Moto2 Results
The second race of the new Moto2 World Championship was an edge-of-the-seat thriller, with a group of eight riders battling for the win, the lead changing several times on most laps. The race was restarted after a second lap pile-up which claimed seven riders after Qatar winner Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter) fell at the Dry Sack hairpin, dropping oil on the circuit.
All the fallers were able to take the restart.
Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) won the shortened, 17 lap restart after a breathtaking race-long battle with the leading group. At the flag there were just 2.5 seconds covering the first eight men home, with less than half a second covering the podium finishers.
During the final laps the pace heated up considerably, Elias fighting back and forth with runner-up Tomizawa and third-place finisher Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki). Luthi had led the previous two laps but Elias grabbed the lead as the pack charged into Turn One for the final time, only to run wide at the Dry Sack hairpin, almost gifting the lead to Tomizawa. Elias held on for the win, despite still suffering from the nasty left-hand injury he sustained at Jerez during preseason tests.
Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) finished three tenths behind Luthi, with Simone Corsi (Jar Moto2, Motobi), Sergio Gadea (Pons Racing, Kalex), Kenny Noyes (Jack & Jones by A.Banderas, PromoHarris) and Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, RSV) following right behind. Of this group, GP rookie Noyes had played the biggest role in the early race contest, muscling his way into the lead on several occasions, only to slip back a few places as the race moved towards its climax.
MotoGP now travels north west from Jerez to reconvene in the Sarthe area of France at Le Mans, for the French GP on May 21/22/23.
MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES
Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki)says: "I am not disappointed not to be in MotoGP. I took the decision to move down to Moto2. Maybe it was a risk, but so far everything is good. We have come through a difficult few weeks, since I got hurt here in preseason testing. I am still not 100 per cent, my left hand is still a problem. I got fourth in Qatar and I won today but I suffered a lot during the race because my physical condition isn’t 100 per cent. The setup of my machine is also not perfect, so we must work on that. I fought a lot in the race, it was very tough, but in the end I could win. I am very, very happy and I cannot wait for Le Mans because my physical condition will be much better there, so I can be more relaxed."
Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter) says: "I am so, so sorry for the crash because many other riders crashed on the oil that came from my machine when I crashed. I made a mistake when Corsi tried to pass me. We both tried to release our brakes to make more room, but my bike shook, he closed my line and I couldn’t avoid him. It was my mistake. Before the restart my mechanics had to work very, very hard in the pit box. They repair my machine 100 per cent, so I could go again. I trust their work, so I could give full gas. I tried but Toni is so fast. We had a good three days here – good Friday, good Saturday, good Sunday – so now we hope we can find a good solution when we get to Le Mans.
Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki)says: "After the first start there were some very strong overtakes and I was thinking this race was going to be crazy, because riders were hitting each other very hard in the first laps. The restart seemed to be better. I got a better start and I had a better first lap, so I could ride with the lead group. My bike felt really good, so then I was able to take the lead. I thought maybe I could go faster, but the others held my slipstream and I couldn’t get away. Anyway, a podium finish is great, especially for our team which is completely new. My thanks to them all – they are a great team."
Pole position : 1m44.372s (152.558Km/h) Shoya Tomizawa, Technomag-CIP
Fastest lap : Lap 14 – 1m44.710s (152.065Km/h) Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini
Circuit record lap : 1m44.710s (152.065Km/h) Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini, 2010
Circuit Best Lap : 1m44.372s (152.558Km/h) Shoya Tomizawa, Technomag-CIP, 2010
| 1 | Toni Elias | 29m58.726s | SPA | HONDA | Gresini Racing Moto2 |
| 2 | Shoya Tomizawa | +0.190s | JPN | HONDA | Technomag-CIP |
| 3 | Thomas Luthi | +0.261s | SWI | HONDA | Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 |
| 4 | Yuki Takahashi | +0.558s | JAP | HONDA | Tech 3 Racing |
| 5 | Simone Corsi | +1.449s | ITA | HONDA | JiR Moto2 |
| 6 | Sergio Gadea | +1.496s | SPA | HONDA | Tenerife 40 Pons |
| 7 | Kenny Noyes | +2.215s | USA | HONDA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas |
| 8 | Julian Simon | +2.576s | SPA | HONDA | Mapfre Aspar Team |
| 9 | Gabor Talmacsi | +3.825s | HUN | HONDA | Fimmco Speed Up |
