2012 Indianapolis Moto2 And Moto3 Friday Press Releases

Press releases from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams after the first day of practice at Indianapolis:

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Holiday time over for Moto3 at Indianapolis

Repsol riders make good start to weekend. Oliveira ends day one third, Viñales fourth and Rins sixth. Álex Márquez returns to World Championship competition and places seventeenth, less than two seconds off the fastest time.

The Moto3 riders were once again in charge of kicking off a Grand Prix weekend —their tenth of the 2012 season. Indianapolis was the venue, and the lower cylinder clases were back in action after missing the Laguna Seca round. The summer break was well and truly over as the riders prepared for Sunday’s race. The fastest Repsol competitor was Miguel Oliveira, third today, followed by Maverick Viñales in fourth —just 98 thousandths of a second slower. Álex Rins was sixth on his first visit to the US track, whilst Álex Márquez made his full official debut (not as a wildcard this time) and placed seventeenth.

After a huge storm last night, the return to work after the summer holiday was affected by a track still wet from the downpour. Wet tyres were required, although sunshine and warm temperatures eventually dried out the asphalt right from the end. Nonetheless, the surface was still slippery. Despite this, Oliveira and Viñales came out strong in the morning to place amongst the top riders in fourth and sixth, respectively. Danny Kent had dominated the morning session.

A very positive adaptation was made by Álex Rins who, on his first encounter with the track this morning, placed tenth and was less than two seconds off the best time. Like him, the current leader of the Spanish Championship, Álex Márquez was also undertaking his first laps of The Brickyard today. Márquez has been confirmed as a full time rider for the rest of the season with the Ambrogio Next Racing team after a good showing in three wildcard appearances at Jerez, Estoril and Catalonia. In the first session, the brother of Moto2 rider Marc Márquez was nineteenth, 3.492 seconds off the top.

In the second session, with track conditions much better thanks to improved grip on the asphalt, Viñales and Cortese took the initiative from the beginning. Their pace was significantly faster than in the first session, dropping their times by over four seconds. By the end of the day Oliveira also taken a step forward, finishing third with a time of 1’49.596. He was 0.289 seconds off Cortese, with Viñales stopping the clock at 1’49.694.

Continuing his excellent progress, Álex Rins ended the day 0.679 seconds from the top in sixth. Álex Márquez was seventeenth, 1.999 seconds away in the opening practices for his fourth Grand Prix.

Maverick Viñales

FP1 - 1:54.415, 16 laps, 67 km.
FP2 - 1:49.694, 16 laps, 67 km.

“I am very happy with today's practice. The first run out on a wet track went very well. At Sachsenring I lost a little confidence in the wet, but today I felt very good. We worked mainly on the chassis today, because we need to make a few improvements with the engine, but I think that tomorrow we will solve the issue and be more competitive. In the afternoon I rode very comfortably, especially when setting my own pace. The track is a little dirty, but after practice sessions for Moto2 and MotoGP I am sure that tomorrow it is going to be in good condition.”

Miguel Oliveira

FP1 - 1:54.271, 15 laps, 63 km.
FP2 - 1:49.596, 15 laps, 63 km.

“I'm happy with the results after the first day of practice, even though in the morning the track was not in very good condition. However, after struggling a bit with the bike, we took a fourth and a third place from the two sessions, so we can be satisfied. We must keep working hard, because we still have much to do, especially in certain areas of the technical side of things. I hope that, after chatting with the technicians, we can continue to progress with our search for a setting tomorrow and have another positive day. I am satisfied with the work done by the team and I think that we are going in the right direction."

Álex Rins

FP1 - 1:55.543, 16 laps, 67 km.
FP2 - 1:49.986, 18 laps, 76 km.

“Considering that it was the first time that we have ridden at this track, today was not too bad. Obviously we need to improve on many things to be up there at the front, but we're not too far from the first group of riders so I think that we can take the fight to them, if we keep going in the same way. We need to make a few small changes to the bike, then I am sure that we will find a faster pace. The bike has worked well and after two sessions we can approach tomorrow with much more confidence."

Álex Márquez

FP1 - 1:57.137, 14 laps, 59 km.
FP2 - 1:51.306, 16 laps, 67 km.

“The first day at Indianapolis has been quite positive for us. We were not far off, but there are still some details to polish. My re-encounter with the team has been fantastic and I’m very happy to be able to take this opportunity that they and the sponsors have given me. We will keep on working tomorrow."

