While the testing season for the MotoGP riders got underway at the beginning of February, the Moto2 riders were forced to wait an extra week or so. First to take to the track were the Pons Kalex team of Aleix Espargaro and Axel Pons, the Caixa Catalunya Repsol squad of Marc Marquez, the Technomag CIP team of Kenan Sofuoglu and Dominique Aegerter, and Andrea Iannone's Speed Master team.
To the surprise of very few, Andrea Iannone ended the two-day test as the fastest man, getting within a few tenths of the circuit lap record set last July, despite the cooler conditions. Iannone, working on setup of his Suter machine, posted a lap of 1'47.8 at the Barcelona circuit. Second fastest man of the test was Marc Marquez, the young Spaniard continuing to impress aboard the Suter, setting a time of 1'48.1 on just his third outing on a Moto2 machine. Marquez finished head of the Pons Kalex machines, Aleix Espargaro just beating his teammate Axel Pons by a couple of tenths, with Dominique Aegerter ending the test a second behind Pons.
Reigning World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu left the test a day early, returning to Istanbul due to a medical emergency in the family. As a consequence, the Turkish rider ended the test slowest, managing only a lap of 1'50.8 before leaving the track.
A large part of the Moto2 field now heads down to Valencia, for the first main Moto2 test of the year, which starts on Thursday. The Valencia test will provide a much clearer picture of the state of the Moto2 field.
Comments
deeply impressive..
from Marquez at just 0.3 off the guy who was the "fastest" last year.
What odds him winning it first time round?
In reply to deeply impressive.. by wosideg (not verified)
New kid on the block!
If he shows the same consistency or better performances of running upfront on more testing to come, I would say the "odds of him winning it the first time round" is not as high as the odds of him winning the championship the first year round!
Marque displayed mature intellect during his 2010 championship, and if he is consistently top 5 capable, he might pull a Speez Act in WSBK!
Cheers!