Moto2 - Season So Far

The now commonplace mid-season summer break is well underway for the Moto2 paddock and the first 9 races in 2015 have been far from dull with action throughout the 30 bike field. However, the Frenchman Johann Zarco has been consistently fast and error free to dominate the world standings at the midway point with a 65 point lead over reigning Moto2 Champion Tito Rabat.

The first race under the lights may have started rather unimpressively for Zarco as he finished a disappointing eighth but at least Zarco scored points unlike two of his fellow title contenders. Pole sitter Sam Lowes selected the wrong gear and crashed out after two laps, whilst defending Moto2 Champion Rabat crashed the following lap. Zarco, however, returned to form and showed his brilliance by taking 4 pole positions and 8 consecutive podiums including 3 victories in Argentina, Catalunya and Assen to help establish his near 3 race win cushion at the top of the points table. The Frenchman’s championship advantage was boosted when Franco Morbidelli took out Tito Rabat at the final corner in the latest race at the Sachsenring (Germany), but in a sport where you have to make your own luck it is now imperative for Johann Zarco to maintain his consistency and he will surely be crowned champion when the curtain falls in Valencia in October.

Meanwhile, the series has seen the rise of talented British rider Sam Lowes. He took a maiden pole on his debut in Qatar and although this was met with unrivalled disappointment come race day when he made a mistake and crashed out, Lowes returned with style in Austin at the Circuit Of The Americas where he took his first victory in the intermediate class. Sam has continued to show his ability with two third places and 4 other top 5 finishes in the next 8 races. The young Brit has significantly outperformed his other more experienced Speed Up teammates and will be looking to build on this solid start when the season continues at Indianapolis next week as he attempts to close the gap on runaway leader Zarco.

Of the rest of the field, there have been a few standout performances from: Jonas Folger who has taken two victories so far (Qatar and Jerez); veteran Thomas Luthi who won at Le Mans, and Xavier Simeon whose victory in Germany was the first win for a Belgian since 1983. At round 2 in Texas we saw a first ever Moto2 podium for Spaniard Alex Rins but in Jerez a last lap final corner position change saw him fall after hitting the rear of Rabat’s bike. Two more disappointing results followed before returning to the podium at Catalunya with a second-placed finish and a third place in Germany. The results leave the young Spaniard lying fourth in the standings at the mid-season break 76 points behind Zarco.

Some of the other disappointing performances so far this season have come from the more experienced racers of Mika Kallio, Julian Simon, Luis Salom, Simone Corsi and Sandro Cortese. All of whom have been in the championship for a number of years with many victories and podiums between them but have been languishing in the midfield this season with only two 4th placed finishes. Salom missed one race due to a crash at the start of the Dutch TT which caused the race to be red flagged and shortened when he clipped Anthony West’s bike spilling oil across the track which then caught fire.

When the season recommences at Indianapolis, there will be 9 races in just 14 weeks and this will be a crucial period for a lot of the front runners not only to try to be champion but to secure lucrative premier class rides for 2016. All eyes will be on Zarco to see if he can continue his dominant form but the quality of riders in the chasing pack means it won’t be an easy run to the title if he is to be the first middle tier French champion since Olivier Jacque 15 years ago.

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