Motegi Preview: Moto2

The final five rounds of the inaugural 2010 Moto2 World Championship come in quick succession and are spread out over six weekends, with the Grand Prix of Japan presenting the first in the series. Heading to Motegi with a 76-point advantage at the top of the standings is Toni Elías, who will be aiming to deliver a home victory for his Gresini Racing team’s chassis manufacturer Moriwaki.

Even though he finished off the podium for the first time in five races at Aragón fourth place in the race was enough to maintain a healthy lead and also underlined the Spaniard’s strength. At Motegi he will be going for a seventh win of the campaign and also returns to the site of one of his premier class podium finishes, which came in 2007.

The fight for second position is developing into an engrossing one with every round that passes, and just four points separate Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) and race winner from the previous round Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up). Both are in fine form which only adds to the spectacle, with Thomas Lüthi of the Interwetten Moriwaki team a further 14 points back and aiming to close that deficit.

Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) is currently fifth but some 22 points down on Lüthi, with Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) brimming with confidence after his first Moto2 podium at Aragón and now a single point ahead of Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing).

A special presentation at Motegi will also see Shoya Tomizawa honoured as his family receive the Michel Metraux award, a collective tribute from his fellow Moto2 riders to the Japanese rider who passed away at Misano.

Yusuke Teshima will be riding for the FCC TSR team for this event, with Shogo Moriwaki (Moriwaki Racing) and Kouki Takahashi (Burning Blood RT) both wild card entries. Ferruccio Lamborghini replaces Lukas Pesek on the Matteoni CP Racing team from this round onwards.

Source: motogp.com