FIM Moto2 World Championship

Sachsenring, Germany

July 11, 2014

Free Practice Two Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):

1. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:25.333

2. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:25.407

3. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:25.588

4. Simone CORSI, Italy (KALEX), 1:25.702

5. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 1:25.787

6. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:25.797

7. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 1:25.854

8. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), 1:25.861

9. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:25.869

10. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), 1:25.886

11. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), 1:25.964

12. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 1:26.013

13. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), 1:26.099

14. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:26.130

15. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:26.165

16. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), 1:26.222

17. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), 1:26.259

18. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), 1:26.306

19. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), 1:26.430

20. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), 1:26.441

21. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:26.511

22. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), 1:26.578

23. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), 1:26.634

24. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:26.649

25. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), 1:26.733

26. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), 1:26.801

27. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:26.944

28. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:26.972

29. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:27.066

30. Josh HERRIN, USA (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:27.240

31. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:27.328

32. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), 1:27.332

33. Tetsuta NAGASHIMA, Japan (TSR), 1:27.423

34. Nina PRINZ, Germany (SPEED UP), 1:29.036

35. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), 1:29.191

More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:

Kallio and Rabat lead the way at the Sachsenring

Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany – 8 July 2014: Mika Kallio topped the timesheet after the first two free practice sessions ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, with his Marc VDS teammate, Tito Rabat, just 0.074s back in second place.

The Sachsenring is demanding on tyres, especially the left hand side of the rear and Kallio arrived in Germany concerned that the rear tyre allocation for this race – hard and hard plus – would affect him more than his rivals, as it did in the races at Mugello and Catalunya.

While rear grip was lacking, it was the same for all the riders and Kallio’s fastest time of the day actually came on the harder of the two allocated tyre options, which bodes well for the race.

Rabat declared himself happy overall with second place today, but will focus on sector two tonight, as this is where he was losing most time to his teammate this afternoon.

It was another tough day for Livio Loi at the Sachsenring. The 17-year-old Belgian finishing 33rd on combined times, after struggling to find a workable set up on his KTM Moto3 machine. Loi improved his lap time in this afternoon’s 40-minute session, but is still missing two seconds compared to the riders in the lower half of the top ten.

Mika Kallio // 1st // 1’25.333

“I’m happy to be quickest today, especially as we were a little concerned we were going to suffer the same issues we’d had previously with the harder rear tyres. We were right about the grip, as there wasn’t that much, but this time it wasn’t just me who struggled with it, it was the same for everyone. We started with the same set up we ran at Assen and, other than a couple of small changes, it’s worked well. It means our base setting is good, which is something we’ve been chasing since the start of the season. This morning we ran the hard rear and this afternoon we tried the hard plus, the harder of the two available options, with positive results. The rear grip was better everywhere on the harder tyre and it was on this that I set my fastest lap.”

Tito Rabat // 2nd // 1’25.407

“For the first day here at the Sachsenring the lap time and position on the timesheet is not so bad, especially as I’ve never had a good first day at this track before. Of course we still need to improve, especially in sector two, but this is something I’ll sit down with the team to discuss tonight. Like always, grip is not so easy to find here, but it’s the same for everyone.”

Livio Loi // 33rd // 1’30.170

“When I’m on the bike it feels like I’m on the limit, but the lap time says otherwise. There is a lot of movement from the bike, on the brakes, on the throttle, basically everywhere, whatever I do. We have some work to do, because it’s not just one thing we need to fix, there are many things that aren’t working right now. Tonight I will sit down with the team and go through the data from both sessions and, hopefully, we can find something for tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:

Challenging Start for AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing on Day One at Sachsenring

Circuit: Sachsenring

Circuit Length: 3.671 m

Bike # 5 – Johann Zarco

FP1: P8; 1’26.049 – 13 laps

FP2: P14; 1’26.130 –24 laps

Bike # 2 – Josh Herrin

FP1: P30; 1’27.714 – 24 laps

FP2: P30; 1’27.240 – 24 laps

Weather

FP1: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 21°, (track temp) 32°

FP2: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 25°, (track temp) 39°

The German Grand Prix saw a challenging day one for the AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing Team.

After a strong start an unfortunate crash in FP1 hampered Johann Zarco’s chance to improve his time as he was forced to return to the box and sit out of the remainder of the session. Heading back out for FP2 the Frenchman worked hard to pick up the pace but struggled with his feeling on the #5 bike.

Teammate Josh Herrin focused on getting to grips with the trying layout of the 3.671 m circuit, putting in the laps and making steady progress throughout.

#5 Johann Zarco: “I’m not so happy about this first day because I could not improve the second exit. I had a crash in the morning session and for sure this was not the best for the confidence, but this is a very technical track and it’s not easy to set the bike.

“I’m a little bit frustrated at the moment but the most important day is Sunday and also to get a good qualifying position tomorrow.

“I feel better on the track this year and I can understand compared to the year before what my problem was and which way we need to go to be fast here, so I have no doubt for this. I just hope my feeling on the bike will improve and I will not be on the crash limit to do the lap time, so we will see tomorrow.”

#2 Josh Herrin: “The track is definitely harder to learn compared to the others that we have been to, but we were closer than normal in the second session, so I am pleased with that. On the last lap in FP2 I know I would have done a high 1m26s but I made a mistake in the last segment. My ideal time was 1m26.6s which would have put us around P23. Considering this I’m happy with how today went.

“Tomorrow we just have a couple of little things which will be important to work on, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there. I’m really enjoying the track, it’s a lot of fun and I like the elevation change. It is difficult but at the same time it’s great to ride.”