2012 Valencia Moto2 | Preview

2012 Moto2 Season Finale

Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol’s Marc Marquez returns home to Spain a champion to contest the final Moto2 race of the season at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valencia, where he and rival, Tuenti Movil HP 40’s Pol Espargaró, will be racing "for fun" with both Spaniards having locked out the top two places in the championship.

While the promise of another Marquez vs. Espargaro battle will have crowds and fans salivating already, there will be another tussle that could prove to be quite the contest. Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone now only holds an 11-point lead in third place in the table over Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Luthi.

Both suffered misfortunes at the last race in Phillip Island, with Iannone’s engine giving up and Luthi suffering a crash due to issues with the rear tire. And while such a points deficit could prove difficult to overturn, with the unpredictable nature of Moto2, as well as Iannone’s seemingly off-color form of late, Lüthi will no doubt be giving his all to finish third.

Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding has an outside chance of making it into fourth, yet is already guaranteed at least fifth, with his nearest challenger and teammate Mika Kallio too far off. Kallio, who was taken out of the last race, will hope for some better fortune this time around, as he still faces a challenge from Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith, and Espargaro’s teammate Esteve Rabat.

JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco will be one to watch as he achieved the Moto2 Rookie of the Year honour in Phillip Island, yet has not managed to score a podium this season. He will be hoping to put in his best performance yet and make it onto the rostrum before the season is out.

Not lining up in Valencia will be QMMF Racing’s Anthony West, who has been banned by the FIM for one month, after failing an anti-doping test in Le Mans earlier this year for Methylhexaneamine. He will be substituted by Indonesian rider Topan Sucipto. There will also be a wild-card lining up in the shape of TSR Galicia School’s Dani Rivas.

2012 Valencia Moto2 on TV

SPEED TV will broadcast Valencia Moto2 at 3 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 11.

2012 Moto2 Championship Point Standings: