Moto2
Spoiler Alert:
2011 Silverstone Moto2 Results listed below
The sixth round of the 2011 Moto2 Championship got underway Sunday in wet conditions at Silverstone in the UK.
Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) won the Moto2 race, with British rider Bradley Smith (Tech 3) crossing the wet finish line in second and Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) in third.
Championship leader Stefan Bradl led off the start of a drizzly and cold 18 laps whilst second position starter Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) challenged the German rider, passing him for the lead early in the race, but it was the Championship points leader Bradl who led the field across the finish line, negotiating precarious track conditions that steadily worsened throughout the race.
Smith had a fantastic start off the Moto2 grid, moving to 13th on the first lap after starting 28th. He steadily made his way through the field, at one point locking horns with fellow Brit Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing), to take the second spot on the podium, his first podium for the 2011 season. Redding crossed the line in fifth.
Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project), looking for his first Moto2 victory, chased the front runners from the start of the race, setting some of the fastest laps of the race to catch the front. The Italian passed Bradl for the lead on lap 5 and quickly pulled away, until he crashed out of the race on lap 6.
Michele Pirro started from sixth to finish in the third spot on the podium, moving him into tenth in the championship. Fourth place finisher was Jules Cluzel (NGM Forward Racing) who also started from fourth. Sixth to cross the line was Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) followed by Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) in seventh and Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP), who earlier was in second position until he ran off track on lap 11, rejoined to finish in eighth.
Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX), after crashing on the sighting lap, finished the race in ninth followed by Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project), who pitted early in the race with a problem but rejoined to finish tenth.
Pole position starter Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol), after a poor start off the grid, crashed out on lap 6.
The difficult conditions and standing water on the track produced more several casualties, including Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) who crashed early in the race, Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) who was caught with nowhere to go behind a battle between Corsi and Márquez, Axel Pons (Pons HP 40) who crashed in the first lap, after crashing out of qualifying the day before, and Raffaele De Rosa (SAG Team) who crashed on lap 9.
Anthony West (MZ Racing), who moved as high as 16th lap after starting 36th and Kenny Noyes (Avintia-STX) both retired from the race.
2011 Silverstone Moto2 Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 144.3 | 44’10.236 |
| 2. | 20 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 143.9 | +7.601 |
| 3. | 16 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 143.6 | +12.241 |
| 4. | 13 | 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 143.4 | +17.271 |
| 5. | 11 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 143.0 | +23.531 |
| 6. | 10 | 34 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | FTR | 142.8 | +28.661 |
| 7. | 9 | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 142.6 | +32.391 |
| 8. | 8 | 54 | Kenan SOFUOGLU | TUR | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 142.4 | +34.662 |
| 9. | 7 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Blusens-STX | FTR | 142.3 | +37.181 |
| 10. | 6 | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 142.2 | +38.981 |
| 11. | 5 | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 142.2 | +39.657 |
| 12. | 4 | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 141.6 | +51.622 |
| 13. | 3 | 49 | Kev COGHLAN | GBR | Aeroport de Castello | FTR | 141.4 | +54.810 |
| 14. | 2 | 25 | Alex BALDOLINI | ITA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 141.3 | +56.242 |
| 15. | 1 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Paddock Moto2 | Suter | 141.1 | +1’00.769 |
| 16. | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Suter | 140.8 | +1’06.198 | |
| 17. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 140.1 | +1’19.530 | |
| 18. | 40 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 139.7 | +1’27.092 | |
| 19. | 21 | Javier FORES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 139.6 | +1’29.849 | |
| 20. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 139.6 | +1’30.338 | |
| 21. | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | ITA | SAG Team | FTR | 138.2 | +1’57.792 | |
| 22. | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | Speed Up | FTR | 137.5 | +2’11.104 | |
| 23. | 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 136.6 | +2’29.168 | |
| 24. | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 130.0 | 1 Lap | |
| 25. | 96 | Nasser Hasan AL MALKI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 130.0 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HP Tuenti Speed Up | FTR | 139.5 | 2 Laps | ||
| 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 137.9 | 4 Laps | ||
| 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Avintia-STX | FTR | 135.6 | 4 Laps | ||
| 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 132.0 | 5 Laps | ||
| 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 134.1 | 7 Laps | ||
| 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 B | Tech 3 | 135.6 | 8 Laps | ||
| 31 | Carmelo MORALES | SPA | Desguaces La Torre G22 | Moriwaki | 138.0 | 10 Laps | ||
| 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda Singha SAG | FTR | 137.0 | 10 Laps | ||
| 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 135.7 | 11 Laps | ||
| 75 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 142.8 | 12 Laps | ||
| 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 140.7 | 12 Laps | ||
| 18 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 136.7 | 15 Laps | ||
| 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 0 Lap | |||
