Marc Marquez opened his Moto2 points account with an impressive victory at Le Mans.

After getting a little swamped at the start, the Spanish rider managed to catch up with a leading group of riders that included Luthi, Takahashi, Simon, and Bradl, and made his break for the front in the last few laps.

As the others battled for second position, Marquez used the opportunity to pull out a gap and take a comfortable 1.9 second victory.

Yuki Takahashi took second place and Bradl took third.

Andrea Iannone, who was the rider closest to Bradl on Championship Points, was notable by his absence from the leading group after crashing out on the first lap.

]]> http://motogpworld.net/2011/05/le-mans-moto2-race-results-marquez-takes-moto2-victory/feed/ 0 http://motogpworld.net/2011/05/le-mans-moto2-qualifying-times/ http://motogpworld.net/2011/05/le-mans-moto2-qualifying-times/#comments Sat, 14 May 2011 19:10:48 +0000 admin http://motogpworld.net/?p=11878 Stefan Bradl took his fourth consecutive pole position at Le Mans for the French Gp.

Moto2 Qualifying times

1. Stefan Bradl Kiefer Kalex 1m38.357s +
2. Thomas Luthi Interwetten Suter 1m38.402s + 0.045s
3. Yuki Takahashi Gresini Moriwaki 1m38.540s + 0.183s
4. Aleix Espargaro Pons Kalex 1m38.560s + 0.203s
5. Scott Redding Marc VDS Suter 1m38.655s + 0.298s
6. Marc Marquez Catalunya Suter 1m38.679s + 0.322s
7. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR 1m38.706s + 0.349s
8. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Suter 1m38.799s + 0.442s
9. Julian Simon Aspar Suter 1m38.819s + 0.462s
10. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter 1m38.849s + 0.492s
11. Jules Cluzel Forward Suter 1m39.005s + 0.648s
12. Alex de Angelis JiR Motobi 1m39.031s + 0.674s
13. Michele Pirro Gresini Moriwaki 1m39.064s + 0.707s
14. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 1m39.122s + 0.765s
15. Mattia Pasini Ioda Project FTR 1m39.138s + 0.781s
16. Randy Krummenacher Kiefer Kalex 1m39.221s + 0.864s
17. Bradley Smith Tech 3 1m39.223s + 0.866s
18. Ratthapark Wilairot Thai Honda FTR 1m39.394s + 1.037s
19. Pol Espargaro Tuenti Speed Up FTR 1m39.481s + 1.124s
20. Max Neukirchner MZ 1m39.485s + 1.128s
21. Raffaele De Rosa G22 Moriwaki 1m39.491s + 1.134s
22. Esteve Rabat Blusens FTR 1m39.542s + 1.185s
23. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Suter 1m39.561s + 1.204s
24. Javier Fores Aspar Suter 1m39.576s + 1.219s
25. Kenan Sofuoglu Technomag-CIP Suter 1m39.655s + 1.298s
26. Alex Baldolini Forward Suter 1m39.689s + 1.332s
27. Mike di Meglio Tech 3 1m39.809s + 1.452s
28. Claudio Corti Italtrans Suter 1m39.849s + 1.492s
29. Ricard Cardus QMMF Moriwaki 1m39.916s + 1.559s
30. Yonny Hernandez Blusens FTR 1m39.917s + 1.560s
31. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 1m39.949s + 1.592s
32. Robertino Pietri Italtrans Suter 1m39.987s + 1.630s
33. Anthony West MZ 1m40.016s + 1.659s
34. Kenny Noyes Avintia FTR 1m40.361s + 2.004s
35. Kev Coghlan Castello FTR 1m40.639s + 2.282s
36. Santiago Hernandez SAG FTR 1m40.641s + 2.284s
37. Valentin Debise Speed Up FTR 1m40.774s + 2.417s
38. Alex Cudlin QMMF Moriwaki 1m41.666s + 3.309s
39. Mashel Al Naimi QMMF Moriwaki 1m41.875s + 3.518s
40. Steven Odendaal MS Suter 1m41.897s + 3.540s

Marco Simoncelli was the only rider to come close to Casey Stoner, after a late charge in the qualifying session saw him claim second place with a 1m 33.212 lap.

