with just three minutes of the session remaining. His next lap extended the margin over Alex De Angelis in second place to almost half a second, but the Sammarinese rider struck back right at the end of the session, setting the fastest lap and pushing Redding back to second. Faubel struggled to get his Suter MMX machine to turn into the faster corners this afternoon, a problem exacerbated by the unpredictable winds blowing around the Phillip Island circuit. Damp patches on track, which were still evident at the end of the session, meant grip was also unpredictable. Faubel’s crew will make changes to the set-up of his bike overnight and the 27-year-old Spaniard is confident of improving his position in tomorrow morning’s second free practice session. Scott Redding #45: 2nd – 1’36.313 “Conditions weren’t ideal today, but it was a pretty good session overall. We did two long runs and got faster with each lap, despite issues with the weather and the traffic on track. The wind was a real problem everywhere on the circuit, but especially the first four turns. Coming down the straight I hardly had to brake for Doohan Corner, as just sitting up in the wind was enough to slow you down. It was hard to get the bike into turn four as well, because the wind was getting under the front of the bike and lifting you back up. But, it was the same for everyone and it didn’t seem to cause us too many problems. We’ll make a few small changes to the bike overnight but, overall, I’m pretty happy with how things have gone today.” Hector Faubel #55: 18th – 1’38.344 “Today was very difficult because of the conditions. We started on a damp track, which dried out as the session progressed, but there were still puddles in places even right at the end. It made grip a bit unpredictable. I also had some problems on corner entry with the front-end; the bike didn’t want to turn in and then ran out wide as soon as you got on the gas. We’ll take a look at the data and see how we can improve the bike for tomorrow’s sessions, which I hope will be either fully wet or fully dry and not a bit of everything like we had today.” Pete Benson: Scott Redding’s Crew Chief “Scott rode a good session this afternoon. After four laps on full wets to assess the available grip, we switched to a dry set-up on the bike, fitted slicks and sent him back out for another run. He built his pace over two long runs, but ran out of laps as he tried to respond to Alex De Angelis’ fastest lap at the end of the session. The bumps at certain parts of the track were a bit of a problem for Scott today, so we’ll make some small suspension changes tonight to smooth these out, as well as altering the gearing to better suit some corners.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: Cold weather and rain are the hallmarks of the first practice day at the Phillip Island circuit. Moto2’s free practice session was postponed to 5:00 pm local time due to a rainstorm and the weather forecasts say we’ll have an unstable weekend and it will be very difficult to accurately predict the weather. JiR Moto2 Team’s riders found something to smile about in the early laps, taking first and second position, but the Roman Simone Corsi, just while he was getting into his rhythm, moved off line and hit a patch of water that catapulted him from his MotoBI’s saddle. His injuries are minor, some abrasions and contusions to his right arm and leg. Alex De Angelis kept riding fast and stayed at the top of the timing sheets, gaining the provisional pole position with a time of 1’36″295, followed by Scott Redding and Fonsi Nieto. Alex De Angelis, 1st position 1’36″295. Simone Corsi, 22nd position 1’38″770. More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: Maxwell completes maiden Moto2 session as mixed weather hits Phillip Island Australia’s Wayne Maxwell has enjoyed a positive first day in the Moto2 World Championship, completing today’s opening Moto2 practice session at this weekend’s Iveco Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island in Victoria. Despite constant rainfall that delayed the day’s proceedings, Victorian-based Maxwell finished the first hour-long session of the weekend in 19th position and confident that he has what it takes to work his way up the leader board from there. “To roll out of pit lane and be part of the grand prix paddock alongside the world class riders was a great feeling,” 27-year-old Maxwell said. “I feel comfortable on the bike already, so to mix it up with them over the weekend would be even better.” Maxwell stunned in the opening minutes of the session by immediately featuring at the top of the time charts in wet conditions on debut in his one-off GP appearance, however his inexperience and lack of time on the Matteoni Racing grand prix race bike showed as the circuit dried in the closing minutes. “It was a tough day with the weather, but it was the same for everyone,” Maxwell reflected. “It started out wet and then we had a bit of time in the dry so that will help us in any condition on Sunday.” With time on both a wet and dry circuit now under his belt, Maxwell will be hoping for consistent conditions tomorrow morning when the spectacular Moto2 brigade enters practice two, before qualifying for Sunday’s race is contested in the afternoon. “We plan on making some changes in the practice session in the morning to help refine the set-up of the bike, and then come qualifying I’ll go for it and try to put it up the front somewhere.” Maxwell’s fastest lap was a 1:38.355 around the scenic Phillip Island Circuit, just 2.060 seconds off the leading pace of Italian former MotoGP pilot Alex de Angelis. In a sign of Maxwell’s performance, newly crowned world champion Toni Elias was just ahead of Maxwell in 15th position with a 1:38.207. Maxwell’s Moto2 endeavour is proudly supported by Honda Australia, Milspec, Construct Concrete Services, ASF Printing, Longlife Roofing and Caprice.