Brno Moto2: Qualifying Notes & Quotes

Brno Moto2

Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter) was back to his brilliant best in Moto2 qualifying, scoring his second pole position of the year, three and a half months after he took his first pole at Jerez.

Winner of the very first Moto2 race at Losail, Qatar, in April, Tomizawa has had an up and down time of it recently, scoring no better than fifth at the last six races. But his performance today suggests a turnaround from the talented Japanese rider who was more than two tenths quicker than Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up).

The other men who made it onto the front row were World Championship leader Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) and Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans S.T.R, Suter).

All four riders know that the first moments of the race will be crucial – Moto2 starts are hectic to say the very least – and it’s a fine line between being aggressive enough and too aggressive to complete the first lap close to the front. At least Brno is much wider than most MotoGP tracks, which will give riders a bit more room to manoeuvre than usual.

Elias and Iannone – currently third on points – are so far the two most successful riders in the Honda-powered series, with three wins and two wins respectively from the first eight races. Elias made the front row today despite being disqualified from riding in yesterday’s first practice session.

The ban was punishment for undertaking a test session at Misano during the midseason break. Elias’ team presumed they were allowed to test at their nominated test venue, but in fact no testing is allowed during the break.

So far Iannone has been the only rider able to make a clear breakaway from the Moto2 pack in the first laps, and no doubt the Italian will be aiming to repeat that trick here, which will allow him to run his own race, without having to ride defensively to protect his position from rivals. A last-minute set-up tweak made by his crew during qualifying may help Iannone achieve that goal.

Veteran Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans S.T.R, Suter) is on a roll, scoring his first Moto2 front-row start just a few weeks after his first Moto2 podium at the recent German GP, where he finished third behind Iannone and winner Elias.

MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES

Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter: pole position, 2m 03.452s) says: “I’m very happy to get pole, especially because I have been very, very unlucky at the last few races – sometimes I struggle, sometimes I get hit by other riders. Things seem better after the holidays, so I hope I can get a good result this time. We are getting closer to the Japanese GP in October, so we have to keep working on the machine to make it as good as possible for those last few races. Maybe I was a bit lucky today. There are so many riders in Moto2 that it is often impossible to find a clear track to ride a good lap, but today I found some room.”

Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up: 2nd, 2m 03.684s) says: “Today has been a tough day, because we have worked so hard on finding the best setting. I think we found something at the end of qualifying, but we weren’t able to make the most of it because we didn’t have time to fit a new rear tyre. I am looking forward to the race and I am aiming to enjoy it. My thanks to the team for all their hard work.”

Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki: 3rd, 2m 03.741s) says: “I think I could have made pole position, but I made a mistake shifting gear on my last lap and that cost me vital time. Anyway, I am happy because the bike set-up is more or less okay; we have done everything we can for tomorrow. I hope to make a good start, avoid any problems with other riders during the early laps, and then we will see what happens.”

Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans S.T.R, Suter: 4th, 2m 03.794s) says: “This is my first front row in Moto2, so of course I am very happy. We made some important changes to our set-up before the race in Germany and now the machine feels very good; I feel really comfortable, which is so important to going fast. It’s very important to be at the front for the start in Moto2 and I expect a big fight in the race.”

