Shoya Tomizawa Wins Inaugural Moto2 Grand Prix

Monday, April 12th, 2010

The Moto2 World Championship lived up to advance billing by providing close racing in the inaugural race under the lights of the Losail International Circuit outside of Doha, Qatar, and when it was over there was a surprise atop the podium in a class that promises to be both exciting and unpredictable.

The template had been set in qualifying when the top 13 riders were covered by a second and the top five were all on different chassis. What they had in common was Honda power, which propelled the 41 riders around the floodlit track in the historic inaugural event.

When the checkered flag was waved, late on a Sunday evening, Technomag-CIP’s Shoya Tomizawa rode into the history books as the first ever Moto2 race winner. Racing in only his 19th Grand Prix, the 19-year-old Japanese rider, on a Suter chassis with Honda power, took the lead on the sixth of 20 laps and held off the challenges of a determined quartet just behind.

Tomizawa gained strength as the race progressed and pulled steadily away over the final six laps to win by 4.656 seconds.

Aeroport de Castello-Ajo’s Alex Debon (FTR) stole second from Forward Racing’s Jules Cluzel (Suter) six turns from the end of the race. Gresini Racing’s Toni Elias (Moriwaki), the pole sitter, finished fourth, with Roby Rolfo (Suter) fifth on the Italtrans S.T.R. machine.

Shoya Tomizawa, Technomag-CIP, 1st:

“I can’t believe this, but I’m very, very happy because I can win and I can come here. I like the four-stroke feeling better than the two-stroke, but the four-stroke is very, very heavy and engine character is very, very strong.
This is very, very nice. My team works very hard and my sponsors help a lot. This is so incredible I can stay here. This is so, so nice.”