Date : 06/11/2011
Weather : Dry
Temperature : Air 17°, Track 16°
Humidity : 50%

Michele Pirro wins the final Moto2 race of the year

Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2-Moriwaki) won the final Moto2 race of the year, also run in tricky damp conditions. It was an emotional victory for team owner Fausto Gresini, who had earlier watched Pirro’s team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing Moto2-Moriwaki) take the lead, only to suffer a heavy fall. The Japanese was battered and bruised in the tumble, but not seriously hurt.

Pirro took over the lead when Takahashi fell on lap six and stayed in front for the rest of the race, gradually easing ahead to win by six seconds while many other riders slid off behind him. The action was typically hectic behind, with Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team-Suter), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP-Suter), Yonny Hernandez (Blusens-STX-FTR) and Xavier Simeon (Tech 3 B-Tech 3) involved in an entertaining battle for much of the race. But Hernandez and Simeon made mistakes, leaving Kallio and Aegerter to dispute second and third. Former 250 and 125 GP winner Kallio came out on top to score his first podium since moving to Moto2 at the end of last year following two seasons in MotoGP. Aegerter’s third place was his first top-three finish and won him a pre-podium haircut from his team!

Anthony West (MZ) won a busy contest for fourth, crossing the line a fraction ahead of Kenny Noyes (Avintia-STX FTR), Hernandez, Mike Di Meglio (Tech 3 Racing-Tech 3) and Simeon. The foursome was separated by just over a second.

Max Neukirchner (MZ), Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2-Suter) and Andrea Iannone (Speed Master-Suter) finished the race with their own three-way battle for eighth place. The trio was covered by 1.6 seconds at the flag.

Neither of the season’s two Moto2 title challengers featured in today’s results. Marc Marquez (Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol-Suter) was unable to ride this weekend because he is still suffering double vision, a legacy of his big tumble at Sepang two weeks ago. His withdrawal from the event immediately made Bradl World Champion, but the German wasn’t able to celebrate today with another win. Instead he too tumbled out. Incredibly, Bradl has yet to finish a race at the Spanish circuit.

There is no rest for the MotoGP and Moto2 paddock. Testing for the 2012 season commences here tomorrow, with Moto2 riders taking to the track. On Tuesday and Wednesday it’s the turn of MotoGP riders, who will be riding their new 1000cc machines in preparation for next year’s new-look World Championship.

Moto2 rider quotes

Michele Pirro, Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki: race winner
“This is a special victory for me and for my team, after the tragedy of what happened to Marco at the last race. It hasn’t been an easy weekend and the race was the same – a bit dry, a bit wet, a bit dry, a bit wet – so it was very tough out there. But I think Marco rode with me today. I would like to dedicate this victory to Marco, to his family and to the team.”

Mika Kallio, Marc VDS Racing Team, Suter: 2nd
“Finally we got our first Moto2 podium. We didn’t expect this season to be so difficult. I struggled a lot in the beginning, but step by step we found a way to set up the bike and step by step I found a way to ride it. Over the last four or five races we have made real progress – the results got better and my confidence improved. This weekend we made the step onto the podium. It’s an important result after the last two years when my feeling riding bikes wasn’t so good. I hope to continue like this in 2012.”

Dominique Aegerter, Technomag-CIP, Suter: 3rd
“I’m so happy with this first podium. We have been so close to the top guys at several races this year. This weekend was difficult – in the race it rained a little less and then a little more. Anyway, I’m happy to be here and it’s a great way to end the season. Thanks to everyone and I hope we can continue with more good results next year.”

Marc Marquez, Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol-Suter: DNS
“I could not ride the bike this weekend because if I see double it can be dangerous for me and all the other riders. The damage is a stretched muscle inside the right eye. Sure I was unlucky at Sepang because the crash wasn’t our mistake. Of course I wanted to ride and try to win the championship, but I think I did a good job in my first year in Moto2 and the team also did a very good job. Second place isn’t so bad, but Bradl did a better job than us, so we say congratulations to him and next year we need to learn from our mistakes.”