Pole position : 2m03.452s (157.557Km/h) Shoya Tomizawa, Technomag-CIP Honda

2010 Brno Moto2 Qualifying Position

1. Shoya Tomizawa 2m03.452s JPN HONDA Technomag-CIP

2. Andrea Iannone +0.232s ITA HONDA Fimmco Speed Up

3. Toni Elias +0.289s SPA HONDA Gresini Racing Moto2

4. Roberto Rolfo +0.342s ITA HONDA Italtrans S.T.R.

5. Yuki Takahashi +0.693s JAP HONDA Tech 3 Racing

6. Dominique Aegerter +0.799s SWI HONDA Technomag-CIP

7. Simone Corsi +0.931s ITA HONDA JiR Moto2

8. Arne Tode +1.032s GER HONDA Racing Team Germany

9. Julian Simon +1.067s SPA HONDA Mapfre Aspar Team

10. Scott Redding +1.076s GBR HONDA Marc VDS Racing Team

11. Jules Cluzel +1.145s FRA HONDA Forward Racing

12. Fonsi Nieto +1.150s SPA HONDA G22 Holiday Gym

13. Thomas Luthi +1.153s SWI HONDA Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2

14. Alex Baldolini +1.283s ITA HONDA Caretta Technology Race Dept

15. Alex Debon +1.323s SPA HONDA Aeroport de Castello – Ajo

16. Gabor Talmacsi +1.447s HUN HONDA Fimmco Speed Up

17. Raffaele De Rosa +1.477s ITA HONDA Tech 3 Racing

18. Mike De Meglio +1.524s FRA HONDA Mapfre Aspar Team

19. Hector Faubel +1.537s SPA HONDA Marc VDS Racing Team

20. Stefan Bradl +1.577s GER HONDA Viessman Kiefer Racing

21. Axel Pons +1.816s SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

22. Sergio Gadea +1.935s SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

23. Claudio Corti +1.950s ITA HONDA Forward Racing

24. Ratthapark Wilairot +1.974s THA HONDA Thai – Honda PTT Singha SAG Team

25. Lukas Pesek +2.034s CZE HONDA Matteoni C.P. Racing

26. Vladimir Ivanov +2.065s RUS HONDA Gresini Racing Moto2

27. Patrik Vostarek +2.106s CZE HONDA Vector Kiefer Racing

28. Valentin Debise +2.198s FRA HONDA WTR San Marino Team

29. Yusuke Teshima +2.206s JPN HONDA JiR Moto2

30. Niccolo Canepa +2.308s ITA HONDA RSM Team Scot

31. Kenny Noyes +2.350s USA HONDA Jack & Jones by A.Banderas

32. Anthony West +2.353s AUS HONDA MZ Racing

33. Yonny Hernandez +2.419s COL HONDA Blusens-STX

34. Karel Abraham +2.425s CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing

35. Xavier Simeon +2.454s BEL HONDA G22 Holiday Gym

36. Ricard Cardus +2.595s SPA HONDA Maquinza-SAG Team

37. Mashel Al Naimi +2.678s QAT HONDA Blusens-STX

38. Robertino Pietri +3.006s VEN HONDA Italtrans S.T.R.

39. Joan Olive +3.255s SPA HONDA Jack & Jones by A.Banderas

2010 Moto2 Championship Standings

1. Toni Elias 136 pts SPA HONDA Gresini Racing Moto2

2. Thomas Luthi 94 pts SWI HONDA Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2

3. Andrea Iannone 90 pts ITA HONDA Fimmco Speed Up

4. Julian Simon 77 pts SPA HONDA Mapfre Aspar Team

5. Shoya Tomizawa 76 pts JPN HONDA Technomag-CIP

6. Simone Corsi 65 pts ITA HONDA JiR Moto2

7. Jules Cluzel 61 pts FRA HONDA Forward Racing

8. Yuki Takahashi 52 pts JAP HONDA Tech 3 Racing

9. Gabor Talmacsi 52 pts HUN HONDA Fimmco Speed Up

10. Sergio Gadea 47 pts SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

11. Fonsi Nieto 38 pts SPA HONDA G22 Holiday Gym

12. Roberto Rolfo 37 pts ITA HONDA Italtrans S.T.R.

13. Alex Debon 37 pts SPA HONDA Aeroport de Castello – Ajo

14. Karel Abraham 33 pts CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing

15. Ratthapark Wilairot 25 pts THA HONDA Thai – Honda PTT Singha SAG Team

16. Scott Redding 23 pts GBR HONDA Marc VDS Racing Team

17. Dominique Aegerter 23 pts SWI HONDA Technomag-CIP

18. Yonny Hernandez 21 pts COL HONDA Blusens-STX

19. Stefan Bradl 18 pts GER HONDA Viessman Kiefer Racing

20. Kenny Noyes 18 pts USA HONDA Jack & Jones by A.Banderas

21. Mike De Meglio 17 pts FRA HONDA Mapfre Aspar Team

22. Alex Baldolini 14 pts ITA HONDA Caretta Technology Race Dept

23. Mattia Pasini 12 pts ITA HONDA JiR Moto2

24. Anthony West 11 pts AUS HONDA MZ Racing

25. Alex De Angelis 11 pts SMR HONDA RSM Team Scot

26. Xavier Simeon 9 pts BEL HONDA G22 Holiday Gym

27. Damian Cudlin 9 pts AUS HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

28. Lukas Pesek 4 pts CZE HONDA Matteoni C.P. Racing

29. Hector Faubel 4 pts SPA HONDA Marc VDS Racing Team

30. Vladimir Ivanov 2 pts RUS HONDA Gresini Racing Moto2

31. Arne Tode 2 pts GER HONDA Racing Team Germany

32. Yusuke Teshima 1 pts JPN HONDA JiR Moto2

33. Claudio Corti 1 pts ITA HONDA Forward Racing

34. Yannick Guerra 0 pts SPA HONDA G22 Holiday Gym

35. Vladimir Leonov 0 pts RUS HONDA Vector Kiefer Racing

36. Valentin Debise 0 pts FRA HONDA WTR San Marino Team

37. Sascha Hommel 0 pts GER HONDA MGM Racing Performance MC

38. Robertino Pietri 0 pts VEN HONDA Italtrans S.T.R.

39. Ricard Cardus 0 pts SPA HONDA Maquinza-SAG Team

40. Raffaele De Rosa 0 pts ITA HONDA Tech 3 Racing

41. Niccolo Canepa 0 pts ITA HONDA RSM Team Scot

42. Mashel Al Naimi 0 pts QAT HONDA Blusens-STX

43. Kev Coghlan 0 pts SCO HONDA Monlan Joey Darcey Team

44. Joan Olive 0 pts SPA HONDA Jack & Jones by A.Banderas

45. Ivan Moreno 0 pts SPA HONDA Andalucia Cajasol

46. Carmelo Morales 0 pts SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

47. Bernat Martinez 0 pts SPA HONDA Maquinza-SAG Team

48. Axel Pons 0 pts SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons

49. Anthony Delhalle 0 pts FRA HONDA Qatar Endurance Racing Team

50. Amadeo Llados 0 pts SPA HONDA Llados Racing Team