Cortese nips first Moto3 pole of season

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Sandro Cortese (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took the first ever Moto3™ pole position for Sunday's Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar after posting the fastest lap at the very end of Saturday's qualifying session. The German rider's final effort of 2'08.188 was enough to seal prime position on the grid by a margin of just 0.016s ahead of Maverick Viñales (Blusens Avintia).


Spanish rider Viñales – whose top time from FP2 was faster than Cortese's pole – looked set to take first position on the timesheet with his time of 2'08.204 until Cortese's late salvo, with Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany) completing the front row following a strong session.

Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) led the session towards the end but eventually had to settle for fourth position, and the Spaniard will be joined on the second row by Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing) and rookie Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI).

Starting the season-opening race from the third row will be Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Airasia-SIC-Ajo), Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0'0) and another debutant Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

British rider Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ended the session 12th fastest and will therefore begin from row four, whilst compatriot Danny Webb was 25th quickest on the Mahindra Racing machine. Italian Simone Grotzkyj (Ambrogio Next Racing) had a crash with 10 minutes of the session left, and qualified in 29th.

The Moto3 riders will be back on track at 9.20pm local time on Saturday evening for their 20-minute warm up session prior to Sunday's race.

1 Sandro CORTESE Red Bull KTM Ajo 2'08.188 

2 Maverick VIÑALES Blusens Avintia 2'08.204 0.016 / 0.016

3 Louis ROSSI Racing Team Germany 2'08.303 0.115 / 0.099

4 Luis SALOM RW Racing GP Kalex 2'08.566 0.378 / 0.263

5 Niklas AJO TT Motion Events Racing 2'08.734 0.546 / 0.168

6 Romano FENATI Team Italia FMI 2'08.799 0.611 / 0.065

7 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN AirAsia-Sic-Ajo 2'08.847 0.659 / 0.048

8 Miguel OLIVEIRA Estrella Galicia 0,0 2'08.926 0.738 / 0.079

9 Arthur SISSIS Red Bull KTM Ajo 2'09.001 0.813 / 0.075

10 Alexis MASBOU Caretta Technology 2'09.107 0.919 / 0.106

11 Alessandro TONUCCI Team Italia FMI 216.0 2'09.119 0.931 / 0.012

12 Danny KENT Red Bull KTM Ajo 2'09.126 0.938 / 0.007

13 Alex RINS Estrella Galicia 0,0 2'09.139 0.951 / 0.013

14 Alberto MONCAYO Bankia Aspar Team 218.3 2'09.370 1.182 / 0.231

15 Brad BINDER RW Racing GP 216.5 2'09.560 1.372 / 0.190

16 Hector FAUBEL Bankia Aspar Team 2'09.869 1.681 / 0.309

17 Jasper IWEMA Moto FGR 2'09.876 1.688 / 0.007

18 Alan TECHER Technomag-CIP-TSR 2'09.991 1.803 / 0.115

19 Jakub KORNFEIL Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta 215.7 2'10.142 1.954 / 0.151

20 Niccolo ANTONELLI San Carlo Gresini Moto3 2'10.150 1.962 / 0.008

21 Efren VAZQUEZ JHK T-Shirt Laglisse 2'10.577 2.389 / 0.427

22 Ivan MORENO Andalucia JHK Laglisse 215.1 2'10.760 2.572 / 0.183

23 Marcel SCHROTTER Mahindra Racing 2'11.055 2.867 / 0.295

24 Adrian MARTIN JHK T-Shirt Laglisse 2'11.264 3.076 / 0.209

25 Danny WEBB Mahindra Racing 2'11.317 3.129 / 0.053

26 Jack MILLER Caretta Technology 2'11.461 3.273 / 0.144

27 Isaac VIÑALES Ongetta-Centro Seta 2'11.651 3.463 / 0.190

28 Kenta FUJII Technomag-CIP-TSR 2'12.845 4.657 / 1.194

29 Simone GROTZKYJ Ambrogio Next Racing 2'12.960 4.772 / 0.115

30 Luigi MORCIANO Ioda Team Italia 2'13.024 4.836 / 0.064

31 Toni FINSTERBUSCH Cresto Guide MZ Racing 2'13.254 5.066 / 0.230

32 Jonas FOLGER IodaRacing Project 2'13.695 5.507 / 0.441

source: MotoGP Official

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Cortese heads up final Moto3 practice

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Sandro Cortese was the quickest rider in the third and final practice at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, with Romano Fenati and Luis Salom completing the top three. The German was unable to better Maverick Viñales' FP2 time however which remains the fastest so far, as the Spaniard placed fourth in the last session.

