2012 Assen Moto2 | Preview

2012 Moto2 Championship

As the Moto2 contingent descends on the Iveco TT Assen for this weekend’s Saturday race, it is Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez who leads the championship standings ahead of Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró and Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi.

Márquez has fond memories of the Dutch circuit, as he took only his second ever win in the Moto2^TM championship at the track, setting off his charge to second in the championship last year. Espargaró and Lüthi will he hoping for a reversal in fortunes, as the Spaniard crashed out of last year’s race, whilst the Swiss rider finished in eighth. Espargaró will be the man to watch after his dominant display at Silverstone last time out.

Having closed the deficit to the top somewhat with two spirited rides in the last few rounds, Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone will be hoping to mix it up at the front once more, like he did in 2010 where he won the race. He will undoubtedly be pursued by Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding, who arrives at Assen fresh from his podium at his home round at Silverstone.

His teammate Mika Kallio will be looking to get the better of the Brit this time out, but will face a stiff challenge from Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti, and Tech 3 Racing Team’s Bradley Smith, who showed much promise on his Mistral 610 in Silverstone.

After a string of difficult results, Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi is showing promise on board his FTR machine, and will no doubt be hoping to get his first podium of the season, while Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat will look to find some of the form his charging teammate is currently displaying, on the eve of his 100th Grand Prix start.

2012 Moto2 Standings (After six of 18 rounds):