Andrea Dovizioso rounds off the front row with third place.

Cal Crutchlow was pulled off a fantastic ride by securing 6th position on yet another track that was new to the British rider.

Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi were conspicuous by their absence at the fast end of the grid, with both riders finishing in 8th and 9th position respectively.

MotoGP Qualifying Times: Le Mans

1. Casey Stoner Honda 1m33.153s
2. Marco Simoncelli Gresini Honda 1m33.212s + 0.059s
3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m33.621s + 0.468s
4. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m33.683s + 0.530s
5. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m33.706s + 0.553s
6. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m33.804s + 0.651s
7. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m34.063s + 0.910s
8. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m34.206s + 1.053s
9. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m34.206s + 1.053s
10. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m34.277s + 1.124s
11. Randy de Puniet Pramac Ducati 1m34.351s + 1.198s
12. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m34.513s + 1.360s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama Gresini Honda 1m34.612s + 1.459s
14. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati 1m34.650s + 1.497s
15. Loris Capirossi Pramac Ducati 1m34.866s + 1.713s
16. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 1m35.010s + 1.857s
18. Toni Elias LCR Honda 1m35.433s + 2.280s

Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: +5.672
“I got a very good start but I knew from the beginning that we lacked some pace compared to Lorenzo and we had some unexpected problems in the race, mainly to do with grip on exit and acceleration from the corners. I expected to be faster but it wasn’t the case today. I tried to stay in front of Lorenzo but it wasn’t possible and I couldn’t go with him once he was past, congratulations to him because he was very strong today! I can’t blame my shoulder, I had expected it to be a bigger problem but in fact it was okay until six or seven laps from the end and by then the race was over for me. I knew it was important to finish and take the 20 points, it’s a long championship and we are only nine points behind. Now I am looking forward to being back on top form for Mugello, my home race.”

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager
“A fantastic race and result, Jorge did very well to wait like this behind Valentino and then once he passed to go away in such a way, it was brave and showed how strong he was. He was very fast all weekend but as usual our tactics were to be on the podium, so this is a great bonus. I thought, coming here, that the pressure from leading the championship might worry him but this wasn’t the case at all, he just kept his head down and this win is a fantastic reward for such good work.”

Davide Brivio Team Manager
“Valentino started very well once again in this race but then when Lorenzo arrived it was difficult to stay in front, his pace was faster today. Valentino’s bike was sliding a little bit too much and he lost some contact when Lorenzo was leading, and by then it was sensible to go for second. There’s only nine points between them and we are here and in touch in this exciting championship.”

Marco Melandri seemed to find his fighting spirit again at the French MotoGP this weekend – as soon as the lights went out he got off to an aggressive start and made up some places instantly. He was able to defend and maintain his position to take a 6th place finish.

Marco Melandri (6th)
“I was pretty sure we´d have a better pace today than we did in practice and that proved to be the case. We made a small change in the warm-up based on an idea that the team came up with and it worked well. Unfortunately it was quite windy today and I struggled in a few corners where we didn´t have a perfect setting for the engine braking. I´m happy though because we were able to match the speed of the front guys at the start until I made a small mistake when Hayden stepped up the pace. I tried to catch him again but I couldn´t do it and decided that was a good time to `pull the oars in´ and bring home an important result after such a tough start to the year. It was a good race for us and I´m happy for myself and the team.”

Marco Simoncelli (10th)
“I gave my maximum and wasn´t too far off today but it was a tough race because I was struggling more with the bike than yesterday. I´m a little disappointed that I allowed Barbera and Espargaro to pass me on the last couple of laps because it would have been nice to finish eighth but it didn´t happen. It is important at this stage for me to finish races and I managed that today even though I wasn´t as fast as I´d hoped so that´s a positive thing. Now we´ll assess things and try to do better at Mugello. ”

Fausto Gresini
“It was a good day for us as a team because we´ve seen Melandri back on the pace with a good sixth place and Simoncelli finishing tenth after lapping in eighth for much of the race. It was a shame that he lost two positions in the final stages but once again he demonstrated the progress he is making. Melandri was consistent and he set a strong pace at the start, chasing the leaders, before securing an important result that moves him up the championship. We obviously have to keep working to take another step forward and try to be more competitive. There is certainly no shortage of motivation amongst the team and we are desperate to pay back Honda and San Carlo for the belief they have shown in us with some good results. ”

I had a bit of a rear brake issue which meant I couldn’t get the bike into the turns as I wanted and I was fighting the bike a bit. Andrea rode well and pushed very hard at the end, so congratulations to him on the podium finish. It’s an important part of the season coming up with many races in a short time, so we must work hard and do better in Mugello”.

