Marc VDS Racing’s Esteve Rabat2014 Motegi Moto2 Friday Practice ResultsFollowing a two-week break, the Moto2 Championship continues this weekend with the Grand Prix of Japan at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.
Practice began Friday for round 15 of 18, and when the first- and second-free practice sessions wrapped up, the current points leader – Esteve Rabat – was fastest.The Marc VDS Racing pilot, who leads his teammate Mika Kallio by 33 points, dominated the afternoon (FP2) session. His fastest time was a 1:50.990 around the technical Motegi circuit.Rabat finished 0.323 of a second ahead of AirAsia Caterham’s Johann Zarco and 0.583 of a second ahead of Paginas Amarillas HP’s Maverick Vinales.Next was Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter and Italtrans Racing Team’s Julian Simon, who trailed by 0.603 and 0.890 of a second, respectively. The final two riders to post within a second of Rabat were Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team), who finished sixth and seventh, respectively.Rounding out the top 10 were Axel Pons (AGR Team), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).Wildcard Chalermpol Polamai (Singha Eneos Yamaha Tech 3) suffered a crash early in the session, as did Simon. Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Racing) fell with just ten minutes remaining, while Ratthapark Wilairot (AirAsia Caterham) crashed on his last lap. All the riders were unhurt.The Moto2 grid returns to Motegi Saturday for two additional free practices ahead of qualifying.
Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s. This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what makes the bike really stand out.
For the entertaining story behind Arch Motorcycle from Gard Hollinger himself, you must listen to his podcast episode on Motos & Friends HERE
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The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—visit your local dealer or suzukicycles.com to learn more.
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In our second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with multiple Emmy award-winning writer, Producer, Director, and actor, Thom Beers. the former Chairman & CEO of Fremantle Media North America, responsible for American Idol and America’s Got Talent.
Thom’s fertile imagination led to most of the really big reality TV shows such as ‘Deadliest Catch’ (now in its 17th season!), and many others. Of course for us in the motorcycle world, you’ll be interested to hear the genesis and story of how he started the first real fabrication reality show ‘Monster Garage’, that showcased Jesse James, and then how that led to ‘Biker Build Off’ and the ‘Zombie Choppers’ movie.
You’d imagine that most of Thom’s time is spent sitting behind a desk and on his phone. Not so. His intense stories of capturing much of the content for these shows make for some hair-raising listening.
