FIM Moto2 World Championship

Valencia, Spain

November 7, 2014

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

1. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:35.264

2. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:35.364

3. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.604

4. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:35.855

5. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.919

6. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:35.978

7. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), 1:36.029

8. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), 1:36.038

9. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 1:36.088

10. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:36.143

11. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), 1:36.204

12. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), 1:36.226

13. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 1:36.262

14. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), 1:36.405

15. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), 1:36.445

16. Lucas MAHIAS, France (TRANSFIORMERS), 1:36.470

17. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 1:36.483

18. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), 1:36.509

19. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:36.573

20. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), 1:36.575

21. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), 1:36.590

22. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:36.686

23. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:36.722

24. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:36.851

25. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:36.853

26. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), 1:37.093

27. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), 1:37.222

28. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:37.226

29. Florian MARINO, France (KALEX), 1:37.238

30. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), 1:37.331

31. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:37.606

32. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), 1:37.751

33. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:37.806

34. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:37.933

35. Tetsuta NAGASHIMA, Japan (NTS), 1:37.969

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

Zarco dominates Moto2 practice on day one at Valencia

Circuit: Comunitat Valenciana
Circuit Length: 4.005 km

Bike # 5 – Johann Zarco
FP1: P1; 1’35.376 – 24 laps
FP2: P1; 1’35.264 –19 laps

Bike # 14 – Ratthapark Wilairot
FP1: P19; 1’36.804 – 21 laps
FP2: P19; 1’36.573 – 23 laps

Weather
FP1: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 21°, (track temp) 27°
FP2: (Conditions) Wet-Dry; (air temp) 21°, (track temp) 25°

As the final round of the Moto2 Championship got underway at the Circuit Valencia, AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing rider Johann Zarco set the pace on day one, topping the timesheets in both free practice sessions.
The Frenchman was the first rider to break into the 1m35s lap times with a dominant lead of over half a second for the majority of FP1, before going on to further improve his time again in FP2.

Ratthapark Wilairot had a steady start in the morning’s session as he reacquainted himself with the #14 Caterham Suter. Getting into a rhythm the Thai rider worked hard to improve his pace, holding a top twenty position and achieving a new personal best lap time around the Spanish track.

#5 Johann Zarco: “It’s been a good day; twice finishing in first position.
I didn’t improve a lot in the afternoon but the pace was quite good. We first used the old tyre, then we put in the new tyre and I had a crash, but it was no problem because it was not a big mistake. I tried to push more and I fell down. This is also information for the team so we can find some solution to improve without having to push too hard.
I’m happy for today and I hope tomorrow to again be calm and comfortable on the bike, improve the lap time and stay in this pace.”

#14 Ratthapark Wilairot: “The first free practice was a little bit difficult for me because I had to adapt my riding style coming from Supersport back to the Moto2 bike. I feel very big in Supersport and then coming here on the Caterham Suter I feel very small, so I have to change the way I ride; I have to keep corner speed and brake harder.
From Sepang I like very much the set-up on the bike and so we started here with the same settings, only making a small change in free practice two. I improved by three tenths in the afternoon, which wasn’t too bad. Overall it’s been a good day and our top speed is the first one today, which is also good. I hope tomorrow to get the gap closer to Zarco because we have good information and I think we can continue to improve.” 

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

Fast start for new World Champion Rabat in Valencia

Valencia, Spain – 7 November 2014: The Marc VDS Racing Team’s Tito Rabat made an impressive start to his reign as new Moto2 World Champion with a top three finish at the end of the opening day of practice for the season’s final race in Valencia.

Spaniard Rabat, who claimed the Moto2 title with a 13th podium of the season in Sepang, set a personal best lap of 1.35.604 on a day he spent focusing on improving corner entry performance with his Kalex machine.

Rabat was only 0.340s off the best pace set by Johann Zarco and one place ahead of teammate Mika Kallio, who is looking to secure a 1-2 finish in the overall standings for Marc VDS Racing on Sunday to cap a dominant campaign from the Belgium-based squad.

Kallio too dedicated the majority of his time on track today to gaining more confidence on corner entry and his best lap of 1.35.855 secured him fourth spot.

Jorge Navarro took advantage of his extensive knowledge of the tight and twisty Ricardo Tormo track layout to finish just over 0.8s off the fastest pace in two exceptionally close Moto3 practice sessions.

The Spaniard was 16th quickest but satisfied with his consistent pace after making big improvements with rear grip this afternoon.

Tito Rabat // 3rd // 1’35.604

“Today felt very special as it was my first time on track since winning the World Championship in Malaysia. It was not an easy day because this morning I didn’t have the best grip with the hard tyres. I was better with the softer options this afternoon but I never have a good feeling with this track. It is very slow and tight but I could go fast in FP2 and finish in the top three. We need to work to get more entry grip because it doesn’t seem like we have as much grip as last year. But I am confident I can fight for the win on Sunday.”

Mika Kallio // 4th // 1’35.855

“I am pretty satisfied because this morning I didn’t have full confidence with the front. I struggled to turn into the corner and couldn’t push to the limit. We changed the front settings for FP2 and immediately I felt faster and I was inside the top five all of the time. I did long runs on both the soft and hard rear tyre options today and my pace was constant, but I am still 0.5s behind the top two and it seems their chassis package like always works very strong at this track. It is not easy to come to this level but we are working in the right direction to reduce the gap.”

Jorge Navarro // 16th // 1’40.503

“I am happy to start my home race strongly because throughout the day we made good steps forward with the bike. My crew did a great job improving the rear grip this afternoon because in FP1 I couldn’t open the throttle with too much confidence and the bike moved a lot. I am only 0.8s off the best time and the positive point of today.”

More, from a press release issued by AGT Rea Racing:

Gino Rea returns to action with broken foot in Valencia

Gino Rea was declared fit to ride on Friday morning at Valencia and after a brave effort, concluded the day just two seconds from the front. Rea comments on his first day out at Valencia:

“It’s been a hard day for me as my foot is still quite badly broke. Of the 3 metatarsals that I broke in Malaysia, only 2 were plated which means the 5th metatarsal is still separated. I tried to ride today but I’m unable to go as fast as I should be able to, due to the position of my foot and not being able to put any weight through it. I was only 2.0 seconds from pole but in this class that leaves you towards the back.

I may do some more laps tomorrow just to qualify and get on the grid. If the race is dry there isn’t much point in going out unless I can battle for points, which at the moment isn’t possible. If it’s wet we will reconsider. I can ride through the pain but if I bend the plates or separate the 5th metatarsal any more, I won’t be able to test in the coming weeks. For me the tests are more important because they mark the start of 2015.”

Moto2 Free Practice 3 will commence at 10.55 on Saturday with the Valencia Grand Prix qualifying session at 15.05 in the afternoon.