Moto2 Mugello: Qualifying

Moto2 Report

Moto2 continues to throw up surprises, with Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) scoring his first pole position in the class at Mugello this afternoon. The Italian’s previous best qualifying performance in Moto2 was 14th at Le Mans two weeks ago.

Moto2 is so close and competitive that there is very little difference to being fastest and being way down the qualifying order. At Le Mans the grid was the closest in GP history, with less than a second separating the fastest 27 qualifier. Here the top 18 men are covered by just 1.067s.

Iannone, three times a pole sitter in 125cc, was impressive in front of his home crowd, lapping more than a quarter of a second faster than anyone else, a big gap in the frantically close world of Moto2. Iannone’s crew had to work hard following a difficult morning session to fine tune his machine for the qualifying outing.

Points leader Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) also had to fight set-up issues, having completed the two free practice sessions 21st fastest. But his Gresini crew worked miracles for qualifying and the Spaniard was able to move up to the front row on his very last lap of the session, though he still needs to work to improve his race pace. He ended the day three tenths up on Alex De Angelis (RSM Team Scot, Force GP210). De Angelis has had a luckless and so far point-less start to Moto2, but the San Marinese hopes to turn that luck around this weekend.

Last man on the front row is Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing, Suter) who has already enjoyed podium success in Moto2 – at the Qatar GP – but crashed out of the recent French round while battling for the win in front of his home crowd.

Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter), winner of the historic Qatar round, was fifth quickest, missing out on a front-row start by a slender 0.012 seconds. To underline the closeness of the competition, Tomizawa’s fastest lap was exactly the same as that of Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons, Pons Kalex).

MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES

Andrea Iannone, Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up: pole position at 1m 55.598s, said:
"I am delighted because my fastest lap was a really good lap. This morning we had a few difficulties with the bike but we were able to solve them thanks to the good work of the team. The bike was much better in qualifying and that helped me to do that lap. Tomorrow there will be other problems – most likely Toni and Alex! It will be a difficult race, especially if we end up fighting in a big group. My aim is to get a good start and to try and go ahead on my own, but this will not be easy. I send my best wishes to Valentino [Rossi] for a speedy recovery from his injuries."

Toni Elias, Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki: 2nd at 1m 55.858s, said:
"It’s been a difficult weekend so far. We’ve struggled with the balance of the bike, especially in the faster sections of the track. We have some ideas to improve things but we didn’t want to risk trying them in qualifying, so we will see how they work in warm-up. We need to find half a second more of race pace, so we will see. The good thing is that I have a good grid position. I expect lots of fighting in the race."

Alex De Angelis, RSM Team Scot, Force GP210: 3rd at 1m 56.222, said:
"We’ve already had quite a bit of bad luck so far this season and we had some more today. Just before we put in my final soft tyre we had some issues with the brakes. That still bothered me on my final run but I was able to be quite fast, which makes me happy and quite confident."

Jules Cluzel, Forward Racing, Suter: 4th at 1m 56.272s, said:
"I am very happy to make the front row because we had some problems in qualifying practice. We had a problem with the clutch, so my crew had to work very hard to get the bike fixed. Then right at the end of the session, on my best lap, I had to pass three riders. I hope we can make a good race."

Pole position : 1m55.598s (163.341Km/h) Andrea Iannone, Fimmco Speed Up
Circuit Best Lap : 1m55.598s (163.341Km/h) Andrea Iannone, Fimmco Speed Up

1	Toni Elias	63 pts	SPA	HONDA	Gresini Racing Moto2
2	Shoya Tomizawa	45 pts	JPN	HONDA	Technomag-CIP
3	Simone Corsi	35 pts	ITA	HONDA	JiR Moto2
4	Julian Simon	28 pts	SPA	HONDA	Mapfre Aspar Team
5	Sergio Gadea	26 pts	SPA	HONDA	Tenerife 40 Pons
6	Thomas Luthi	25 pts	SWI	HONDA	Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2
7	Gabor Talmacsi	25 pts	HUN	HONDA	Fimmco Speed Up
8	Roberto Rolfo	21 pts	ITA	HONDA	Italtrans S.T.R.
9	Jules Cluzel	21 pts	FRA	HONDA	Forward Racing
10	Alex Debon	20 pts	SPA	HONDA	Aeroport de Castello – Ajo
11	Yuki Takahashi	13 pts	JAP	HONDA	Tech 3 Racing
12	Andrea Iannone	13 pts	ITA	HONDA	Fimmco Speed Up
13	Fonsi Nieto	11 pts	SPA	HONDA	G22 Holiday Gym
14	Yonny Hernandez	10 pts	COL	HONDA	Blusens-STX
15	Mattia Pasini	10 pts	ITA	HONDA	JiR Moto2
16	Stefan Bradl	9 pts	GER	HONDA	Viessman Kiefer Racing
17	Ratthapark Wilairot	9 pts	THA	HONDA	Thai Honda PTT SAG
18	Kenny Noyes	9 pts	USA	HONDA	Jack & Jones by A.Banderas
19	Dominique Aegerter	8 pts	SWI	HONDA	Technomag-CIP
20	Alex Baldolini	6 pts	ITA	HONDA	Caretta Technology Race Dept
21	Scott Redding	5 pts	GBR	HONDA	Marc VDS Racing Team
22	Lukas Pesek	4 pts	CZE	HONDA	Matteoni C.P. Racing
23	Karel Abraham	2 pts	CZE	HONDA	Cardion AB Motoracing
24	Claudio Corti	1 pts	ITA	HONDA	Forward Racing
25	Anthony West	1 pts	AUS	HONDA	MZ Racing
26	Yannick Guerra	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	G22 Holiday Gym
27	Vladimir Leonov	0 pts	RUS	HONDA	Vector Kiefer Racing
28	Vladimir Ivanov	0 pts	RUS	HONDA	Gresini Racing Moto2
29	Valentin Debise	0 pts	FRA	HONDA	WTR San Marino Team
30	Robertino Pietri	0 pts	VEN	HONDA	Italtrans S.T.R.
31	Raffaele De Rosa	0 pts	ITA	HONDA	Tech 3 Racing
32	Niccolo Canepa	0 pts	ITA	HONDA	RSM Team Scot
33	Mike De Meglio	0 pts	FRA	HONDA	Mapfre Aspar Team
34	Mashel Al Naimi	0 pts	QAT	HONDA	Blusens-STX
35	Joan Olive	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Jack & Jones by A.Banderas
36	Ivan Moreno	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Andalucia Cajasol
37	Hector Faubel	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Marc VDS Racing Team
38	Bernat Martinez	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Maquinza-SAG Team
39	Axel Pons	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Tenerife 40 Pons
40	Arne Tode	0 pts	GER	HONDA	Racing Team Germany
41	Anthony Delhalle	0 pts	FRA	HONDA	Qatar Endurance Racing Team
42	Amadeo Llados	0 pts	SPA	HONDA	Llados Racing Team
43	Alex De Angelis	0 pts	SMR	HONDA	RSM Team Sco