| 10 | Yonny Hernandez | +6.691s | COL | HONDA | Blusens-STX |
| 11 | Jules Cluzel | +8.123s | FRA | HONDA | Forward Racing |
| 12 | Roberto Rolfo | +11.965s | ITA | HONDA | Italtrans S.T.R. |
| 13 | Dominique Aegerter | +12.190s | SWI | HONDA | Technomag-CIP |
| 14 | Stefan Bradl | +12.295s | GER | HONDA | Viessman Kiefer Racing |
| 15 | Anthony West | +12.545s | AUS | HONDA | MZ Racing |
| 16 | Scott Redding | +12.678s | GBR | HONDA | Marc VDS Racing Team |
| 17 | Ratthapark Wilairot | +13.548s | THA | HONDA | Thai Honda PTT SAG |
| 18 | Claudio Corti | +15.642s | ITA | HONDA | Forward Racing |
| 19 | Axel Pons | +16.740s | SPA | HONDA | Tenerife 40 Pons |
| 20 | Raffaele De Rosa | +19.368s | ITA | HONDA | Tech 3 Racing |
| 21 | Fonsi Nieto | +20.956s | SPA | HONDA | G22 Holiday Gym |
| 22 | Mike De Meglio | +21.129s | FRA | HONDA | Mapfre Aspar Team |
| 23 | Vladimir Ivanov | +31.224s | RUS | HONDA | Gresini Racing Moto2 |
| 24 | Robertino Pietri | +31.275s | VEN | HONDA | Italtrans S.T.R. |
| 25 | Alex Debon | +33.283s | SPA | HONDA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo |
| 26 | Lukas Pesek | +34.090s | CZE | HONDA | Matteoni C.P. Racing |
| 27 | Bernat Martinez | +38.705s | SPA | HONDA | Maquinza-SAG Team |
| 28 | Karel Abraham | +39.384s | CZE | HONDA | Cardion AB Motoracing |
| 29 | Arne Tode | +43.839s | GER | HONDA | Racing Team Germany |
| 30 | Amadeo Llados | +46.896s | SPA | HONDA | Llados Racing Team |
| 31 | Valentin Debise | +47.080s | FRA | HONDA | WTR San Marino Team |
| 32 | Alex Baldolini | +47.216s | ITA | HONDA | Caretta Technology Race Dept |
| 33 | Yannick Guerra | +47.777s | SPA | HONDA | G22 Holiday Gym |
| 34 | Mashel Al Naimi | +56.595s | QAT | HONDA | Blusens-STX |
| 35 | Ivan Moreno | +9 Laps | SPA | HONDA | Andalucia Cajasol |
| 36 | Niccolo Canepa | +9 Laps | ITA | HONDA | RSM Team Scot |
| 37 | Mattia Pasini | +11 Laps | ITA | HONDA | JiR Moto2 |
| 38 | Hector Faubel | +15 Laps | SPA | HONDA | Marc VDS Racing Team |
| 39 | Andrea Iannone | DNF Lap 1 | ITA | HONDA | Fimmco Speed Up |
| 1 | Shoya Tomizawa | 45 pts | JPN | HONDA | Technomag-CIP |
| 2 | Toni Elias | 38 pts | SPA | HONDA | Gresini Racing Moto2 |
| 3 | Thomas Luthi | 25 pts | SWI | HONDA | Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 |
| 4 | Jules Cluzel | 21 pts | FRA | HONDA | Forward Racing |
| 5 | Alex Debon | 20 pts | SPA | HONDA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo |
| 6 | Simone Corsi | 19 pts | ITA | HONDA | JiR Moto2 |
| 7 | Sergio Gadea | 16 pts | SPA | HONDA | Tenerife 40 Pons |
| 8 | Roberto Rolfo | 15 pts | ITA | HONDA | Italtrans S.T.R. |
| 9 | Gabor Talmacsi | 14 pts | HUN | HONDA | Fimmco Speed Up |
| 10 | Yuki Takahashi | 13 pts | JAP | HONDA | Tech 3 Racing |
| 11 | Mattia Pasini | 10 pts | ITA | HONDA | JiR Moto2 |
| 12 | Kenny Noyes | 9 pts | USA | HONDA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas |
| 13 | Julian Simon | 8 pts | SPA | HONDA | Mapfre Aspar Team |
| 14 | Dominique Aegerter | 8 pts | SWI | HONDA | Technomag-CIP |
| 15 | Yonny Hernandez | 6 pts | COL | HONDA | Blusens-STX |
| 16 | Alex Baldolini | 4 pts | ITA | HONDA | Caretta Technology Race Dept |
| 17 | Fonsi Nieto | 3 pts | SPA | HONDA | G22 Holiday Gym |
| 18 | Stefan Bradl | 2 pts | GER | HONDA | Viessman Kiefer Racing |
| 19 | Karel Abraham | 2 pts | CZE | HONDA | Cardion AB Motoracing |
| 20 | Lukas Pesek | 1 pts | CZE | HONDA | Matteoni C.P. Racing |
| 21 | Anthony West | 1 pts | AUS | HONDA | MZ Racing |
| 22 | Yannick Guerra | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | G22 Holiday Gym |
| 23 | Vladimir Leonov | 0 pts | RUS | HONDA | Vector Kiefer Racing |
| 24 | Vladimir Ivanov | 0 pts | RUS | HONDA | Gresini Racing Moto2 |
| 25 | Valentin Debise | 0 pts | FRA | HONDA | WTR San Marino Team |
| 26 | Scott Redding | 0 pts | GBR | HONDA | Marc VDS Racing Team |
| 27 | Robertino Pietri | 0 pts | VEN | HONDA | Italtrans S.T.R. |
| 28 | Ratthapark Wilairot | 0 pts | THA | HONDA | Thai Honda PTT SAG |
| 29 | Raffaele De Rosa | 0 pts | ITA | HONDA | Tech 3 Racing |
| 30 | Niccolo Canepa | 0 pts | ITA | HONDA | RSM Team Scot |
| 31 | Mike De Meglio | 0 pts | FRA | HONDA | Mapfre Aspar Team |
| 32 | Mashel Al Naimi | 0 pts | QAT | HONDA | Blusens-STX |
| 33 | Joan Olive | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas |
| 34 | Ivan Moreno | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Andalucia Cajasol |
| 35 | Hector Faubel | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Marc VDS Racing Team |
| 36 | Claudio Corti | 0 pts | ITA | HONDA | Forward Racing |
| 37 | Bernat Martinez | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Maquinza-SAG Team |
| 38 | Axel Pons | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Tenerife 40 Pons |
| 39 | Arne Tode | 0 pts | GER | HONDA | Racing Team Germany |
| 40 | Anthony Delhalle | 0 pts | FRA | HONDA | Qatar Endurance Racing Team |
| 41 | Andrea Iannone | 0 pts | ITA | HONDA | Fimmco Speed Up |
| 42 | Amadeo Llados | 0 pts | SPA | HONDA | Llados Racing Team |
| 43 | Alex De Angelis | 0 pts | SMR | HONDA | RSM Team Scot |
