FIM Moto2 World Championship Motegi, Japan October 3, 2010 Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Toni ELIAS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 43:50.930 2. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), -0.315 second 3. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (FTR), -9.839 seconds 4. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), -10.178 5. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), -11.237 6. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (TECH 3), -12.778 7. Stefan BRADL, Germany (SUTER), -17.284 8. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (MORIWAKI), -17.892 9. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), -19.235 10. Alex DEBON, Spain (FTR), -19.568 11. Simone CORSI, Italy (MOTOBI), -22.713 12. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), -23.417 13. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (FTR), -25.847 14. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), -27.528 15. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (TECH 3), -28.696 16. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), -29.629 17. Sergio GADEA, Spain (PONS KALEX), -34.072 18. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SUTER), -37.087 19. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), -40.460 20. Michael RANSEDER, Austria (SUTER), -40.653 21. Gabor TALMACSI, Hingary (FTR), -40.855 22. Kenny NOYES, USA (PROMOHARRIS), -42.287 23. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), -44.814 24. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (BIMOTA), -46.745 25. Kazuki WATANABE, Japan (SUTER), -49.749 26. Valentin DEBISE, France (ADV), -49.964 27. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (BIMOTA), -74.349 28. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (BQR-MOTO2), -75.823 29. Yannick GUERRA, Spain (MORIWAKI), -76.189 30. Hector FAUBEL, Spain (SUTER), -81.900 31. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), -86.024 32. Vladimir IVANOV, Ukraine (MORIWAKI), -87.673 33. Ferruccio LAMBORGHINI, Italy (MORIWAKI), -101.644 34. Kouki TAKAHASHI ,Japan (RBB), -105.570 35. Joan OLIVE, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), -2 laps, DNF. crash 36. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (I.C.P.), -2 laps, DNF, crash 37. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (BQR-MOTO2), -3 laps, DNF, crash 38. Hiromichi KUNIKAWA, Japan (BIMOTA), -12 laps, DNF, crash 39. Fonsi NIETO, Spain (MORIWAKI), -20 laps, DNF, crash 40. Yusuke TESHIMA, Japan (TSR), -23 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 17 races): 1. Elias, 249 points 2. Simon, 168 3. Iannone, 147 4. Luthi, 138 5. Corsi, 113 6. Talmacsi, 95 7. Cluzel, 94 8. Takahashi, 86 9. Shoya Tomizawa, 82 10. Gadea, 59 11. Redding, 58 12. TIE, Debon/Bradl, 52 14. Rolfo, 50 15. TIE, Abraham/Aegerter, 49 17. Nieto, 41 18. Wilairot, 30 19. Hernandez, 27 20. TIE, De Angelis/Di Meglio, 24 22. TIE, Noyes/Corti, 18 30. Jason DiSalvo, 7 More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Moriwaki Team: Lüthi finishes Motegi Race in Top 8 Tom Lüthi, who had a difficult qualifying yesterday, finished the Grand Prix of Japan at the Twin Ring Motegi with a strong performance on eighth place. Yesterday’s qualifying result of a 16th starting position didn’t really help the young Swiss and he had to fight hard to in the second half of the race to catch up so many positions. The start of the race was not his best, but after that he attacked the group in front of him and overtook one after another, until he reached eighth position on which he crossed the finish line. Tom Lüthi, 8 44’08.214: “This was a difficult race for me. From 16th position on the grid I could not improve during the first couple of laps, it was chaos on the track and very aggressive. Then I closed the gap to the group in front and was able to catch up positions. For the next time I will try to have a better starting position, then I hop I will be okay for the race.” Terrell Thien, Team Manager: “Tom did a good job in the second half of the race. He could have been much better with a better position on the grid, but he rode a good race and had to fight hard for this result. In Malaysia I am expecting more to come again.” Daniel M. Epp, Rider Management: “After a difficult start Tom showed a great performance in the second half of the race. He has a big problem with the qualifying and if he can solve that problem I am sure we can be at the top again.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Yuki Takahashi battles hard to top six in home race Yuki Takahashi finished less than three seconds away from scoring a brilliant home podium in today’s exciting Moto2 race at the Twin Ring Motegi. The Tech 3 Racing Team rider took full advantage of his first front row start since the Catalunya round in early July to surge into the lead at the first corner. Hard charging Spanish duo Toni Elias and Julian Simon quickly swept by but the Japanese rider then produced a heroic performance in front of a large and appreciative home crowd of 40,113 to hold third position for the opening 14 laps. Takahashi’s tenacity though was unable to keep him in a ros trum position and despite a fantastic effort to claim a podium finish in memory of late Japanese rider and close friend Shoya Tomizawa, he had to settle for a hard fought sixth position. Takahashi’s result saw him climb one place to eighth in the overall Moto2 standings and with Gabor Talmacsi and Jules Cluzel failing to score points, he’s hauled himself firmly back in the hunt for a top six world championship finish. Raffaele de Rosa also produced a gutsy performance in this afternoon’s 23-lap race, staged five months after the original Japanese Grand Prix was cancelled because of an Icelandic volcano eruption. The Italian expertly fought his way through from 17th on the grid into the top ten by the end of lap six and he elevated himself as high as ninth before he encountered a small front brake issue that unfortunately prevented him from moving higher up the field. The issue worsened as the race develo ped but de Rosa superbly adapted his riding style to claim his third points-scoring finish in the last five races with 15th position. The Tech 3 Racing Team now moves quickly to the Sepang round in Malaysia next weekend before the hectic three-week run of flyaway races concludes at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit in Australia on October 17. Yuki Takahashi 6th 86 points “I tried my absolute maximum today and there was nothing more I could do. I am not so happy to finish sixth because it is not the result I wanted, but I am really happy with the way I rode. I got a really good start and was in the lead at the first corner but Elias and Simon were able to pass me quite quickly. I just did my best to stay with them because I desperately wanted to finish on the podium in my home race. But I started to have some stability issues on the b rakes and under acceleration and it wasn’t so easy to keep third position. I kept pushing at 100 per cent but in the end I dropped back to sixth. I hope my performance made Shoya proud today and the Japanese crowd had something to cheer watching me.” Raffaele de Rosa 15th 5 points “The beginning of the race was very good although once again I’d made it very difficult for myself by starting down in 17th place on the grid. I attacked right from the start and I was able to pass many riders and I was happy with my pace. I’d got into ninth and thought I was going to be able to score my first top ten in Moto2 when I suddenly lost some power in the front brake. I was hoping it wouldn’t be a big issue and I could keep fighting but every lap it got worse. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep pushing at my maximum and I was struggling with acceleration too, which made it hard to defen d my position on the brakes. I really think today’s result could have been better but we’ll try again for that top ten in Malaysia next weekend.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “It has been a really positive weekend for the Tech 3 Racing Team. We were really delighted that Yuki was able to claim a front row in front of his home crowd and he rode a fantastic race. He got a great start and he led at the first corner and for quite a long time we were thinking that a home podium was a big possibility. He tried his absolute maximum for the whole race and I want to thank Yuki for his performance. He scored some good points and is close to sixth in the championship now. Congratulations to Raffaele also because his final result didn’t reflect his potential. He was having probably his best race of the season and in a really strong fight with some of the best riders in Moto2 and hopefully we can see him finish the season with some strong results. Tech 3 Racing is now close to fifth in the constructor points too and if we can move one place up that would be a great achievement in the first season.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: FIGHTING FIFTH FOR ON FORM REDDING AT MOTEGI Scott Redding took a hard fought fifth place in today’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, after starting from the front row of the grid for the fourth consecutive race. Hector Faubel was disappointed to finish 30th today, following a collision with Gabor Talmacsi at midrace distance. Redding got a good start and, together with Toni Elias, Julian Simon and Yuki Takahashi, built up a one second advantage over the pursuing pack in the early stages of the race. The 17-year-old British rider looked all set to battle it out for a podium finish, until the rubber cover on his gear lever worked loose causing him to miss gears on corner entry. After dropping back to sixth place, the Marc VDS rider got his head down in the later stages of the race, eventually catching and passing Takahashi to reclaim fifth position. Redding pushed hard to try and make contact with the battle for the final podium position ahead of him, but ran out of laps and had to settle for fifth place at the chequered flag. Today’s result leaves Redding just one point away from the top ten in the championship standings. After a qualifying crash left him down in 24th position on the grid, Faubel knew today’s race was going to be hard, but it ended up being a lot tougher than he could ever have imagined. The 27-year-old Spaniard got pushed onto the inside kerb at the first turn and lost ground, but fought his way back through the field to lie 22nd at mid-race distance. A