Cluzel & Simon battle it out - No luck for Tomizawa and Rolfo

Suter-MMX riders Jules Cluzel and Julian Simon ended a great battle for fourth place at the Moto2 Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno with a photo finish in which the Frenchman crossed the line just six hundredths of a second ahead of his Spanish rival.

„I am very happy with this result“, beamed Cluzel who ran into tyre problems and started to lose time in the second half of the race. „Another lap and the result would have been different“, smiled Simon who had recovered from 13th place after one lap and got faster and faster as the race went on.

Both riders took advantage of a recent chassis upgrade that made direction changes with their Suter-MMX bikes much easier.

Jules Cluzel (16) ahead of Julian Simon (60)

Japanese ace Shoya Tomizawa, who had conquered pole position on Saturday, and Italian Roberto Rolfo, who secured a front row starting position with fourth place, were also full of praise for the recent Suter developments, but ran into bad luck in the race. Tomizawa, who looked like the possible race winner after leading the first three opening laps, dropped back with engine problems to finish tenth, whereas Rolfo, who held third place on lap five and then on lap 14 again, was forced to retire with an engine failure.

Roberto Rolfo (44) on Suter-MMX

German Stefan Bradl, who had only qualified in 20th place, battled his was through the field to finish in ninth place, with Britain’s hope Scott Redding right behind him in tenth position.

Shoya Tomizawa (48) ahead of Stefan Bradl (65)

“It was another thrilling race with good results for us, but it could have been much better – we could have won”, said Eskil Suter, CEO of Suter Racing Technology. “But Tomizawa’s engine didn’t run properly during a great part of the race, and Rolfo suffered an engine failure altogether. Cluzel ran into bad luck with his rear tyre that didn’t work the way it was supposed to, and Arne Tode who was so fast in practice had an accident on the first lap.”

Scott Redding (45)

“But it was great to watch how Simon and Bradl fought their way to strong finishes, and it was reassuring to see that our chassis update was a significant step forward in the development of our bike. I’m sure we will be able to fight for podium finishes in the next race at Indianapolis once again.”

Result Race: 1. Toni Elias / SPA / Moriwaki / 41:51.715 min. 2. Yuki Takahashi/ JAP/ Tech3 / +2,312 sek. 3. Andrea Iannone/ ITA / Speed UP / +2,959 sek. 4. Jules Cluzel / FRA Suter MMX / + 6,905 sek. 5. Julian Simon / SPA / Suter MMX / + 6,974 sek. 9. Stefan Bradl / GER / Suter MMX / + 15,958 sek. 10. Shoya Tomizawa / JAP / Suter MMX / + 15,974 sek. 12. Hector Faubel / SPA / Suter MMX / +16,490 sek. 16. Dominique Aegerter / SUI / Suter MMX / + 20,233 sek. 20. Mike Di Meglio / SPA / Suter MMX / + 28,895 sek. 22. Scott Redding / GBR / Suter MMX / + 44,281 sek. 26. Claudio Corti / ITA / Suter MMX / + 47,966 sek. 28. Niccolo Canepa / ITA / Suter MMX / + 51,993 sek. 29. Robertino Pietri / VEN / Suter MMX / + 52,243 sek. DNF Roberto Rolfo / ITA / Suter MMX DNF Patrik Vostarek / TCH / Suter MMX DNF Arne Tode / GER / Suter MMX World Championship Constructor 1. Moriwaki / 186 Pts. 2. Suter / 156 Pts. 3. Speed Up / 122 Pts.

Shoya Tomizawa conquered pole position on Saturday

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