Andrea DOVIZIOSO
“I’m so happy to have made the podium here. It was very important because I wanted to confirm that the result in Qatar was not a one-off. We have improved a lot during the winter, so this is another important step forward. I wanted a good result for the team, to thank them and also because of last year when Dani came from 10 seconds behind to overtake me on the very last lap. Also, I’m very pleased to be going to Mugello third in the championship. It was a tough race. At the beginning I took a lot of risks to recover from starting on the third row. I made up some places and then I was able to match the leaders’ pace in the early stages.

Once I caught Dani it was hard to get past and I knew Nicky was very close behind so I had to find a way by. Dani has really good acceleration so it was difficult to make the overtake. I waited for four laps, worked out my strategy and I made my move at on the last lap at the corner I’d planned. This is a good start to the season, we worked a lot during the winter and Honda keeps working hard. We are close to the leaders – though still not close enough because our target is to fight for wins. We’ll go to Mugello with a lot of confidence as this a special race for me”.

Yuki Takahashi and Raffaele de Rosa will not be popular with the Tech-3 mechanics as both riders managed to crash out of the Moto2 race leaving the team with the task of fixing up their bikes in the scorching hot garages in sunny and sweltering France.

Yuki Takahashi, Raffaele de Rosa, and Herve Poncharal talk about the Moto2 race below:

Yuki Takahash DNF – 13-points
“I am really disappointed with today because obviously we had high expectations of being able to fight for at least the podium and maybe even the victory. I didn’t make a very good start but I was able to quickly find a good pace and was closing on the leading group when I suddenly lost the front like in the first race in Qatar. Unfortunately it has cost me again and I am sorry to the team because this is their home race and we expected much more. The positive is that being second on the grid and pushing hard again close to the leading group proves that the Tech 3 bike has a lot of potential. I am more determined than ever to bounce back from this and get a good result at the next race in Mugello.”

Raffaele de Rosa DNF – 0-points
“Today was a big disappointment because I’m sure I could have fought for the top ten. We improved the bike in the warm-up session and the bike felt much better. It gave me the confidence to fight on the brakes with the other riders and in the first few laps I was able to make some good overtakes. Unfortunately on the exit of the fifth corner I lost the rear and couldn’t recover. It is a pity because the team have done a great job all weekend. They have worked hard and given me a bike that made me feel much more confident and comfortable on. I am convinced that with the improvements we have made I will be able to fight for a strong finish in my home race at Mugello.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“Today’s race is a huge disappointment because we had really high hopes for Yuki. He was almost on pole position and his race pace was really impressive. We were even dreaming that we might win our home race but it has been another bad result. Our bike obviously has a lot of potential but we need to understand that we have to finish the race to show it. It is also a shame for Raffaele because he looked much more comfortable and confident on the bike having worked hard with his crew to find some improvements. But he also crashed and that’s a pity because it looked like he was going to score his first points in Moto2. And with the class being so competitive and close, that is not easy. We have to put this weekend behind us and try and come back stronger in Mugello.”

Mixed results again for the Pramac Ducati team. Aleix Espargaro needed to step up his game after a poor start to the MotoGP season – whatever threats were issued clearly worked as he secured a competitive 9th position in the race and claimed his first top 10 finish.

