Moto2: Simone Corsi - Q&A
JiR Moto2 rider Simone Corsi looks back on the inaugural Moto2 race and ahead to this weekend's delayed second round, which will now be held at Jerez rather than Motegi...
Q:
Simone, first of all happy birthday! You were supposed to celebrate away from home but the volcano 'helped' you celebrate it at home in Rome...
Simone Corsi:
Thanks for the wishes, but I'm not so sure the volcano 'helped' me! We were ready and enthusiastic to go to Japan after the good performance in Losail and I was anxious to ride the new bike again. The result of eighth place after some poor pre-season tests was good and gave me a confidence boost and I was curious to experience some further developments on the frame and compare our data with wild-card rider Teshima-san also on a TSR chassis.
Q:
In the Qatar race you went from 28th to 8th, what happened?
Simone Corsi:
Well, what happened is that I'm finding more and more confidence with my bike. The team did some excellent work both after Jerez's tests and during the two practice days before the race. Right at the start I managed to gain some important positions. I stayed with Mattia and Luthi and we ran at the same times of the leaders, even if the gap to them was already too big to close up. The bike I had was going very well and so I was able to concentrate on my riding, even if I felt we were not close to the limit.
Q:
You come from 125cc, so how is this new Moto2 class?
Simone Corsi:
Good, very good. I come from lighter, less powerful and much less comfortable bikes so this Moto2 is a very nice change for me. We have enough horsepower, you can almost feel each one of them as they push hard to the Tarmac and make the bike easy to slide. It's a real show! Another thing that impressed me is the huge noise that four-stroke engines make while braking. In Qatar, at the first corner we were 40 bikes and the noise was really outstanding. But also if you're packed together racing with only three or four other machines, you cannot understand if the noise you hear comes from your bike or from someone else's.
Q:
Next round: Jerez. You have already tested here, what do you expect for the race?
Simone Corsi:
The test there were not so positive but two months have passed. Two months during which our technicians have worked very hard. The bike is very different compared to the earliest times we came to Andalusia and we can go to the race confident for a good result. We saw that in Qatar I ran at the leaders' times, so we'll need to work hard to get a good qualification spot. There are 40 of us, everybody has the same engine, and has the potential to do the same times. So, to start within the first few positions is crucial for a good result at the end of the race.
