Pol Espargaro got the better of Nicolas Terol once again to finish the pre-season Valencia test on top but the final day was marred by a heavy crash involving Thomas Luthi and Ratthapark Wilairot. The pair came together in the second session of the day with Luthi’s participation in the Qatar season opener now in some doubt.
Details of the accident are unclear with neither rider able to fully remember the moments leading up to it but Luthi has subsequently been taken to the 9 d’Octubre Hospital in Valencia with a suspected broken right arm and collarbone. Wilairot remained at the circuit to be treated for pain in his head but appears to have escaped serious injury himself.
Luthi had previously set the fifth fastest time overall with Pol Espargaro and Nicolas Terol resuming their battle from the previous two days up front. The best weather of the test set the scene for some blistering lap times as Espargaro destroyed his pole position record set in last year’s season finale. Terol also went quicker than that time though to finish a close second, as did Julian Simon, Jordi Torres, the unfortunate Luthi and Takaaki Nakagami who completed the top six.
Scott Redding rounded off a solid week with seventh place ahead of Esteve Rabat and Simone Corsi while Johann Zarco, the man who’s replaced Corsi at Ioda Racing, tenth in the overall classification despite his second crash of the week. British rookies Danny Kent and Kyle Smith both made excellent progress over the three days to end up 24th and 25th, the latter finding a second and a half from his best effort the day before.
Moto2 Valencia Test: Combined Classification – Thursday 14th February | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Best Time | |
1 | 40. Pol Espargaro | Tuenti HP 40 | 1:34.577 | ||
2 | 18. Nicolas Terol | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | 1:34.777 | ||
3 | 60. Julian Simon | Italtrans Racing Team | 1:34.981 | ||
4 | 81. Jordi Torres | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | 1:35.084 | ||
5 | 12. Thomas Luthi | Interwetten Paddock | 1:35.093 | ||
6 | 30. Takaaki Nakagami | Italtrans Racing Team | 1:35.122 | ||
7 | 45. Scott Redding | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:35.293 | ||
8 | 80. Esteve Rabat | Tuenti HP 40 | 1:35.317 | ||
9 | 3. Simone Corsi | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 1:35.365 | Report | |
10 | 5. Johann Zarco | Came IodaRacing Project | 1:35.399 | ||
11 | 77. Dominique Aegerter | Technomag carXpert | 1:35.555 | ||
12 | 49. Axel Pons | Tuenti HP 40 | 1:35.630 | ||
13 | 36. Mika Kallio | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:35.769 | ||
14 | 24. Toni Elias | Blusens Avintia | 1:35.911 | ||
15 | 19. Xavier Simeon | Maptaq SAG Zelos Team | 1:36.039 | ||
16 | 88. Ricard Cardus | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 1:36.347 | Report | |
17 | 95. Anthony West | QMMF Racing Team | 1:36.434 | ||
18 | 54. Mattia Pasini | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 1:36.485 | Report | |
19 | 14. Ratthapark Wilairot | Thai Honda Gresini Moto2 | 1:36.531 | Report | |
20 | 15. Alex De Angelis | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | 1:36.722 | Report | |
21 | 11. Sandro Cortese | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1:36.733 | ||
22 | 72. Yuki Takahashi | Honda Racing Asia Tady | 1:36.862 | ||
23 | 44. Steven Odendaal | Arguiñano & Gines Racing | 1:37.159 | ||
24 | 52. Danny Kent | Tech 3 Racing | 1:37.330 | ||
25 | 9. Kyle Smith | Blusens Avintia | 1:37.378 | ||
26 | 4. Randy Krummenacher | Technomag carXpert | 1:37.389 | ||
27 | 63. Mike Di Meglio | JIR Moto2 | 1:37.571 | Report | |
28 | 96. Louis Rossi | Tech 3 Racing | 1:37.662 | ||
29 | 17. Alberto Moncayo | Arguiñano & Gines Racing | 1:38.097 | ||
30 | 7. Doni Tata Pradita | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1:38.266 | Report |