Sandro Cortese (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was the fastest rider in the third and final practice in Qatar on Friday, as the Moto3™ class ran its final preparations before Saturday's qualifying session. The German rider posted a best time of 2'08.342 to top the timesheet in the 40-minute run, and then pulled off a great save at the end to avoid tarnishing his session with a late crash.

Despite being the best of the session Cortese's time was still not the fastest of the three practices combined. That lap remains Maverick Viñales' (Blusens Avintia) effort from FP2 (2'08.160) which the young Spaniard set on Friday.

Second to Cortese in FP3 was Italian rookie Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI), who continued to generate excitement about his World Championship debut with a lap of 2'08.376, just 0.034s off top spot. Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) completed the top three at a tenth-of-a-second off Cortese, with Viñales fourth in the final session and just 0.135s off P1.

Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0'0), Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0'0) were the final three riders within a second of the top time in the practice, and Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar Team), Alexis Masbou (Caretta Technology) and another newcomer Niccolò Antonelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Moto3) completed the top 10.

Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany) and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Airasia-SIC-Ajo) occupied 11th and 12th positions respectively, and both ended the session with crashes. Jonas Folger's (Iodaracing Project) problematic weekend continued as he encountered further technical issues during the session.

The Moto3 riders will be back on track on Saturday at 6pm local time for qualifying.

source: MotoGP Official

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Moto3™ Test concludes with Cortese quickest

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The three day pre-season Moto3™ test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit concluded on Friday, and warmer weather meant lower lap times and more laps to get acquainted with the new breed of motorcycles.

After two days of cold and wind at the Valencia circuit, the weather finally eased up and the Moto3 riders welcomed the opportunity to put in as many laps as possible on their new machinery ahead of the season start. The entire field were able to better their times from yesterday with the exception of a few riders who either crashed or otherwise encountered mechanical issues.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese reported the fastest time of the 33 participants for the third day in a row, his lap of 1’40.9 an improvement of four tenths over his top ranking time of Thursday. Offering a lap time for the first time in three days was Avintia Racing rider Maverick Viñales who lapped his FTR Suter just a tenth behind Cortese, while Alberto Moncayo, Danny Kent and Luis Salom all reported a time of 1’41.2, two tenths off the 2011 125cc Rookie of the Year to complete the top five times.

The next Moto3 ™ testing will begin next week in Jerez, where the Andalusian track will host three test days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

Unofficial Moto3 lap times Friday(recorded by teams):

