Moto2 tests new 600cc engines at Catalunya

The weather was a major factor across the three days of the Moto2/125cc test at the Circuit de Catalunya, as the Moto2 and 125cc riders present at the track tried to make the most of the time available across the three days which finished on Friday.

The Moto2 riders worked on their chassis set-ups, with the official Honda 600cc engines due for testing at the first official Moto2/125cc test at Valencia from March 1-3. Mapfre Aspar rider Julián Simón, Tech3’s Yuki Takahashi and Technomag-CIP rider Shoya Tomizawa were the joint-fastest Moto2 riders of the test with an unofficial time of 1’49.3. Joining the pair under the 1’50" mark were Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing, Suter), Yonny Hérnandez (Blusens-STX, BQR-Moto2), Kenny Noyes (Jack&Jones by A. Banderas) and Anthony West (MZ Racing).

Wednesday and Friday were largely affected by wet conditions from overnight rain, with Thursday met by sun for most of the day. A number of riders also experienced crashes on the middle day, with the two most affected being Alex Debón (Team Aeroport de Castelló, FTR) who fractured a collarbone and Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR, Suter) who dislocated his left shoulder after a productive first day.

Rolfo and team-mate Robertino Pietri were the only Moto2 riders out on Wednesday morning, but by the afternoon Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing, Suter), Hérnandez and his team-mate Mashel Al Naimi had all ridden, as had G22 HolidayGym’s Fonsi Nieto and Yannick Guerra.

Tech3 pair Raffaele de Rosa and Takahashi and Mapfre Aspar’s Simón and Mike di Meglio opted against riding on Wednesday, instead choosing to start on Thursday due to the conditions. Simón and Di Meglio both experienced falls, but were able to carry on for the rest of the day and also rode on Friday, as did the Tech3 riders.

Pons Racing duo Axel Pons and Sergio Gadea used all three days to continue their acclimatisation to their Kalex prototypes, as did Tomizawa’s Technomag-CIP team-mate Dominique Aegerter on his Suter. Kiefer Racing pair Stefan Bradl and Vladimir Leonov also got some valuable time in on the two latter days.

Other Moto2 riders also present to work on their bikes included Claudio Corti (Forward Racing), Alex Baldolini (Caretta Technology Race Dept), Gabor Talmacsi (Speed Up), Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing) and Vincent Lonbois (Marc VDS Racing).

In the 125cc category, there were a number of World Championship hopefuls present. Pol Espargaró’s unofficial time of 1’52.9 was the fastest across the three days, and he was followed closely by Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), Efrén Vázquez (Bainet Derbi), Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport), and Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) all taking the opportunity to get some valuable track time in.

Moto2
1 – Julian Simon – Mapfre Aspar Team – 1’49.3
2 – Shoya Tomizawa – Technomag-CIP – 1’49.3
3 – Yuki Takahashi – Tech 3 Racing – 1’49.3
4 – Jules Cluzel – Forward Racing – 1’49.4
5 – Anthony West – MZ – 1’49.4
6 – Yonni Hernández – Blusens STX – 1’49.6
7 – Kenny Noyes – Jack&Jones by A. Banderas- 1’49.9
8 – Mike di Meglio – Mapfre Aspar Team – 1’50.0
9 – Roberto Rolfo – Italtrans STR – 1’50.0
10 – Claudio Corti – Forward Racing – 1’50.1
11 – Stefan Bradl – Viessmann Kiefer Racing – 1’50.3
12 – Alex Baldolini – Caretta Technology – 1’50.3
13 – Raffaele De Rosa – Tech 3 Racing – 1’50.5
14 – Sergio Gadea – Pons Racing – 1’50.5
15 – Fonsi Nieto – G22 HolidayGym – 1’50.7
16 – Axel Pons – Pons Racing – 1’50.7
17 – Dominique Aegerter – Technomag-CIP – 1’50.7
18 – Thomas Luthi – Interwetten Moriwaki Racing- 1’50.8
19 – Scott Redding – Marc Vds Racing Team – 1’51.1
20 – Mashel Al Naimi – Blusens STX – 1’51.2
21 – Robertino Pietri – Italtrans STR – 1’51.7
22 – Joan Olivé – Jack&Jones by A. Banderas- 1’51.9
23 – Vladimir Leonov – Vector Kiefer Racing – 1’52.3
24 – Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – 1’52.8
25 – Vincent Lonbois – Marc Vds Racing Team – 1’52.8
26 – Yannick Guerra – G22 HolidayGym – 1’53.2

125cc
1 – Pol Espargaró – Bainet Derbi – 1’52.9
2 – Nicolás Terol – Bancaja Aspar Team – 1’53.2
3 – Efrén Vázquez – Bainet Derbi – 1’53.5
4 – Bradley Smith – Bancaja Aspar Team – 1’53.5
5 – Esteve Rabat – Blusens STX – 1’53.9
6 – Marc Márquez – Red Bull Ajo Motorsport – 1’54.0
7 – Alberto Moncayo – Andalucia Cajasol – 1’54.8


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