Mika Kallio on the other hand fared poorly, he crashed during the practice session on Saturday and could only manage 13th position in the race. This was effectively last place due Bautista not taking part in the GP and the crashes from Capirossi, Spies, and Stoner during the race.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director
“We bring home another ten World Championship points, they are not so many, but we are happy to have concluded with both riders a race that could be compromised at the beginning by Mika fall in the second free practice of the French Grand Prix. We are very proud of him because despite the sharp pain in his shoulder he wanted to take part in the today’s race that concluded in thirteenth position, achieving three World Championship points. We could not expect more from him, but we are extremely happy to have a so brave rider. We hope to come back in shape for the next race in Mugello, we know we have an enormous value rider, and we hope that after this unfortunate race, luck will be back on his side. I should make my warmest congratulations to Aleix Espargarò for leading a great weekend, the ninth position supports the confidence we have always placed in him, supported him in this difficult start of the season. He proved to have character struggling to gain positions after he lost some in the start. Overall a good result that gives us strength and good mood for the upcoming Italian Grand Prix. ”

Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing rider – 9th in the race
“I am very happy with the outcome of the race, is by far my best result in MotoGP, and is the first time I finished the race in the top ten. I’ve had since Friday a great rhythm on this track, and I’m looking forward to race again to try to get better results. Too bad for the bad start, I lost two positions during the first lap, I could not be fast enough and I found myself second-last during the eight lap. But then I got to find my rhythm, turning a few tenths faster than the riders in front of me. I managed to cover the gap I had with the riders who preceded me and I found myself in the group that was fighting for eighth place. After a few laps I passed Aoyama and on the second-last lap I have seen the error made by Edwards and passed him as well as Simoncelli. Too bad for the little contact I had with Aoyama three corners before the finish line, this has given advantage to Barberà and I could not pass him for very little. However I have great confidence for the next race and hope to improve further.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 13th in the race
“The shoulder pain prevented me from being competitive, despite the painkillers they gave me an hour before the race. I felt an enormous pain that did not allow me to lead better my bike. I constantly had a second lower turning lap time compared to the other riders. From the pits my technicians have indicated me that some riders were retired and I clenched my teeth to finish the race and bring other points to my team for the season. I hope to not have any more shoulder problems for the next race and that it will be a good weekend from beginning to the end.”

Tech-3 had a forgettable weekend at the French GP, in what is effectively the team’s home race – both riders from the Tech 3 Moto2 team crashed out of the race, Ben Spies crashed out of the MotoGP race, and Colin Edwards struggled to finish 12th. So what went wrong? Colin Edwards, Ben Spies and Herve Poncharal give their views on the French MotoGP.

Colin Edwards 12th – 16-points
“I know this bike inside out and I’ve had some of the best races of my career at Le Mans, but right now I just can’t seem to fix some of the problems I’m having. I can only go fast if I’m able to ride comfortable and smooth and at the moment I can’t do that because I don’t have the confidence. I’m working really hard with my guys at Tech 3 but we don’t seem to be able to get on top of the problem at the moment. I spent a lot of the race behind Simoncelli and he was able to brake deeper than me. As soon as I’d brake and lean the bike over, I started to have a problem and right now I’m struggling to find an answer. It is annoying because I came here expecting a much better result but we’ll regroup and try and be much stronger at Mugello.”

Ben Spies DNF – 11-points
“It was a tough weekend and I made it tough for myself. Yesterday morning was my fault with the crash and missing a session didn’t help. I need as much track time as I can get so to miss a whole hour isn’t good. I got a good start and after the first two laps I got into a decent rhythm. Capirossi and Colin started to come back to me a little bit and I was feeling quite confident. But I looked up and saw Capirossi lose the front at the third corner and as soon as I tipped in I lost the front too and I was down. It was a weird crash but luckily I didn’t pick up any further injury. Now I can take this week off and rest and go to Mugello to push at 100 per cent. It has been a rough last couple of races but I’m still confident I can be closer to the front when things are right and be doing a lot better.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It is a strong word but this has been a disaster for us because we were expecting a lot. After Friday when we saw Ben learn the track even quicker than he did in Jerez we were very positive about his prospects and we know that Le Mans is one of Colin’s best tracks. It is obvious that Ben was struggling a little bit with his foot and unfortunately he crashed in the race and I am sorry for him because he was determined to try and get in the top ten. Colin got a decent and he just never looked like the rider at this track that we know he can be. We’ll analyse a lot of data to understand why we struggled and be as determined as ever to be back where we belong in Mugello. I’d like to congratulate Yamaha because once again they did a fantastic job and now we must improve to show our true potential with what is obviously an incredibly competitive YZR-M1 machine.”

Tech-3 Photos from Le Mans: