Yuki Takahashi Jubilant After Maiden Moto2 Victory at Catalunya

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

The Moto2 race began with a massive crash in the first turn that would have a profound effect on the outcome of the race.

It was hard to assign blame for what happened, but it appeared there was some overaggressive riding mid-pack which caused a chain reaction that sent eight riders to the ground with several more forced to take evasive action.

Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2) was ahead of the carnage and sped into the lead, unhindered by a broken collarbone which had been mended exactly one week earlier. He was leading on lap two when what would turn out to be a critical mistake took place.

Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) passed Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) under a waving yellow in the turn one crash site, a clear violation. Within a few laps a marshal held a sign with his number and a “-1,” meaning he should move back one position, but it was clear he didn’t know what it meant. His team tried similar communications, both with their arms and with their pit board, but nothing worked and Iannone was assessed a ride-through penalty, which he served on the 16th of 23 laps.

As soon as Iannone pulled into the pit lane, Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3) took the lead and sped to victory, his first in the MotoGP class and the first for the Tech 3 team. Takahashi also had two wins on a 250. The margin of victory was 5.037s.

Luthi overcame the discomfort of his recently mended collarbone to emerge victorious over Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter). Luthi passed the Spaniard on the 22nd lap and beat him to the flag by .163s.

A spirited battle for fourth went to Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing, FTR) over Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) and Simone Corsi (JIR Moto2, Motobi).

Despite finishing sixth, Elias continues to lead the championship with 111 points. Luthi moved into second with 94, with Simon third at 77. Shoya Tomizawa (Techomag-CIP, Suter), who came to Spain second in the points, crashed on the fifth lap. He’d been relegated to the back of the field after avoiding the first turn disaster.

Now, after three consecutive races, the paddock can take a breather before reconvening at the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix on the weekend of July 16-18.

Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3): 1st
“I am a little bit speechless right now because I expected to be on the podium but this win is like a dream for me. Luckily I got on the front row in qualifying yesterday and that meant I wasn’t involved in the big crash at the first corner. I didn’t have a very good pace in the early laps while I gained some confidence with the front tyre, but once in my rhythm I could easily catch Luthi and Simon. My bike was working fantastic out of the last corner and it meant I could pass them both on the brakes at the first corner. I tried to follow Iannone but it was very difficult. He was riding very fast and I didn’t realise he was penalised for passing me under a yellow flag. My board said P1 even though I was second and for a while it was a little confusing. But when I saw him pull into the pit lane I understood the situation because I’d seen the penalty board and his number but I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then it became incredibly hard to maintain concentration because Iannone was a good reference. I settled down though and could win and it was an amazing feeling. I can’t thank my team at Tech 3 Racing enough. This team is like a family and everybody works incredibly hard. They have unbelievable passion for racing and for me, and this win feels a lot more special than before because it is with a bike we’ve all developed.”

Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki): 2nd
“The whole weekend was hard and brutally hot. With the fresh operation it was not always a nice feeling. We still had a good weekend and could start the race from first row and I finished the race in second place, which was really good. These points are very important for me.”

Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter): 3rd
“I haven’t seen what happened at the beginning of the race, but I consider myself lucky to not have been involved in the first corner crash. I was very focused on not losing positions from the start, because that is something that has been a problem for the past two races. I was aggressive on the opening laps, knowing that I had to take advantage of a good pace on fresh tyres. I made a couple of mistakes and let Iannone and Takahashi get away, so from then on I stuck on Luthi’s back tyre and waited for a last lap move. The end of the race was when I was waiting for him to leave an opening, but he was on it and I was left sliding around on worn tyres. I am very happy to have finished third here in Barcelona, after having made a silly mistake last year to miss out on a win. The next race is at a circuit that I love, so I’m very happy.”