points scoring finish remained a real possibility for Faubel, until the collision with Talmacsi left him trailing the field. The Marc VDS rider continued to push, fighting his way back up to 30th position at the chequered flag. The Marc VDS Racing Team will now travel to Sepang in Malaysia, where they will contest round 14 of the Moto2 World Championship next weekend. Scott Redding #45: 5th “That was a tough race. I got a good start and managed to break away with Elias, Simon and Takahashi, but these guys were just so fast and I was struggling to stay with them. Then the rubber came off the gear lever and I missed the right gear on corner entry a couple of times, which was enough to lose contact with the leading trio. I made a few mistakes midrace, but got my head down in the later stages and retook fifth place. With a few more laps I could probably have bridged the gap to the battle for third, but it was too late. Like I said, it was a tough race today, so I’m happy enough with fifth position and looking forward already to next weekend in Malaysia.” Hector Faubel #55: 30th “Today was a bad day. I got boxed in at the first turn and pushed onto the kerbs on the inside of the corner when everyone shut the door on me. That lost me a lot of time and I then had to spend the first half of the race working my way back up through the field. Just when I started to think a points scoring finish was possible I ran into the back of Talmacsi under braking and rejoined the race almost dead last. It’s been a tough weekend all round and one I want to put behind me. My crew have all worked really hard to turn things around this weekend, so I’m sorry for them that things didn’t go as well as we wanted here in Japan. I hope that next weekend in Malaysia I’ll be able to put things right with a good result.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “I’m happy with fifth place for Scott today, in what was a very tough race. The problem with the gear lever meant he lost contact with the leading group, which put the pressure on him and caused him to make a few small mistakes midrace. He recovered well though, fighting back at the end to reclaim fifth position from Takahashi. We need to look at the middle of the race to see how we can improve Scott’s consistency, but overall I’m very satisfied with his result today. For Hector the race was just a continuation of his whole weekend, which has been very difficult. It was always going to be tough to make headway from 24th position on the grid, but he fought hard in the early stages, only to drop back again after colliding with Talmacsi. I know he will be looking to make amends with a good result next weekend in Malaysia and I hope he is able to do so.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: Alex De Angelis missed the podium by a whisker today, at the Japanese Grand Prix here in Motegi. He rode the whole race at the same pace as the top riders, managing to recover some positions but a small technical problem complicated things at the end his fight with Karel Abraham. The problem meant he had to relinquish third place right on the last lap, leaving the rider from San Marino in 4th. The team is now investigating the cause of the problem suffered by his MotoBI, but are buoyed by the competitiveness that Alex has shown. It was a solid race also for Simone Corsi, even if the final result doesn’t reward his efforts. After yesterday’s qualifying, rider and technicians managed to make his MotoBI competitive again, as times in warm-up showed. During the race Simone managed to make a good start from the green light, gaining six positions in first lap alone and keeping his recovery moving forward until he took seventh place. All the hard work had to be re-started after the eighth lap, when a mistake pushed him back to 18th. Corsi didn’t give up and he began another fight back to take 11th at the flag: this was a double recovery that shows his determination in this final phase of the Championship. Alex De Angelis – 4th place “Overall I’m pretty satisfied for the race, because we’ve been competitive for the whole weekend and I just missed the podium by a little. For the race we chose a soft tyre, a strange choice and one which contradicted the choices made by the other top riders, but it was paying us back at the end. I managed to gain third place and I also had a pretty good margin on Abraham. Unfortunately during the final laps we suffered a mysterious loss of power that we are now investigating, this made my job difficult and allowed Karel to gain on my position and at the end take the third place. This is how races go, you can never be safe until the flag, but I saw how close we were to the podium so we will keep on and we’ll try to get more solid results in the next races.” Simone Corsi – 11th place “In warm-up we managed to find the optimal set-up and I ran with some good times. For the race I was starting from the back of the grid, so I had to be determined from the very beginning and I managed to make a good recovery in the early laps. Unfortunately while I was pushing hard I made a mistake by missing a gear change right in the middle of a corner, losing speed and positions. I then had to start again, but at the end I managed to get into the points. It’s a shame for