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MAPFRE ASPAR RIDERS RETURN FROM SUMMER BREAK AT INDIANÁPOLIS

Jonas Folger and Héctor Faubel seventh and eighth, respectively, in positive start to American round.

After more than a month of inactivity, the Moto3 riders were back in the saddle today with two practice sessions for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The track didn't provide them with the best of conditions to start off with, as overnight rain had left numerous puddles on the surface of the asphalt. Things dried off later on, but the surface remained dirty and there were a series off crashes -fortunately without injuries. Sandro Cortese recorded the best time of 1'49.307, whilst traffic halted the progress of those looking to match the German. The top eight was tightly packed, boding well for the weekend.

German rider Jonas Folger debuted for the MAPFRE Aspar Team today, starting strongly. On a completely new machine and with a completely new team, Folger nonetheless managed to place third in the opening session and seventh in the afternoon run. Very satisfied with his welcome to the team and the opportunity to ride the Kalex, Folger will continue his adaptation tomorrow.

Teammate Héctor Faubel returned from vacation with a renewed optimism and also had a positive first day at The Brickyard. He was eighth overall, just behind his new teammate and with a best time of 1'50.368.

7th Jonas Folger 1.50.356 (30 laps): "These first two sessions for the MAPFRE Aspar Team have been very positive. I felt really good. I am still learning with this bike, which is completely different to that which I had previously ridden this season and has its own character. The first encounter with the bike has been fantastic. Now I need to adapt my riding style to this machine. The team have welcomed me with open arms, everyone here is very professional and they know what they have to do at every moment. This is important for us as we look to improve steadily. Now I have to get as many laps under my belt as possible and adapt to the Kalex/KTM as soon as possible. We have made a good start and I hope this continues tomorrow."

8th Héctor Faubel 1.50.368 (31 laps): "This morning we started out with a wet track and had to ride for most of the session with wet tyres. In the afternoon the track was more slippery and a little dirty because of the rain from yesterday. We started the weekend working hard, picking things up again from Germany and Italy. Today we mainly focused on the front end of the bike and we will analyse the data this afternoon to see where we can get more grip. In general we are satisfied with things, as the chassis is working well and it is giving me confidence. We will look for some new solutions tomorrow with our gearing."

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MotoGP Moto3 - A learning Friday for Team Italia in Indianapolis

After the first free practice sessions, Fenati is 14th and Tonucci 24th

Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#5) posted the 14th-best time on Friday. Fenny took advantage of the free practice sessions to spend as much time as possible on track and adapt to the different surfaces. With a 1'51"072, Fenati improved by 3''7 across sessions 1 and 2 and is 1''7 behind Cortese, the fastest rider on track today.

Alessandro Tonucci (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#19) closed the day in 24th position, with a personal best of 1'52"04.

Both riders showed increased confidence on the American track and will try to improve their settings ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.

Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#5) 34 laps with a 1'51"072

"Lapping on a humid track in the morning allowed to get to know the track, but after that I didn't improve as much as I wanted to. The team and I need to work on a better setup. I like the track and I'm confident I can do better."

Alessandro Tonucci (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#19) 32 laps with a 1'52"04

"The changing track conditions made me lose the feeling on the bike a little bit, but I'm sure we can find the light tomorrow. I'm confident ahead of qualifiers."

Roberto Locatelli (FMI Technical Coordinator)

"The whole team focused the work on tomorrow's qualifiers. We have some pretty big changes ready for next session. Romano approached the new track really well, while Alessandro had some issues. The gaps are narrow, and better positions are within our reach."

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ANTONELLI MAKES INDIANAPOLIS DEBUT

Team San Carlo Honda Gresini youngster Niccolo Antonelli made his first appearance at one of the most famous motorsport venues in the world today, completing first free practice for the Moto3 Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A damp track this morning following an overnight thunderstorm made it difficult for the rookie to learn the layout and his task was not made easier in the afternoon when he was run off track by Alan Techer. However, it was a valuable day's work that will serve him well ahead of tomorrow's qualifying practice.

Niccolo’ Antonelli (19th 1’ 51” 724) “I didn't want to take any risks during the session this morning so we went out with wet weather tyres on to just try and learn the layout. In the afternoon I tried to push harder but I was run off track by another rider and that cost us valuable time. It was a shame but we were still able to work out what didn't work and I am sure we will make big improvements tomorrow. We have a few problems with the front end that I am sure the team can work out but I like the track and I am confident.”