1. SANDRO CORTESE, RED BULL KTM AJO, 1’40.9 (41 laps) 

2. MAVERICK VINALES, AVINTIA RACING Moto3, 1’41.0 (66 laps)

3. ALBERTO MONCAYO, ASPAR TEAM Moto3, 1’41.2 (56 laps) 

4. DANNY KENT, RED BULL KTM AJO, 1’41.2 (56 laps) 

5. LUIS SALOM, RW RACING GP, 1’41.2 (28 laps) 

6. NIKLAS AJO, TT MOTION EVENTS RACING, 1’41.4 (32 laps)

7. HECTOR FAUBEL, ASPAR TEAM Moto3, 1’41.6 (54 laps) 

8. MIGUEL OLIVEIRA, MONLAU COMPETICION, 1’41.8 (60 laps) 

9. ZULFAHMI KHAIRUDDIN, AIRASIA - SIC - AJO, 1’42.0 (44 laps) 

10. BRAD BINDER, RW RACING GP, 1’42.0 (50 laps) 

11. EFREN VAZQUEZ, TEAM LAGLISSE, 1’42.2 (35 laps) 

12. LOUIS ROSSI, RACING TEAM GERMANY, 1’42.9 (40 laps) 

13. ARTHUR SISSIS, RED BULL KTM AJO, 1’43.1 (50 laps) 

14. ADRIAN MARTIN, TEAM LAGLISSE, 1’43.1 (40 laps) 

15. DANNY WEBB, MAHINDRA RACING, 1’43.2 (32 laps) 

16. NICCOLO ANTONELLI, SAN CARLO GRESINI Moto3, 1’43.2 (68 laps) 

17. ALEX MARQUEZ, MONLAU COMPETICION, 1’43.7 (60 laps) 

18. TONI FINSTERBUSCH, RACING TEAM GERMANY, 1’44.1 (44 laps) 

19. ALEXIS MASBOU, CARRETTA TECHNOLOGY, 1’44.3 (73 laps) 

20. KENTA FUJII, TECHNOMAG-CIP-TSR, 1’44.3 (82 laps) 

21. JONAS FOLGER, MZ RACING TEAM, 1’44.5 (38 laps) 

22. JACK MILLER, CARRETTA TECHNOLOGY, 1’44.7 (60 laps) 

23. ALAN TECHER, TECHNOMAG-CIP-TSR, 1’44.8 (47 laps) 

24. ROMANO FENATI, TEAM ITALIA FMI, 1’46.1 (35 laps) 

25. MARCEL SCHROTTER, MAHINDRA RACING, 1’46.2 (37 laps) 

26. IVAN MORENO, TEAM MACHADO, 1’46.2 (25 laps) 

27. LUIGI MORCIANO, IODA TEAM ITALIA, 1’49.3 (10 laps) 

28. GIULIAN PEDONE, AMBROGIO NEXT RACING, 1’50.0 (16 laps) 

29. RICCARDO MORETTI, MAHINDRA RACING, No time provided

30. JASPER IWEMA, MOTO FGR, No time provided

31. ISAAC VINALES, ONGETTA-CENTRO SETA, No time provided

32. JAKUB KORNFEIL, REDOX-ONGETTA-CENTRO SETA, No time provided 

33. ALESSANDRO TONUCCI, TEAM ITALIA FMI, No time provided

source: MotoGP Official

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Moto3: Cortese and KTM in Valencia the lead in Day 2 of testing

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Within 10 days from a reference best lap in 1'43 "2 to a stunning 1'41" 3: real or alleged "miracles" of the new category. The Moto3 closes the second day of activities at the Autodromo Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia with a new record achieved by KTM Motorsport dell'Ajo M32 official assigned to the "veteran" Sandro Cortese, fell on the last lap by January 31 (private testing KTM Racing) to date of almost 2 seconds. Temperatures will be higher (although a few ° C) or the availability, at least for the top teams, the "package World 2012" (unit Dell'Orto and Dunlop tires developed specifically for the new category), this certainly makes a stir Climbing performance of Moto3 made ​​in Matthigofen, so as to create some legitimate and understandable suspicion on the actual goodness of the Valencian tests.

With a ranking of "unofficial" drawn from the times reported by the teams, shows an apparent dominance of the KTM 4-stroke 250cc engines: Sandro Cortese commands in 1'41 "3 with the M32 officer entered the Red Bull KTM Factory Team Ajo, 1 / 10-KALEX KTM Aspar team led by former champion CEV 125 (Rookie of the Year in the World 2010) Alberto Moncayo, even in the fourth test with the staff always Moto3 Cheste. A complete poker "Orange" we think the former vice-Rookies Cup champion Danny Kent (reappointed for the second consecutive year in Ajo Motorsport, now from KTM Factory Rider) and the expert Hector Faubel (second-KALEX KTM dell'Aspar Team), avoids the "pokerissimo" KTM Miguel Oliveira with Honda's NSF250R Monlau Competicion, with this bike capable of beating the 125 GP 2 times in the last two rounds of the CEV 2011 between Valencia (pole in 1'41 "776) and Jerez de la Frontera.

The Portuguese driver, ex-Maverick Vinales great rival in the Spanish League, takes his Hondina sponsored by major sponsors (Repsol, CatalunyaCaixa, Estrella Galicia 0.0) under the wall dell'1'42 "leaving behind familiar faces and some surprise: the Malaysian Zulfahmi Khairuddin again confirmed in top positions with yet another KTM M32, through the Australian champion in office IDM 125 Jack Miller (Honda team Caretta Technology), Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany today with a FTR- Honda). Rounding out the top-10 include the last pole man in the history of the 125 GP class with Danny Webb Mahindra MGP3O thrust from the propeller Oral OE-250M3R, followed closely by the South African House RW Racing GP Brad Binder, 10 ° of KALEX- KTM.