this mistake because I was in a good condition, but we will do better in the next race.” More, from a press release issued by Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas: More Improvements For Kenny Noyes At Motegi The first leg of the three overseas flyaway races ended with a solid result for Kenny Noyes and the Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas Racing Team, Kenny making steady progress at yet another track he had never seen before. The hard work the team put in at Aragon paid dividends for Kenny, the American scoring his best qualifying since Barcelona, and his best finish since Indianapolis. Kenny got a strong start, but was soon caught up with a big group behind Gabor Talmacsi. Unable to make his way past because of a lack of rear grip, the Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas rider had to settle for an enjoyable but unfulfilling scrap for 19th place. The new suspension setup the team has been working on improved Kenny’s confidence in the front end of the bike, allowing him to be much more aggressive on the brakes. But the rear grip issues meant the American lost drive out of corners and could not get close enough to pass the riders ahead of him on the brakes, the strong point of the new setup. Kenny leaves Japan optimistic that the new setup will improve the feel of his Promoharris over the next couple of races. But with the next two races in Malaysia and Australia, and the team starting to work on their plans for next season, there is not much room for major updates. Kenny is determined to keep working hard with his team on refining the setup of his Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas machine to get all they can out of the package. With four more rounds of the Moto2 championship to go, Kenny is confident he can keep the momentum going to the end of the season. Kenny Noyes 22nd, fastest lap 1’54.946 Kenny said: “The race went OK. The bike was the best it’s ever been, the new setup we tried at Aragon worked real well. The bike is good on corner entry and gives me a lot confidence in the front end, but we were struggling with rear grip after 8 laps or so. It’s hard to get the power down, which makes it hard to pass on the brakes because we can’t get close enough.” “I was pretty happy with the race, we had the pace, but a bunch of us got held up behind Talmasci and it was impossible to get past. In the end, this was the best we could do on the day. Honestly, this was a great race, but it should have been ten places further up the field, but this is where we are with this package. It’s too late in the season to expect too many updates, so we just have to keep working hard with the team to make the best of what we have.” “Motegi’s a pretty cool track. There’s lots of places you can have a pretty good battle, like we saw in the MotoGP race. It’s just a shame we couldn’t take advantage of them.” More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO: ABRAHAM TAKES FTR M210 TO PODIUM IN JAPAN FTR MOTO took an eighth podium finish of the year as the Cardion AB Motoracing Team’s Karel Abraham scored a career-best third place in round 13 of the Moto2 World Championship at Motegi in Japan on Sunday. Abraham started the 23-lap race from seventh place on the grid his best qualifying performance of the year and was holding eighth place after the first lap. The Czech Republic rider then eased through to fifth by the halfway point before grabbing third from Alex de Angelis on the final lap. “To achieve a podium finish feels great,” said Abraham. “On the last lap I wasn’t sure I could get third or hold on to it but I just tried as hard as I could and it worked out.” Alex Debon, on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210, took 10th place for his fifth point-scoring finish of the year, the Spaniard battling through from 26th place on the starting grid. The FIMMCO Speed Up Team’s Andrea Iannone was making good progress and was in 11th place and in touch with the leaders until the Italian ran wide on the seventh lap, dropped to 19th and would eventually fight back to finish in 13th place. Gabor Talmacsi, a podium finisher in the last round, fought through a tough weekend in Motegi and finished the race in 21st place on the second of the FIMMCO Speed Up M210s. Iannone is third in the Championship with Talmacsi retaining sixth place while Debon sits in 12th. Abraham’s third place had moved him up to 15th in the World Championship with four rounds remaining in Malaysia, Australia, Portugal and Spain. “What a great day for Karel and the team,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “After his fourth place in Catalunya and fifth in Germany Karel looked odds on to secure a podium finish but then his heavy crash at the Czech Republic round really set him back. “He’s laid a great foundation for the remainder of the season and will now have the confidence to look for a first win on the FTR. Overall the Motegi round proved a tough one and also a strange one in terms of Andrea Iannone and Gabor Talmacsi. “After both finished on the podium in Aragon we thought they would be challenging for the win again but a lot of inconsistencies are purely down to Moto2 being a new series and the teams having no reference data from previous years.”