FIM Moto2 World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 5 Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 23 laps, 41:38.888 2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), -4.141 seconds 3. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), -8.409 4. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), -10.331 5. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), -11.661 6. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), -12.383 7. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), -12.602 8. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), -13.467 9. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), -16.612 10. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), -16.735 11. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), -17.031 12. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), -18.460 13. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (SUTER), -22.933 14. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), -23.416 15. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), -23.449 16. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), -24.070 17. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), -24.111 18. Carmelo MORALES, Spain (MORIWAKI), -25.351 19. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), -29.249 20. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), -35.077 21. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), -41.666 22. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), -52.103 23. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), -62.492 24. Kev COGHLAN, Great Britain (FTR), -76.294 25. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), -5 laps, DNF, crash 26. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), -8 laps, DNF, crash 27. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (SUTER), -8 laps, DNF, crash 28. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), -8 laps, DNF, crash 29. Javier FORES, Spain (SUTER), -12 laps, DNF, retired 30. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), -16 laps, DNF, crash 31. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), -18 laps, DNF, crash 32. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), -18 laps, DNF, crash 33. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), -18 laps, DNF, crash 34. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), -20 laps, DNF, crash 35. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), -21 laps, DNF, retired 36. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), -23 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 17 races): 1. Bradl, 102 points 2. Corsi, 59 3. TIE, Iannone/Simon, 49 5. TIE, Takahashi/Luthi, 47 7. Marquez, 45 8. De Angelis, 42 9. Aleix Espargaro, 31 10. Smith, 27 11. TIE, Aegerter/Krummenacher, 24 13. Pirro, 21 14. Rabat, 18 15. TIE, Cluzel/Neukirchner, 14 17. TIE, Pol Espargaro/Yonny Hernandez, 13 19. Baldolini, 11 20. TIE, Kallio/Coghlan, 8 22. Di Meglio, 7 23. TIE, Redding/Corti/West, 5 26. Wilairot, 4 27. Pasini, 3 28. TIE, Simeon/Cardus, 2 30. Pons, 1 More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Xavier Siméon receives first championship points at the Gran Premio de Catalunya Xavier Siméon finished the Gran Premio Aperol de Catalunya in 14th position today and earned his first two well-deserved points in his first full Moto2 campaign. After leading the group most of the session in Warm up this morning, which he finished second at the end he could build up on his confidence and ride a solid race afterwards. The 22-year-old Rookie had a non-outstanding start, but was stable throughout the whole race and able to catch up the positions from his 31st starting spot to finish in 14th. Siméon is currently 28th in the Moto2 championship 2011. Xaviér Siméon, 14th – 2 points: “I am happy. Okay, we had some crashes in front, but that is racing. I had a normal start, nothing really special, but I was impressed as I could overtake so many riders. After the first lap I was already 21st. My rhythm was good, but at the end my tyre started to slide a lot and it was difficult to stay with the group. If I could have kept my pace I would have been able to be with the group of Bradley that was fighting for 5th but I could not get these three tenths. I am happy to get my first points of the year though. I think it was a good race. If I can qualify better in the future, I am sure I can also get a better position at the end.” Hervé Poncharal, Team Manager: “We were really happy to see him on top of the time sheets this morning. He ended up second in warm up and I think that was something that gave his moral a boost. In the race he has not done anything spectacular, but he has ridden a solid race and we can see his improvements race after race. Scoring points in Moto2 is not easy and that is what he has done. I want to congratulate him for that. Carry on like you are doing now and I am sure the results will be coming.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: No luck for sensational Smith in Catalunya Tech 3 Racing Team rider Bradley Smith put on an all-action display for a crowd of over 81,000 fans during the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya this afternoon, but bad luck ended his bid for a maiden podium finish in the ultra-competitive Moto2 class. Smith’s 19th position on the result sheet doesn’t do justice to a fantastic ride from the impressive British rookie, who set the fastest lap of the 23-lap encounter with a 1.47.762, while also producing an overtaking masterclass. The 20-year-old lost eight places on the opening lap, but he immediately set about recovering from 14th and was straight into a fast rhythm. By the end of lap four he was already on the fringes of the top ten. But jus t when he was poised to continue his rapid progression through the field, he was lucky not to crash having been caught up in a high speed crash involving Thomas Luthi and 2010 Catalunya Moto2 winner Yuki Takahashi. Smith’s Mistral 610 machine suffered damage to the bodywork and he dropped back to 18th while he battled to adjust a bent clutch