Honda Moto2 Mugello Preview

 In Moto2, News

honda-moto2-mugello-2014

The middleweight Moto2 class riders all use Honda power, with race-tuned Honda CBR600 engines provided by the organisers to ensure close and reliable racing. Different chassis and suspension solutions are fine-tuned in search of any slender advantage.

With last year’s Moto2 title rivals both gone to MotoGP, last year’s third and fourth placed finishers are locked in close combat for the honours so far.

Tito Rabat from Spain and Mika Kallio from Finland are on identical Kalex chassis, as team-mates in the Marc VDS Racing Team. Each has two wins this year, with Rabat leading by seven points overall, with two other podium finishes to Kallio’s one. Rabat’s best results were in the first three races, Kallio has won the last two in a row. The in-team struggle resumes at Mugello.

Class rookie Maverick Vinales (Pons HP 40 Kalex) won a tight Moto3 title last year, with close rival Luis Salom now joining him in the all-Spanish team. Both have made a strong early impression. Vinales lies third overall after taking a surprise win at his second attempt, at Austin, Texas; Salom claimed a podium third place at the following round in Argentina, and is placed seventh, just ahead of another strong ex-Moto3 class rookie Jonas Folger (AGR Team Kalex).

The places between third and seventh are held by experienced class veterans. Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter) is fourth, with a best of second; then Italian Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing Kalex) and Swiss former 125 champion Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter).

 

Moto2 Rider Quotes

 

Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex rider Esteve Rabat says:
“We go to Mugello with the same aim as we’ve gone to every race so far this season: to win. I like the track, it’s one of my favourites on the Grand Prix calendar, but it hasn’t always been so kind to me in the past. This year is different though, as I feel better prepared than ever and we head to Italy off the back of two race wins and two podiums, which means the confidence is high. Mika has had two good races and has closed the gap at the top of the standings, but it’s still too early to be thinking about the championship. With 13 races still to go, we need to remain focused on the race by race approach that has worked well for us so far this season.”

Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex rider Mika Kallio says:
“I don’t know what it is about Italian tracks, especially Mugello, but I never seem to get the results I was expecting there. I like the track a lot, with the changes in elevation and the fast corners, but many times in the past we’ve had problems at Mugello. I hope this time will be different, as I feel more confident going into this race off the back of the two wins in Jerez and Le Mans. We just need to continue working as we did during the last few races and, hopefully, I will finally be able to add Mugello to the list of tracks at which I’ve finished on the podium.”

Pons HP 40 Kalex rider Maverick Vinales says:
“I like Mugello and I always had good results there in Moto3. I was third in my first year, 2011, and third again last year – but in 2012 I won the race, so I have good memories. It will be a different challenge on a Moto2 bike, but I feel I am adapting well, and learning how to get the best out of the bike.”

Source: Honda Racing

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