Fausto Gresini “The position after two sessions doesn't do justice to the job done by Niccolo today and I think we'll see that reflected in qualifying tomorrow. He was rightly careful this morning and in the afternoon he would have done much better if it wasn't for another rider. Anyway we know which way we have to go with the bike and he will work with the team to make sure he is more competitive tomorrow.”

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Marc Márquez back with a bang

from summer break

Repsol rider finishes opening two free practice sessions for Indianapolis Grand Prix in second place.

The Moto2 championship leader returned to work today, refreshed and recharged ahead of the second half of the 2012 season. The Repsol rider, who holds a 34 point advantage over Pol Espargaró in the overall standings, finished second behind his compatriot today in practice for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. His best time was a 1’44.143 lap.

He and Espargaró proved to be one step ahead of the competition in the morning session. Improving lap-by-lap, both riders were over a second ahead of anyone else and Márquez was able to stop the clock at 1’44.537, on lap 15 of 20.

In the second session, despite ending the run with better times than in the morning, most of the run was carried out at a slower pace than three hours earlier. After 18 further laps, Márquez shaved almost four tenths of a second off his previous best time with a 1’44.143 lap, after a further 18 times around the Indianapolis circuit.

Marc Márquez

FP1 - 1:44.537, 20 laps, 84 km
FP2 - 1:44.143, 18 laps, 76 km

"Today went pretty well. After the holidays, we have slowly been finding our pace again. The feeling that we had was very good and we have confirmed that the work undertaken at the Portimao test has served us well. Tomorrow we'll see if we can continue in the same way. We are doing very well, but we still have to improve on some points. These are few, but important. Sunday's race will be long and tyre degradation will make a difference, so we will have to work further on this during practice."

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Fourth for Redding on opening day at Indianapolis

Indianapolis, USA - 17 August 2012: Scott Redding was fourth fastest on combined times on the opening day of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, at the world famous Brickyard. Mika Kallio ended the first day 11th on the timesheet, just over half a second behind his Marc VDS teammate.

This morning's first 45-minute free practice session was held on a track drying from overnight rain and with unpredictable levels of grip in certain sections. Both Marc VDS riders opted to complete the session on the harder option rear tyres, saving the softer tyres for when track conditions improved.

After five practice sessions earlier in the day, the track conditions had improved significantly for this afternoon's free practice, allowing Redding and Kallio to start working on refining set-up and pushing for fast lap times.

Redding moved into the top ten at the halfway point in the session, before posting the fourth quickest time right at the end. Kallio was quick to put in a fast lap early in the session to go second, but dropped down the order to 11th as he struggled to maintain a good rhythm on subsequent pit exits.

The two Marc VDS riders are confident of further improvements tomorrow ahead of the all-important qualifying session, in which they are both aiming for a start on the front three rows of the grid.

Scott Redding #45: 4th - 1'44.512

"It took me a bit longer to adapt to riding a Moto2 bike again after testing the MotoGP bike during the summer break. It wasn't so much the bike itself, but more the tyres. The Ducati was really stable on the Bridgestones, but the Moto2 bike moves around a lot on the Dunlops, which takes a bit of getting used to again. But the bike felt good this afternoon, and the pace was there, so I'm pretty happy with where we are at the end of the first day. The only slight concern is tyre wear, especially on the left hand side of the rear tyre. This track is very abrasive and there was a drop off in tyre performance after just a handful of laps. It's not a big issue, but one we certainly need to keep in mind for the race on Sunday."

Mika Kallio #36: 11th - 1'45.140

"We tried a few small things with the bike today, but it's a bit pointless spending so much time on set-up when we know the track conditions will be very different tomorrow. This track doesn't get used much and it always takes a while for the track surface to bed in when we come here. I'm a little bit annoyed with myself after this afternoon's session. My first exit was good, but I couldn't seem to find the same rhythm for the rest of the session. I knew what I needed to do, which lines I needed to take, but I just couldn't seem to get it right. The bike was up to the job this afternoon but, unfortunately, the rider wasn't. We have a few changes to make for tomorrow, to take advantage of the improved track conditions, and I'm confident we'll be up to speed for qualifying."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

"I was a little concerned this morning, but the track conditions weren't ideal and both Scott and Mika stayed on the harder option rear tyre for the entire session. This afternoon both of them increased their pace as grip levels improved during the session, with Scott finishing just a few tenths off second place. I'm confident that both riders can continue to improve tomorrow, as grip becomes easier to find on a track that doesn't see much use during the rest of the season. I think it's possible for both riders to qualify on the front three rows tomorrow, so that's the goal we'll be setting them for the final timed session."

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