lever. The incident barely knocked Smith out of his stride and a series of breathtaking overtakes saw him move into the top six on lap 16. Eighth going into the final lap, Smith was trying to fight his way into contention for a top six when he ran off track having clipped a damp white line in the braking zone for Turn 10. He brilliantly kept control of his Mistral 610 machine to finish 19th, a result which didn’t show his true potential. Today’s race though proved Smith has the capability to fight at the front when he takes part in his crucial home race at Silverstone next weekend. The fifth round of the 2011 World Championship was a tough affair for Mike di Meglio. Starting from a lowly 29th on the grid, the Frenchman made a typically aggressive start and was poised to break into the top 20 when he crashed out unhurt on lap six. Bradley Smith 19th 27 points: “That was a disappointing race obviously, even if I made a lot of overtakes and set the fastest lap of the race, it was not the outcome we wanted. I was on the wet part of the track at the start and then I had a lot of wheelspin, so I lost a few places. I was working my way through the field and then there was the accident with Lüthi and Takahashi and my fairing broke and the impact affected the clutch, so I was playing around with the clutch for nearly half a lap to try and get it working again. But I was lucky not to crash and it was a big moment. Then I st arted to catch the group again and had a very good feeling and I was in the battle for fifth. But the clutch started to have a problem at the end of the race. It started with the incident earlier and I think it was just a little bit worn out at the end. I actually ran off because my rear tyre touched the white line and it was still damp from the rain and I was lucky not to crash. I am now really excited to go to Silverstone for my home race. It is another track that is fast and flowing like here, so I think that is definitely going to suit our bike. It is disappointing I didn’t get any points at this race, but we can’t be negative, there were so many positive things. I’m sure we will be fighting again at the front at Silverstone.” Mike di Meglio DNF 7 points: “It has been very difficult for me this weekend. After the crash this morning my bike had some damage and I l ost oil because of that. I felt immediately that I was losing oil and I lost the front and my race was over. I am really disappointed as another time I had a really difficult weekend and we still are looking for the reasons. I hope we will find a solution for the next race at Silverstone.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager: “Since the beginning of the season we’ve had a lot of bad luck, but I thought this period was over. Bradley’s start was average, but he recovered incredibly well. When I saw him getting fastest lap after fastest lap I thought there was a really good chance of a really good result, maybe even a podium. But he had some bad luck again and that is frustrating, because he was really demonstrating his talent and the potential of the Mistral 610 machine, That he had the fastest lap of the race gives us some confidence that he had the chance to be a potential podium finisher today and we know Bradley’s first podium isn’t going to be too far away. Mike crashed today, as there was a very small crack in the crankcase that leaked some oil on the tyre and that was the reason for his crash. But he has never been on the pace the whole weekend, so he has to do something about that. The only good point is that Bradley is in a good shape and he is fast and we go to a track where he can be very competitive for the Tech 3 Racing Team.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of Catalunya, De Angelis rescues weekend with 6th The JiR Team headed by Gianluca Montiron took a 6th place finish today, which rescues, in part, a weekend in which the official MotoBI and the rider Alex De Angelis suffered. Starting from 20th on the grid the rider was 28th after the first lap and then conducted a cautious race struggling a bit to find feeling with his MotoBI, but maintaining contact with the middle pack. While the German Stefan Bradl was building to an authoritative victory, De Angelis improved his pace lap-after-lap, exploiting the talents of his MotoBI which proved once again to be effective over long distance. In the last third of the race Alex was finally able to exploit his experience finishing behind the German Randy Krummenacher. Team and rider leave the Montmelò circuit with a bitter taste in the mouth waiting to find the right key to unlock the machine’s potential and allow Alex De Angelis to fight in the major positions throughout the race weekend. Gianluca Montiron This was a final result that partially redeemed a difficult weekend. Friday, after the first round, we returned to the 2010 frame that gave us the provisional third time, but then we struggled to repeat the best performance in qualifying, so much that Alex remained more than four-tenths off the time recorded on Friday. Because of the three falls in Estoril we replaced the engine and most likely with this unit we suffer a performance deficiency. We too must find the right key to make the bike perform better. After the experience of last season we did a major development on the frame configuration in 2011 which allows many more settings, but this obviously requires more time for development. Expectations have been high, but I have faith in what we have at our disposal. We have a first-level team and a rider who is a top rider in a category that is more competitive than the past year. At Silverstone the teams will receive all the new engines serviced by Geo Technology and we are going to face a long series of close races, so it is important that the team maintains the clarity of direction and that the rider can be consistent even under adverse conditions, this is the difference needed to be a champion. Alex DeAngelis I must say that compared to the problems we had yesterday and how the race started 6th place is not bad at all. After the green light I did the best I could to not lose too many positions and slowly in the first half of the race I made up positions. The feeling increased lap-after-lap until I came to the first group of riders and here I could make a nice pace. Unfortunately, we are paying for a lack of power from the engine, this substitute engine loses some speed and of course the opponents take advantage, especially with slipstreaming. However, I must thank my technicians who put in my hands a MotoBI really excellent in terms of set-up, thanks to which I managed to stay competitive on the brakes and in twisty parts of the track. For the next race at Silverstone we all have new engines and we’ll be able to see if the performance is influenced, but it is certain that we too must remain focused and invest time and energy to make our MotoBI more competitive to fight for the first positions. More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR MARC VDS IN CATALUNYA The Marc VDS Racing Team ended its search for its first Moto2 World Championship points of 2011 today, as Mika Kallio and Scott Redding finished in eighth and 11th positions respectively at the end of an enthralling Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. Kallio produced his best performance of the season in the 23-lap encounter, the Finnish rider battling for the top six right until the final stages of a crash-strewn race that was played out in front of a huge Spanish crowd of over 81,000 fans. Kallio was engaged in a nail-biting six-rider battle for most of the second half of the race, which was run on a completely dry track after heavy overnight and early morning rain had drenched the challenging Montmelo circuit for the warm-up session. The wet weather though changed grip levels for the race, with Kallio unable to find the same confidence and comfort with a new weight distribution setting that helped him qualify in a season best seventh position. Despite giving his maximum effort to fight his way further up the field, Kallio settled for eighth place to score eight World Championship points Scott Redding was also right in contention for a top six finish in the opening half of the race, the British rider surging into the top ten after seven laps as he illustrated his growing confidence with the Marc VDS Racing Suter MMXI machine. The 18-year-old caught and passed Kallio on lap eight, but a mistake in the braking zone for the first corner dented his hopes of a first top ten of the season. Redding dropped from ninth to 14th on lap 16 but he showed his grit and determination to fight his way back into 11th, finishing just over 0.4s behind Yonny Hernandez in ninth. Today’s result gives Redding confidence that he can fight for a top six result in his all-important home round in Silverstone next weekend. Mika Kallio #36 – 8th Position “Honestly I expected a little bit more because although I achieved our weekend target of finishing inside the top ten, a few riders crashed out in front of me and this made the result look better. But it is my first points scoring finish and this is a positive and we have found a good direction with the bike now we’ve put more weight on the rear. We didn’t change the bike at all from yesterday but the rain this morning made the grip levels worse. It is the same for everyone, but I didn’t have the same good feeling that I’d had on Friday and Saturday. With this set-up I can brake quite late but we sacrifice a bit of turning performance, which means we are a bit slower on the exit. So when I was in the group it was a problem because I kept losing ten metres on the exit and it is difficult to recover. And the guys behind can pass me easily under acceleration. We need to make a small modification to the bike to have better turning that will help us on the exit. Another positive is the gap to the winner was much less, so it proves we are making progress and are ready to fight for the top ten in every race.” Scott Redding #45 – 11th Position “I would have liked to have been higher up but I’m relieved to have finally scored some points because with zero points from the first four races, I was beginning to worry it was never going to happen. I quickly found a fast pace and it didn’t take me long to get into the top ten, so I was feeling pretty confident of even fighting for a top six. But then I got bumped wide in the first corner and that put me off the back of the group. I caught Hernandez and Neukirchner but each time I tried to pass them on brakes I couldn’t stop the bike and at the first corner I kept running wide. At times I had to stand on the rear brake to stop running into the back of people. I feel ready for Silverstone now where I’m confident after today that I’m going to fighting closer to the front, hopefully with the support of a massive home crowd who have been amazing to me in the past.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “Today was mission accomplished because the main goal was for Mika and Scott to score some points and they did. Of course we want to be higher than eighth and 11th but after the first four races where we didn’t score any points, we’ve got to be satisfied and this can give us a platform to build on for the next run of races now we’re in a vital stage of the season. Mika proved by fighting in that group for fifth that he can battle with the fastest riders in this class. He could make up time on the entry but always on the exit he lost a bit too much, so we’ll need to work in that area to help him fight even more. Scott needed a positive result with Silverstone coming up next week and thankfully he got his first points, which takes the pressure off a little bit. Everybody has to be really happy that we scored points because we’ve had a lot of pressure with so many questions to answer, but we can erase this from our minds and build on today’s result.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: Technical problem stops Al Naimi – Cardús back in the paddock Ricky Cardús made his comeback in the motorcycle paddock. The Spanish QMMF Racing Team rider, who suffered from an acute appendicitis attack on Friday and was operated on early Saturday morning, was already back on his feet on Sunday and decided to watch the race action at the Catalunya Grand Prix live rather than at home on a television screen. It was about the only good news on an otherwise unlucky day for QMMF Racing. Ricky’s team-mate Mashel Al-Naimi had a crash in the wet warm-up practice in the morning and banged his left hand badly, but walked away without any fractures. He was able to start the race in the afternoon but was forced to stop after only two laps. Not his hand but an oil leak caused by a loose clutch cover made it too dangerous to ride on. “Not a good day”, said team manager Luis Solano. “Mishal crashed in only the first lap of the warm-up this morning, and when the race had hardly started, he was sidelined again because of a problem with the clutch cover. We lost two screws, oil started to drip out, and we had to stop. It’s not the first time that we had this problem, but the other times we had this problem in practice and not in the race!” Mashel Al Naimi did not finish “This morning, I crashed in only the third corner of the first lap. I stayed too hard on the throttle though this fast right-hand corner, the bike went sideways and I went down. It was then quite painful to ride in the race, but I had a good feeling with the bike until I noticed oil dripping out of the clutch cover. I didn’t want to crash again and decided it was the best to pull in immediately. I want to thank my team that worked really hard this weekend to help me make a good result. It wasn’t meant to happen, but at least, I don’t have a broken hand. In Silverstone next week, we will try again!” More, from a press release issued by FTR Moto: FTR MOTO UP TO SECOND IN MOTO2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FTR MOTO moved into second place in the Moto2 World Championship with the IODA Racing Project Team’s Simone Corsi taking his fifth race finish of the year all inside the top seven from the five rounds so far. Corsi took fourth place in Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix on his FTR M211 which also helped promote FTR to third place in the Constructors World Championship. The 23-lap race proved a success for other FTR riders as four of the M211 machines finished inside the top 10. Promising Esteve Rabat took his best finish of the year with seventh place on his Blusens STX M211. Rabat’s Colombian team-mate Yonny Hernandez also grabbed his best result of 2011 with a hard-fought ninth place on his FTR machine. Max Neukirchner was the first of the MZ-FTRs in 10th place equalling his best result so far this year and battling through from 20th place in the early stages. Pol Espargaro, riding the HP Tuenti Speed Up FTR, finished 16th, an agonising 0.6s behind 15th and the final World Championship point. Young Frenchman Valentin Debise continues to gain experience, he finished 20th on the Speed Up Team machine, one place ahead of the SAG Team’s Santiago Hernandez with Anthony West on the second of the MZ-FTRs taking 22nd. Kev Coghlan on the Aeroport de Castello M211 was 24th. “We’re definitely improving in terms of performance and results although Simone Corsi’s fourth place today could easily have been much better but for an electrical problem,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “He rode exceptionally well and deserves to be second in the World Championship. “Right from the start of the season we felt that most of the FTR riders would begin to show signs of improvement simply through more and more time on the M211. Since the last round in France just about every team went away and tested and I think these results in Catalunya confirm that we’re heading in the right direction with our development. “We’re proud to have some young and very exciting riders on the FTR M211s and we’re hopeful of challenging for a first win of the year when they get to our home round at Silverstone next week.” More, from a press release issued by Kenny Noyes’ publicist: Weekend Full of Frustration For Kenny Noyes At Barcelona It has been a long and frustrating weekend for Kenny Noyes at the Catalunya Moto2 round. The Avintia-STX rider had been really looking forward to competing at what is Kenny’s other home Grand Prix, the Montmelo track just a few miles from his home in Barcelona. But technical issues have plagued Kenny and his Avintia-STX team all weekend long. After confusing data meant the team spent both days of practice chasing an elusive issue with his FOGI-Racing FTR emerged during practice, Kenny then crashed on a soaking and slippery track during warm up on Sunday. Though Kenny was unharmed, and his Avintia-STX team gave his FTR a thorough check before the race, a hairline fracture in the radiator caused the bike to leak water over the American’s rear tire on the warm up lap, warning Kenny that something was wrong. The bike then stalled on the grid, starting again with all of the warning lights flashing and the temperature gauge in the red zone, forcing Kenny to retire immediately. Fortunately for the American, the next race is just 7 days away at Silverstone. Still confident after the recent Aragon test, and with the lessons learned here despite the problems, Kenny is optimistic of a much better weekend at the British Grand Prix. With all of his bad luck for the season out of the way, Silverstone could be Kenny’s lucky charm. Retired on first lap Kenny said, “Well, sometimes, everything just goes wrong at once! We were real happy on Saturday night that we’d found the cause of our problems in practice, but then a big crash in the morning caused a couple more. I knew on the sighting lap that was something was wrong, because the rear kept on coming round on me. So when the bike stalled and the lights started flashing, I figured my race was over.” “It’s real frustrating, but I’m just glad there’s only a couple of days before I get back on the bike. With what we learned at Aragon, we’re looking forward to getting back on track and trying to put this thing at the front. I’ve got to put on a bit of a show, because Angus Borland from FOGI-Racing is coming to watch, so I’m bringing my A game to England!”