2014 Le Mans Moto2 Preview
Two weeks ago at Jerez Moto2, Marc VDS Racing’s Tito Rabat had his worse finish in four rounds so far – fourth.
Though not his usual podium finish, the Spaniard was able to retain the points lead due to his two wins Qatar and Argentina, and a podium at Circuit of the Americas.
Rabat enters this weekend’s French Grand Prix with a 16-point lead over teammate Mika Kallio, who won at Jerez. Rabat will look to redeem some extra points this weekend at Le Mans.
As for the Finnish rider Kallio, he secured victory at round four with a dominant ride from pole, for his first win since Brno last year and he has the experience required to keep the pressure on Rabat over the course of the season. Kallio was second in last year’s French Moto2 contest.
Behind Rabat and Kallio in the standings is Moto3 World Champion Maverick Viñales who has made an impact since graduating to the intermediate class, with his stunning Austin win and two further top five finishes. The talented young Spaniard will shoot for the podium again in France, with his Pons HP 40 colleague Luis Salom – currently eighth in the standings – looking to at least match his results in the coming weeks.
With the same tally of championship points thus far is Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) who appears to be maturing continually, with two podiums to his name already this season. He is sure to be a threat once more at Le Mans.
Rounding out the current championship top ten going into round five are Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing), Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), the aforementioned Salom, Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team).
Nicolas Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2) and Josh Herrin (AirAsia Caterham) are set to return from their respective recent injuries and both will be aiming to get their campaigns back on track after difficult starts to the year.
The Moto2 riders will commence practice at Le Mans with FP1 at 10:55 a.m. local time on Friday.