M2: Valencian GP: Team Aspar race report

Julian Simon Clinches Runner-up Spot In Title At Cheste

Kicking off at 12.15pm local time, the Moto2 race at Valencia was one of the most spectacular of the year -a fitting end to the maiden season of 600cc prototypes. Andrea Iannone stormed away early but was hunted down by the chasing pack, with Julian Simon also in the mix. An exciting race of overtakes and battles across the field ended with a surprise victory for Karel Abraham, ahead of Iannone and Simon in a race in which World Champion Toni Elias crashed out. The pace was intense and the riders gave their all in what for many was their home round of the series. The first year of Moto2 ended with a typical race of close action, but with a final twist in the tale.

Although unable to take an elusive Moto2 victory, Mapfre Aspar rider Julian Simon had a satisfactory end to his year at the Comunidad Valenciana Grand Prix. The Spaniard set off from seventh, but had moved up to second after losing some places by the time the twelfth lap came around. The scene was set perfectly for a battle with Iannone. Julian won in 2009 at Cheste and was keen to do the same in Moto2, but in the end he had to settle for third and the runner-up spot in the World Championship.

Mike Di Meglio had a spectacular start, taking nine places by the end of the opening lap and five more in the next few times around the track. However, his progression was halted by after-effects of a crash in the morning warmup, and he dropped back down the order to 26th.

3rd Julian Simon:
"My goal was to win the race today and it was a pity that Toni fell at the end because I had to change lines in order to avoid him. I was still able to pass Andrea, but he got me back on the last corner when I left the door open too far. I am happy in any case, because I had a great race -not like in Estoril where I was too conservative. I showed today that I am a worthy runner-up and I am a contender for the title in 2011. I want to thank the team for their fantastic job. We had problems yesterday but were able to solve them to make the bike work perfectly. We were missing a little something to win the game, but being runner-up motivates me and I've ended the year well. Now we have experience of these four-strokes, so I'm sure that we will be after the title next year."

26th Mike Di Meglio:
"Today I had a great start and made up a lot of places. I hoped to carry on like that, but the morning warmup crash hurt me a lot and my left arm was aching. The pain was increasing with every lap and I couldn't keep the bike up on the left handers. I also asn't able to hit the brakes hard. I tried to lose as few positions as possible, just trying to reach the finish line."

-source: team aspar