Roby Rolfo celebrates his first Moto2 podium

Roberto Rolfo, rider of Team Italtrans S.T.R. and also test rider for Suter Racing Technology, celebrated his first ever Moto2 podium at the German Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old Italian, who has vast experience in nearly all motorcycle roaad racing categories, took advantage of the new chassis and the latest set-up improvements on his Suter MMX to take the field by surprise, moving up from 13th place after one lap to an impressive third place behind race winner and series leader Toni Elias and fellow Italian Andrea Iannone in second position.

19-year-old Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter confirmed his strong practice performance with eighth place ahead of Germany’s star Sefan Bradl. Frenchman Jules Cluzel took twelfth spot, whereas Shoya Tomizawa, winner of the season-opening race in Qatar und usually one of the front runners, dropped back to 18th with a tyre problem.

Roberto Rolfo (44) ahead of Stefan Bradl (65)

Spaniard Julian Simon, who started from the front row of the grid, crashed out of third position after only three laps. Local hero Arne Tode, who had been a sensational second in practice, also crashed but rode on with a broken seat and managed to finish the race.

Dominique Aegerter on Suter-MMX

“Roby was one of the very few of our rider line-up who did everything the right way today”, smiled Eskil Suter, CEO of Suter Racing Technology. “He was one of four Suter MMX riders to use our new chassis, and together with improvements on our base set-up, he got a big boost of confidence. Congratulations!”

“Unfortunately, quite a number of other Suter MMX top riders ran into bad luck in the race. Arne Tode probably tried a little bit too hard at his home race. He changed his riding line, ran over some bumps and lost it. But if you ride right on the limit, a crash is just something that can happen. It is much better to be fast and to crash sometimes than to be slow and safe.”

Arne Tode / Suter-MMX / 2nd in Qualifiying

“Shoya Tomizawa ran into bad luck with his rear tyre and lost most of his compound during the race. He finished down on the tyre carcass, so the poor result was definitely not his fault.”

“Julian Simon looked to me like a possible race winner before he crashed. Unlike his competitors, he used the same hard tyre compound that Roby Rolfo had chosen, and his lap times were very fast from the beginning. Towards the end of the race, this hard tyre would have given Simon a clear advantage.”

Result Race: 1.Toni Elias / SPA / Moriwaki / 41:57,745 min. 2. Andra Iannone/ ITA / SpeedUp / +3,297 sek. 3. Roberto Rolfo / ITA / Suter / +6,574 sek.. 8. Dominique Aegerter / SUI / Suter MMX / +11,373 sek. 9. Stefan Bradl / GER / Suter MMX / +13,152 sek. 12. Jules Cluzel / GER / Suter MMX / +17,666 sek. 18. Shoya Tomizawa / JAP / Suter MMX / +42,961 sek. 22. Claudio Corti / ITA / Suter MMX / +44,171 sek. 24. Vladimir Leonov / RUS / Suter MMX / 1,04,234 min. 25. Hector Faubel / SPA / Suter MMX / 1:19.211 min. 27. Arne Tode / GER / Suter MMX / 1:28.151 min. DNF Mike Di Meglio / SPA / Suter MMX DNF Robertino Pietri / VEN / Suter MMX DNF Scott Redding / GBR / Suter MMX DNF Julian Simon / SPA / Suter MMX World Championship Constructor 1. Moriwaki / 161 Pts. 2. Suter / 143 Pts. 3. Speed Up / 106 Pts.

Roberto Rolfo

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