2011 Moto2
The final three quarters of the Moto2 qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Japan saw a battle for pole ensue between Interwetten Paddock Moto2 rider Thomas Lüthi and Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez, with the Spanish rider stepping into the top spot by a margin of just under two-tenths of a second with a time of 1’52.067.
The 18-year-old Moto2 rookie Marquez nearly crashed during a fast lap but pulled off an impressive save to avoid going down.
Andrea Iannone is sure to be a contender in Sunday’s race, the 22 year-old Speed Master rider taking the third spot on the grid with a best lap three-tenths off the pole position time. Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing), who had a moment but controlled the near crash, was two-tenths off the Italian in fourth, with last year’s sixth place finisher Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) and Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) joining the British rider on row two.
Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2), who finished fourth at Motegi last year, leads row three ahead of Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP). Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project) completed the top ten, ahead of Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing).
Pol Espargaró (HP Tuenti Speed Up) had an early crash coming onto the start-finish straight and was fortunate not to be hit by an alert Kenny Noyes. The Spaniard returned later in the session to qualify 21st. Sergio Gadea (Desguaces La Torre G22) and Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing) also both went down in separate incidents and did not finish the session.
2011 Motegi Moto2: Qualifying Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 259.2 | 1’52.067 | |
| 2. | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Paddock Moto2 | Suter | 260.9 | 1’52.260 | 0.193 / 0.193 |
| 3. | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Suter | 259.6 | 1’52.423 | 0.356 / 0.163 |
| 4. | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 254.3 | 1’52.645 | 0.578 / 0.222 |
| 5. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 257.9 | 1’52.694 | 0.627 / 0.049 |
| 6. | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 256.2 | 1’52.696 | 0.629 / 0.002 |
| 7. | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 258.4 | 1’52.763 | 0.696 / 0.067 |
| 8. | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 260.2 | 1’52.789 | 0.722 / 0.026 |
| 9. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 257.8 | 1’52.799 | 0.732 / 0.010 |
| 10. | 75 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 255.8 | 1’52.853 | 0.786 / 0.054 |
| 11. | 18 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 254.2 | 1’52.949 | 0.882 / 0.096 |
| 12. | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 258.7 | 1’53.082 | 1.015 / 0.133 |
| 13. | 40 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 257.8 | 1’53.135 | 1.068 / 0.053 |
| 14. | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 253.8 | 1’53.172 | 1.105 / 0.037 |
| 15. | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 252.9 | 1’53.201 | 1.134 / 0.029 |
| 16. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 B | Tech 3 | 252.0 | 1’53.210 | 1.143 / 0.009 |
| 17. | 34 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | FTR | 258.2 | 1’53.274 | 1.207 / 0.064 |
| 18. | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 256.0 | 1’53.291 | 1.224 / 0.017 |
| 19. | 54 | Kenan SOFUOGLU | TUR | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 256.7 | 1’53.376 | 1.309 / 0.085 |
| 20. | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | ITA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 253.0 | 1’53.430 | 1.363 / 0.054 |
| 21. | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HP Tuenti Speed Up | FTR | 257.9 | 1’53.532 | 1.465 / 0.102 |
| 22. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 253.1 | 1’53.638 | 1.571 / 0.106 |
| 23. | 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 257.6 | 1’53.715 | 1.648 / 0.077 |
| 24. | 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 259.4 | 1’53.755 | 1.688 / 0.040 |
| 25. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 254.2 | 1’53.779 | 1.712 / 0.024 |
| 26. | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda Singha SAG | FTR | 253.5 | 1’53.818 | 1.751 / 0.039 |
| 27. | 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 258.3 | 1’53.820 | 1.753 / 0.002 |
| 28. | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Blusens-STX | FTR | 256.5 | 1’53.966 | 1.899 / 0.146 |
| 29. | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 253.4 | 1’53.969 | 1.902 / 0.003 |
| 30. | 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Avintia-STX | FTR | 255.9 | 1’54.161 | 2.094 / 0.192 |
| 31. | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | Speed Up | FTR | 255.6 | 1’54.341 | 2.274 / 0.180 |
| 32. | 64 | Santiago HERNANDEZ | COL | SAG Team | FTR | 255.0 | 1’54.375 | 2.308 / 0.034 |
| 33. | 7 | Tomoyoshi KOYAMA | JPN | CIP with TSR | TSR 6 | 257.8 | 1’54.441 | 2.374 / 0.066 |
| 34. | 6 | Joan OLIVE | SPA | Aeroport de Castello | FTR | 254.2 | 1’54.740 | 2.673 / 0.299 |
| 35. | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 255.1 | 1’54.744 | 2.677 / 0.004 |
| 36. | 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 251.1 | 1’54.911 | 2.844 / 0.167 |
| 37. | 33 | Sergio GADEA | SPA | Desguaces La Torre G22 | Moriwaki | 251.8 | 1’55.558 | 3.491 / 0.647 |
| 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing | Kalex |
