Moto 2: Championship Fight Thickens as They Head to Mugello
By Jack Hammersley
With the championship lead separated by one point, it’s all to play for in Round six for the Italian Grand Prix
Remy Gardner leads the championship with 89 points to his name. The Australian has demonstrated great consistency throughout the season, finishing every race on the podium except one, where he finished in fourth. However, Remy is still without a win this season and after his team-mate took his second win last time out in Le Mans, he’ll be itching to get onto the top step of the podium this weekend.
Remy’s team-mate Raul Fernandez is in hot form heading into Mugello with the Spaniard being one point behind Remy and looks to take the championship lead from his team-mate. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will have to deal with a lack of experience at the Tuscan circuit, having only raced there in 2019 in Moto 3. But this season, he’s proved that inexperience won’t halt his performance and Raul will be looking to take a third win and the championship lead.
SKY Racing VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi like Remy Gardner has also been consistent and is yet to win a race, but Marco has only been able to take two podiums so far, having suffering with different problems, such as rear tyre grip and instability. The Italian will be looking to try and eliminate those problems and take his first win of the season at his home Grand Prix and close in on the championship leaders, with him currently 17 points behind Remy Gardner.
Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes has been the strongest rider throughout the season so far, fighting for the podium and a win in every round. However, unlike his championship rivals, Sam has had a bit of inconsistency in the first five rounds of the season, suffering two crashes at Portimão and Le Mans which has but the Brit in fourth place in the standings on 66 points. Sam will be looking to get back on the podium and close in on his rivals.
Federal Oil Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio has taken two podiums including a victory at Jerez. However, the season hasn’t been plain sailing for the Italian finishing outside of the top six in the other three races. At the circuit where he took his maiden Grand Prix podium, Fabio will be looking for a third podium finish and a second victory to keep him in the championship fight.
Italtrans Racing’s Joe Roberts has shown some great potential in the first five races of the season, however he has been too prone to mistakes and because of those mistakes he’s sixth in the championship with 31 points to his name. The American has shown the potential to win races but hasn’t been able to convert it. Can Sunday be the day where he can turn his fortunes around?
The same can be said for Solunion Aspar’s Aron Canet, he also has shown great pace at times during the season, but has also suffered mistakes and crashed which has hampered his championship chances and podium chances. The Spaniard is still yet to win a race in the Moto 2 class, he’s shown the potential to win on the BOSCOSCURO chassis, can the Italian Grand Prix be the race to do it?
Petronas Sprinat Racing’s Jake Dixon has been struggling so far this season with injury and bike setup problems, the Brit showed promise during the second half of last season and the opening round, but since then it’s been an uphill battle for Jake, which he feels won’t be conquered this weekend but he’ll be hoping to prove himself wrong and get himself back inside the top ten this weekend.
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