2011 Moto2
Like it’s been all season, the Moto2 action was once again thrilling as the series got underway for Round 13 at Aragon Motorland Sunday.
After a hard-fought victory, Marc Marquez his seventh win – the third consecutive – of his debut season at the intermediate category and keeps reducing the distance with the leader, Stefan Bradl.
The German Bradl finished eighth Sunday, reducing his advantage to only 6 points.
Spanish Moto2 star Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) took the hole shot from pole position at Aragon Motorland Saturday, with Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) and Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) immediately challenging for the lead, Redding taking over at the front by the end of lap one and Bradl taking over on lap four.
Meanwhile Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) made his way up to the lead pack off his tenth place start, along with Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) and Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2), which then marked the start of a breathtaking five-way fight for first position.
Marquez broke from the pack on lap 13, but not without Iannone making it very difficult for the young Spaniard to get away.
The fight for second then commenced, with Iannone eventually crossing the line a tenth of a second ahead of fellow countryman Corsi, while De Angelis followed by half a second to take fourth. Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) was fifth ahead of Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing), and Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) who made a great comeback to take seventh, after dropping down into 16th position on lap 8.
Bradl dropped out of the leading pack by lap 16 with what appeared to be mechanical issues to finish the race in eighth, the lower than expected finish further denting the German rider’s Championship lead, with Márquez now trailing by just 6 points.
Ninth place went to Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP) after a video image was required to determine his position in front of Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) in tenth, the two crossing the line so closely it appeared simultaneous, while Redding finished 15th after dropping out of the lead group on lap 9.
2011 Aragon Motorland Moto2 Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 158.6 | 40’20.575 |
| 2. | 20 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Suter | 158.4 | +2.466 |
| 3. | 16 | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 158.4 | +2.574 |
| 4. | 13 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 158.4 | +3.054 |
| 5. | 11 | 40 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 157.9 | +10.831 |
| 6. | 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 157.9 | +10.870 |
| 7. | 9 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Paddock Moto2 | Suter | 157.9 | +11.005 |
| 8. | 8 | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 157.9 | +11.212 |
| 9. | 7 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 157.8 | +11.810 |
| 10. | 6 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 157.8 | +11.939 |
| 11. | 5 | 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 157.8 | +12.108 |
| 12. | 4 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 157.8 | +12.114 |
| 13. | 3 | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 157.8 | +12.180 |
| 14. | 2 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HP Tuenti Speed Up | FTR | 157.8 | +12.908 |
| 15. | 1 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 157.7 | +13.329 |
| 16. | 34 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | FTR | 157.7 | +13.875 | |
| 17. | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 157.7 | +13.954 | |
| 18. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 B | Tech 3 | 157.6 | +15.251 | |
| 19. | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 157.4 | +18.470 | |
| 20. | 18 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 157.3 | +20.128 | |
| 21. | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 156.1 | +38.974 | |
| 22. | 25 | Alex BALDOLINI | ITA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 156.1 | +39.072 | |
| 23. | 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Avintia-STX | FTR | 156.1 | +39.340 | |
| 24. | 7 | Tomoyoshi KOYAMA | JPN | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 155.5 | +48.695 | |
| 25. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 155.5 | +48.843 | |
| 26. | 64 | Santiago HERNANDEZ | COL | SAG Team | FTR | 154.6 | +1’02.670 | |
| 27. | 33 | Sergio GADEA | SPA | Desguaces La Torre G22 | Moriwaki | 154.4 | +1’05.633 | |
| 28. | 6 | Joan OLIVE | SPA | Aeroport de Castello | FTR | 154.3 | +1’06.619 | |
| 29. | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | Speed Up | FTR | 154.0 | +1’11.832 | |
| 30. | 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 153.1 | +1’27.512 | |
| 31. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 152.8 | +1’31.402 | |
| 32. | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 152.7 | +1’33.725 | |
| 33. | 82 | Elena ROSELL | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 152.5 | +1’36.548 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 155.3 | 4 Laps | ||
| 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 157.4 | 12 Laps | ||
| 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda Singha SAG | FTR | 156.6 | 12 Laps | ||
| 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | ITA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 156.1 | 12 Laps | ||
| 75 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 153.7 | 18 Laps | ||