Speaking of our standard bearer, the Italian champion figure well in office 125 Niccolo Antonelli, 11 ° NSF250R with the Honda Gresini team, but were not communicated to the times of Richard Moretti (tester Mahindra Racing) and ensigns of the IMF on Ioda TR002 Luigi Morciano, Alessandro Tonucci and the reigning European champion Roman Fenati. Same goes for a "big" as Luis Salom (KALEX of KTM-RW Racing GP), but especially Maverick Vinales , with Avintia Racing (ex-Team BQR) has decided to avoid confrontation with the fastest time for the second competition day in a row.

Oral report by the development of the World Wide Racing M3 (now "Ambrose Next Racing") entrusted to the Swiss Giulian Pedone, 19 ° and preceded by MZ Honda driven by the engine by first time runner-up Toni Finsterbusch IDM 125 (deployed by the Racing Team Germany) and the winner of the Grand Prix at Silverstone 2011 Jonas Folger. At the edge of the top-10 but Alex Marquez , brother of Marc, author of the second slide in these tests to "substitute" by Alex Rins to Monlau Competicion, but still in the CEV Moto3 candidate for the title with the same Honda NSF250R managed by the formation of Emilio Alzamora.

Moto3 World Championship 2012 

Valencia IRTA Test, Day 2 Standings

01 - Sandro Cortese - Red Bull KTM Factory Team Ajo - KTM M32 - 1'41 .3 (52 laps) 

02 - Alberto Moncayo - BANKIA Aspar Team - KALEX KTM - 1'41 .4 (42 laps) 

03 - Danny Kent - Red Bull KTM Ajo Factory Team - KTM M32 - 1'41 .5 (56 laps) 

04 - Hector Faubel - BANKIA Aspar Team - KALEX KTM - 1'41 .8 (34 laps) 

05 - Miguel Oliveira - Monlau Competicion - NSF250R Honda - 1'41 .8 (61 laps) 

06 - Zulfahmi Khairuddin - AirAsia SIC Ajo - KTM M32 - 1'42 .4 (33 RPM) 

07 - Jack Miller - Caretta Technology - NSF250R Honda - 1'42 .9 (55 laps) 

08 - Louis Rossi - Racing Team Germany - Honda FTR M312 - 1'43 .1 (34 laps) 

09 - Danny Webb - Racing Mahindra - Mahindra MGP3O - 1'43 .2 (30 laps) 

10 - Brad Binder - RW Racing GP - KALEX KTM - 1'43 .3 (41 laps) 

11 - Niccolo Antonelli - San Carlo Gresini Moto3 - NSF250R Honda - 1'43 .5 (56 laps) 

12 - Efren Vazquez - Team Laglisse - NSF250R Honda - 1'43 .8 (25 laps) 

13 - Alex Marquez - Monlau Competicion - NSF250R Honda - 1'44 .5 (44 laps) 

14 - Arthur SISSIS - Red Bull KTM Factory Team Ajo - KTM M32 - 1'44 .5 (55 laps) 

15 - Toni Finsterbusch - Racing Team Germany - MZ Honda Moto3 - 1'44 .8 (33 laps) 

16 - Adrian Martin - Team Laglisse - NSF250R Honda - 1'45 .2 (32 laps) 

17 - Jonas Folfer - MZ Racing Team - MZ Honda Moto3 - 1'45 .3 (67 laps) 

18 - Alexis Masbou - Caretta Technology - NSF250R Honda - 1'45 .4 (55 laps) 

19 - Giulian Pedone - Next Racing Ambrose - Oral M3 - 1'45 .8 (15 laps) 

20 - Jakub Kornfeil - Redox Ongetta Centre Silk - NSF250R Honda - 1'46 .3 (44 laps) 

21 - Maverick Vinales - Avintia Racing - Honda FTR M312 - without time 

22 - Luigi Morciano - Ioda Team Italy - Ioda TR002 - Timeless 

23 - Marcel Schrotter - Racing Mahindra - Mahindra MGP3O - Timeless 

24 - Riccardo Moretti - Racing Mahindra - Mahindra MG3O - Timeless 

25 - Jasper Iwema - Moto FGR - Motorcycles FGR Honda - Timeless 

26 - Luis Salom - RW Racing GP - KALEX KTM - Timeless 

27 - Roman Fenati - Team Italy IMF - Ioda TR002 - Timeless 

28 - Alessandro Tonucci - Team Italy IMF - Ioda TR002 - Timeless 

29 - Ivan Moreno - Team Machado - Honda FTR M312 - Timeless 

30 - Kenta Fuji - Technomag CIP TSR - TSR3 Honda - Timeless 

31 - Alan Techer - Technomag CIP TSR - Honda NSF250R - Timeless 

32 - Niklas Ajo - TT Motion Events Racing - KTM M32 - Timeless

source: bikeracing.it

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Cortese sustains lead in FP2

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Sandro Cortese led the 125cc field in the first practice outing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, with Harry Stafford claiming the second spot ahead of Johann Zarco. Nicolas Terol concluded the rainy session in 12th position.

