Moto2
Spoiler alert: Don’t want to know the MotoGP results for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez? Then please don’t open this story…
In Moto2 Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) mastered the rain to take his fourth victory in the category, a first of the season, and joining him on the rostrum were Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) and Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project).
Lüthi took the early control in the race and was on course for his first win in Moto2, until the Italian rider passed him for the lead and pulled a large advantage. His winning margin was 7.850s.
Building on the second place the Speed Master rider achieved in Losail Moto2, Iannone takes the lead of the 2011 World Championship after scoring 25 points for the win.
The Moto2 race started in damp conditions and more rain fell throughout, leading to a slippery and difficult circuit. Starting from 18th position Corsi was leading the race after a lap and half, but was caught by Iannone and the Swiss rider and took the final spot on the rostrum to take his third podium in the intermediate class.
Bradley Smith (Tech 3) who started from fifth, finished in fourth place in only his second ever Moto2 race. With a few laps to go, he was in fifth place until Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) made a costly error when he nearly lost control of his bike and Smith was there to take his fourth position.
Bradl had been aiming to become the first German rider to win back-to-back races in the intermediate class since Ralf Waldmann in 1996 but dropped a handful of places at the start. Lüthi and Bradl now share second place in the standings.
Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) was the first Spanish rider to cross the line in sixth place, ahead of Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) who salvaged seventh position after a ride through penalty for jumping the start. Scotsman Kev Coghlan (Team Aeroport de Castelló) finished in eighth place after qualifying back in 24th position, scoring his first Grand Prix points. Rookie Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) took ninth place and it was a titanic tussle until the final corner between MZ Racing team-mates Anthony West and Max Neukirchner with the German taking tenth and the Australian 11th.
Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) who had been involved in the fight for third, crashed out at high speed at turn 12 losing front grip and missed out on a potential 16 points.
Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) failed to pick up his first points of his Moto2 debut season after Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) was unable to stop his bike in time and ran into the back of the current 125cc World Champion after a battle for sixth place. The incident put them both out of the race.
2011 Jerez Moto2 Results
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Suter | 138.2 | 49’56.423 |
| 2. | 20 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Paddock Moto2 | Suter | 137.8 | +7.850 |
| 3. | 16 | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 137.6 | +12.625 |
| 4. | 13 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 137.5 | +15.355 |
| 5. | 11 | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 137.3 | +17.850 |
| 6. | 10 | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 137.1 | +24.247 |
| 7. | 9 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 136.9 | +27.991 |
| 8. | 8 | 49 | Kev COGHLAN | GBR | Aeroport de Castello | FTR | 136.5 | +36.181 |
| 9. | 7 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 136.5 | +36.775 |
| 10. | 6 | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 136.3 | +41.407 |
| 11. | 5 | 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 136.3 | +41.711 |
| 12. | 4 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda Singha SAG | FTR | 136.3 | +41.870 |
| 13. | 3 | 75 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 136.2 | +42.313 |
| 14. | 2 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Blusens-STX | FTR | 136.1 | +45.384 |
| 15. | 1 | 34 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | FTR | 136.0 | +47.193 |
| 16. | 54 | Kenan SOFUOGLU | TUR | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 136.0 | +47.204 | |
| 17. | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 136.0 | +47.316 | |
| 18. | 21 | Javier FORES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 135.9 | +50.677 | |
| 19. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 B | Tech 3 | 135.5 | +57.958 | |
| 20. | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HP Tuenti Speed Up | FTR | 135.5 | +58.554 | |
| 21. | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 135.1 | +1’07.467 | |
| 22. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 135.0 | +1’10.925 | |
| 23. | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 134.7 | +1’16.149 | |
| 24. | 40 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 134.6 | +1’19.512 | |
| 25. | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | ITA | Desguaces La Torre G22 | Moriwaki | 134.5 | +1’22.459 | |
| 26. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 134.3 | +1’26.753 | |
| 27. | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 133.8 | +1’37.226 | |
| 28. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 133.6 | +1’42.838 | |
| 29. | 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Avintia-STX | FTR | 133.1 | +1’54.532 | |
| 30. | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | Speed Up | FTR | 133.0 | +1’57.120 | |
| 31. | 64 | Santiago HERNANDEZ | COL | SAG Team | FTR | 131.3 | 1 Lap | |
| 32. | 97 | Steven ODENDAAL | RSA | MS Racing | Suter | 131.3 | 1 Lap | |
| 33. | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 120.8 | 3 Laps | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 25 | Alex BALDOLINI | ITA | Forward Racing | Suter | 124.4 | 14 Laps | ||
| 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 137.0 | 16 Laps | ||
| 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | Forward Racing | Suter | 137.0 | 16 Laps | ||
| 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 137.3 | 17 Laps | ||
| 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 126.2 | 22 Laps | ||
| 99 | Lukasz WARGALA | POL | Desguaces La Torre G22 | Moriwaki | 118.9 | 25 Laps | ||
| Not Starting | ||||||||
| 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 0 Lap | |||
