FIM Moto2 World Championship Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar April 8, 2012 Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 20 laps, 40:34.225 2. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SPEED UP), -0.061 second 3. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KALEX), -1.412 seconds 4. Esteve RABAT, Spain (KALEX), -1.639 5. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), -3.981 6. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (KALEX), -6.768 7. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SPEED UP), -6.794 8. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), -6.986 9. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), -10.828 10. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), -11.379 11. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), -12.750 12. Johann ZARCO, France (MOTOBI), -14.121 13. Toni ELIAS, Spain (SUTER), -17.634 14. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), -17.875 15. Julian SIMON, Spain (FTR), -17.894 16. Claudio CORTI, Italy (KALEX), -19.014 17. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), -19.114 18. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), -28.802 19. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (SUTER), -36.598 20. Angel RODRIGUEZ, Spain (FTR), -36.738 21. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (MORIWAKI), -37.147 22. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), -37.443 23. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), -39.523 24. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (AJR), -45.260 25. Anthony WEST, Australia (MORIWAKI), -53.786 26. Gino REA, Great Britain (MORIWAKI), -54.008 27. Marco COLANDREA, Switzerland (FTR), -79.054 28. Alexander LUNDH, Sweden (MZ FTR), -79.071 29. Elena ROSELL, Spain (MORIWAKI), -95.150 30. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (KALEX), -1 lap, pitted 31. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), -2 laps, DNF, crash 32. Nasser Hasan AL MALKI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), -10 laps, DNF, retired 33. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), -17 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 1 of 17 races): 1. Marquez, 25 points 2. Iannone, 20 3. Espargaro, 16 4. Rabat, 13 5. Luthi, 11 6. Redding, 10 7. Di Meglio, 9 8. Corsi, 8 9. Smith, 7 10. Kallio, 6 More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: A good start for Zarco and Team JiR in Qatar with 12th position Team JiR and rider Johann Zarco got their 2012 championship underway with a solid points-scoring finish this evening in Doha. The 21-year-old French rider kept his head and worked his way up from 19th on the grid to finally finish a very creditable 12th at the flag. Johann made a good start from his grid position to be 16th at the end of the first lap. From there he kept up a steady pace and a good rhythm to finish well within the points scoring positions. The race was very exciting and was won by Spaniard Marc Márquez, from Andrea Iannone. Gianluca Montiron At the end of the day, we are satisfied with Johann’s work today, as he made a very good race, very consistent and his lap times were better than at any other time over the weekend. Every time he went out on the Losail circuit he improved his times so this shows that he is learning to ride a Moto2 machine. My target was top 15, so I think 12th was a good result! We’re positive for the future and we now go to Jerez to make further improvements. I think the most important point is to continue in this way, which includes the team continuing to work well together. We are using new suspension and at the end of the race the tyres were in good condition so we know we have a margin with which to improve our performance and I think the team know a little more about the character of this MotoBI chassis, so overall we are confident. The race itself was very spectacular. I think the level of competition is quite high and we can see some new guys up at the front so I personally hope for more spectacular races like this which will be for the benefit of our sport. Johann Zarco Final position: 12th I’m happy with our work tonight. I know I didn’t hit my target of 10th position, but we must remember I started from 19th position, so that’s not too bad a result for us, I think. Most important of all, I’m learning from this experience, so I’m pleased that I did all 20 laps and enjoyed them all. I think our result is all the stronger when you realise that not many riders dropped out of the race. I think ahead of me only Alex De Angelis and Max Neukirchner dropped out, so many riders finished the race and we took some good points. I’m also happy as during the race my pace was quite good and I did my best times of the weekend, so now we need to look at the data and understand what I did differently on the bike. We made some improvements to my MotoBI and this made the bike less nervous, more stable and therefore easier to ride, which helped me finish the race. My target is still a top 10 and this is what I will be aiming for at Jerez. I know I was a good 125cc rider and I know I will make it as a good Moto2 rider. I know that I need to work hard and be consistent. More, from a press release issued by Speed Master Moto2 Team: QATAR GP: IANNONE ON THE SECOND STEP OF THE PODIUM, DI MEGLIO FINISHES WITHIN THE TOP-10 The first event of the Moto2 World Championship was held today, at the circuit of Losail. Andrea Iannone was one of the protagonists of the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar: starting from the third spot on the grid, the rider from Abruzzo joined the leading group immediately. After a great battle with Marc Marquez, Andrea crossed the finishing line in second position, as he achieved his first 20 points in the general classification. It was a great race for Di Meglio, too, who stayed within the top 10 constantly throughout the race. The Frenchman was just a few positions behind his team mate, confirming his competitivity. Mike leaves Qatar with 9 points in his poket, after finishing the race with the seventh placement. Andrea Iannone #29 – 2nd “This was a tough race: since the beginning the other riders had a good rhythm and were very fast, but we weren’t too far from them. I managed to stay in the leading group and within the top riders till the end. Marc Marquez was faster and it was difficult to stay behind him, in particular when Marc and Luthi went away. In the last laps I eventually got closer. There was no chance to do any better than this, but we are still taking home a good result. Congratulations to all the riders, they proved to be very fit: it’ll be a great championship. Thanks to the whole team for the incredible commitment they showed during the weekend.” Mike di Meglio #63″”7th “I’m sorry I couldn’t finish the race with a better result. A problem with the chattering prevented us from showing the great work we did on track during these days. We know we can do well, today we just couldn’t push any further because I would have crashed. I hope we’ll be luckier in Jerez and that we’ll have the chance to fight for a good position. I really want to thank the team for the work they’ve done, I hope I can give them a good result as a reward next time.” More, from a press release issued by Mapfre Aspar Team: Qatar GP – 08/04/12 – Losail International Circuit – Moto2 Race ELÍAS GAINS PLACES AND TEROL GAINS EXPERIENCE IN QATAR Elías takes three points from 13th place finish and debutant Terol concludes Moto2 debut in 23rd The winter break was a distant memory when the Moto2 riders took to the grid in Qatar, as the fiercely competitive class returned for another thrilling race. Thomas Luthi had dominated practice, but the Sunday contest was a different matter as a close lead group formed early on. Márquez, Iannone, Espargaró and Luthi were all in contention for the win, but it was Márquez who managed to take the victory after first passing Luthi -who ran wide on the straight- and then holding off Iannone on the line. It was an exciting start to 2012 that would have had every spectator on the edge of their seat. The MAPFRE Aspar riders had two very different starts in Losail, but both showed consistent fight as they tried to make the best of a difficult Qatar GP. Toni Elías had qualified 17th on the grid and had moved up into the top ten before the first lap was over, although he gradually lost positions due to a grip problem that had plagued him for the entire weekend. Despite everything, he managed to take the chequered flag in thirteenth place and take his first three points of the season. Nico Terol also had a hard time on track, debuting in the Moto2 class. A run-off early on left him refocusing his strategy, and he brought his bike home in 23rd to continue his adaptation to the intermediate category. 13th Toni Elías: “I made a very good start and put myself into the top ten on the opening lap. I had faith that a good start would set us up for a very good race -to tell the truth I was expecting more from this race. The opening laps went fairly well, but then I suffered just like I did in practice. I want to be positive and look at the three points from Losail as something that will be useful for us in the future. We gave our all, worked really hard and know that we did our best here. It was a really hard race in which we had plenty of battles, but the good thing is that we leave Qatar with plenty of data to analyse. I hope that we take a significant step forward at Jerez.” 23rd Nico Terol: “My debut race in Moto2 was rather difficult and today I could see that this class is a world apart from 125cc. The weekend wasn’t easy, but I am satisfied because we progressed well. The big setback was the qualifying session, in which I didn’t have the best of feelings and ended up far back on the grid. That made things more complicated and I needed to make a comeback through the field, but when I tried this I ran long on the straight. From then on I took things more calmly and tried to pick up experience. I know that there is still a long way to go, but we are here to work and I am convinced that -with this team behind me- sooner or later we will be cutting the gap between ourselves and the front group. This opening race will help me to learn from my mistakes. We have to improve our performance in qualifying, the race start and the opening laps. I am satisfied, though, because we gave our all.” More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia Racing: Blusens Avintia rider Julián Simón rides at a good pace and finally scores after a bad start Losail, 8 April 2012. After the training practices Julián was convinced that he could achieve a good result today but he also knew that making a good start was crucial. Unfortunately it was not possible. Not being able to be in the pack from the very beginning has conditioned the whole race for the Villacañas-born rider who however managed to ride at a good pace and posted times that were quite close to those of the riders in the top ten. The issues related to the slight rebounces on the front and rear whel assemblies that he experienced during the training practices – could not have been sorted before the race and made it even more difficult for him to catch up. Moto2 is a very hard-fought category and the slightest problem can change the result. The Blusens Avintia Moto2 team will work on in order to improve the front and rear wheel asemblies whereas Julián swears that he will give a better performance at the GP of Jerez. 60 Julián Simón (15º 40.52.119 +17.894): “It has been a difficult and harsh race. I made a bad start and I did not take the first turn in a good position and I remained outside and many riders passed me. I have tried to catch up as much as I could and I thought for a while that I could reach the top eight but it turned out to be impossible. The issues related to the rebounces worsened lap after lap and there wasn’t much more that I could do. The team worked relentlessly to provide me with a perfect bike and I would like to thank them for that. I gave 100% even though it is not reflected by the resut. But it didn’t put me off we are going to Jerez now and I am sure that we will do better, you’ll see.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing: West learns a lot and gains confidence for the future Elena Rosell pushes on to a heroic race finish Even though the final results were not what QMMF Racing had hoped for, the season-opening home race for the team at Qatar was still a milestone to be proud of. New QMMF rider Anthony West, who jumped in without any pre-season testing at all, learned enough about the bike over the weekend in order to give the technicians the input they need to make the overall package more competitive. Elena Rosell celebrated a personal victory, because she rode through the pain barrier with a fractured pelvis and an inflamed shoulder to score a heroic race finish. Wild Card entry Nasser Hasan Al Malki ran into bad luck and was forced to stop with a slow rear tyre puncture. Anthony West 25th “We learned a lot in the race. 25th is definitely not where I want to be, but it was the first time for me on the bike and it is the position we have to expect. The race was really good in one respect, because it gave me time to understand the bike. I actually changed my riding quite a lot to suit the bike and riding by myself for a long time made me understand what the bike needs. We can improve the package, but we need to work hard to get close to the front. I am confident we can do it, because we now know what is wrong with the bike. I am happy the team gave me this chance and I’ll be doing the best I can!” Elena Rosell 29th “It was a very tough race for me because my inflamed shoulder still hurts like hell. In the beginning, I was able to ride at a good pace and I could hang on to the group with my team-mates Nasser, Anthony and Lundh. Later on, they were too fast for me, because it was really hard to maintain my rhythm due to the shoulder problem. But I managed to finish the race which makes me happy, especially for my team that put such an effort in to get things right for me!” Nasser Hasan Al Malki did not finish “At the start of the race, I was in a good position and wanted to push more in order to pass some riders, but as soon as I tried, I noticed that something was wrong with the bike. It started moving a lot and there was no way to stay with the others. I rode on and was close to crashing on a few occasions, so after ten laps, I decided to pull in. We checked the tyre pressure and it was down to 0.7 almost nothing! I was lucky that nothing happened, but of course it was bad luck at the same time!”