Rainy conditions slowed the single cylinder field considerably during the second practice session of the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, after FP1 claimed more than ten riders on the treacherous damp track. FP2 was held under no less slippery conditions, as Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) rose to the top of the pile once again with a fastest posted lap of 1’59.126.

Stafford (Ongetta-Centro Seta) posted the second fastest time behind Cortese just before the rain began to fall in earnest, nearly one second behind the German and 0.038s ahead of Championship challenger Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo). Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) posted the fourth fastest time at four tenths off the Frenchman, though crashed out of the session with 11 minutes to go.

Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) was a close fifth, ahead of Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar) in sixth and Jack Miller (Caretta Technology) claiming the seventh spot in the timings.

Louis Rossi (Matteoni Racing), Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) and Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing) finished the top ten riders, with Viñales crashing in the final ten minutes. The young Spaniard was up and back on the bike, though he had some trouble getting back to the pits when he opted to ride his bike on the service roads before re-entering the track.

A cautious Nicolas Terol posted the 12th fastest time behind wild card John McPhee (Racing Steps Foundation KRP). The Championship leader is 20 points ahead of Frenchman Johann Zarco in the run for the title, and on Sunday will only need a finish of 11th or higher to deliver him his first World title and the last ever 125cc Championship crown.

source: motogp official

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Cortese maintains fast form in Australia

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Sandro Cortese showed no sign of slowing by setting the Friday free practice pace at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, ahead of Nicolas Terol and Johann Zarco.

Intact Racing Team Germany’s Cortese led the way in the second practice outing with a best time of 1’38.530, three tenths quicker than his morning time to place him at the top of the combined times for the day. Terol (Bankia Aspar) was again second in the charts, following the German rider by 0.178s after an improvement of two tenths over his morning time, while Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) stepped up to third with a lap of 1’39.104.

The wind picked up for the afternoon session which saw the lightweight bikes produce slightly lower top speeds, although about two thirds of the field were able to improved on their lap times, with the biggest steps coming from Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar),who improved seven tenths to end the day fifth in the field, and Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) jumping eight tenths from his morning time to land six for the day, while Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) was unable to improve his pace and his morning time of 1’39.132 set him fourth.

Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing) went wide in turn eight in the second outing, touching the grass and sliding out in a high speed tumble but was up and walking away immediately though his bike was damaged enough that he was unable to rejoin, thus finishing seventh for the day. Danny Webb (Mahindra Racing) also crashed out and missed much of the session, finishing the day in 14th place.

Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) landed eighth, with Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) 0.239s behind the German rider while Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) recovered from a crash in FP1 to take the tenth spot just seven thousandths of a second ahead of Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo).

source: motogp official

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Cortese stars in Phillip Island opener

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Sandro Cortese reigned supreme as the World Championship returned to Phillip Island today with the Intact Racing Team Germany rider on top form in the first free practice at the Australian circuit, ahead of Terol and Faubel.

The 125cc World Championship track action began on Friday under bright sunshine with practice sessions set one hour later than usual as the German rider set the pace with a 1’38.805, a margin of 0.135s over current standings leader Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar). Héctor Faubel followed his team mate with a 1’39.132 lap time with Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) following by 0.217s to assume fourth.

Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing) grabbed the fifth spot in the timings for his first outing at the southern Australian circuit, with a substantial 6 tenths margin over the next group of close ranking riders led a third Bankia Aspar rider, Adrián Martín.

Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) follwed Martín by 0.054s, with Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) and Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) both 0.012s behind the Spaniard to take the eighth and ninth spots.Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) was two tenths off Folger and 1.5s off the leader Cortese in tenth.

Luis Salom crashed early, and while the rider was up and OK, his bike was carried out of the gravel by track marshals. He finished the session in 31st, just behind the highest ranking wildcard of the session, Joshua Hook (HookRacing.com).

source: motogp official

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