DOHA: After the recent weather-affected final preseason test in Jerez, it is hard to predict any favourites for the 2015 Moto2 title as riders prepare to do battle under the lights at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
Tito Rabat becomes the first ever Moto2 World Champion since the class began to attempt to defend his title on the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Kalex, with previous Champions having decided to move up to the MotoGP class.
Rabat is joined in 2015 by two of the top three Moto3 riders from last season as well as 14 of the top 15 riders in the Moto2 standings from 2014, with only Maverick Vinales having left the class to join the factory Suzuki Ecstar team in MotoGP.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes will hope to continue his preseason form during 2015 as he begins his second season in the class, while last years Moto2 runner-up Mika Kallio has made the switch this year to the Italtrans Racing Team.
With serial contenders like Johann Zarco, Luis Salom, Axel Pons, Simone Corsi, Thomas Luthi and Rabat’s new team-mate, the 2014 Moto3 World Champion Alex Marquez, also lining up on the grid, it is shaping up to be an incredibly competitive season.
QMMF Racing Team riders Anthony West and Julian Simón completed their first pre-season test for this year’s Moto2 world championship in Valencia, Spain, with strong lap times and valuable set-up conclusions in mid-February.
With new WP suspension systems, both riders had the right feeling for the latest version of the Speed Up prototype straight away and clocked 12th and 13th fastest on the first day of testing.
When rain set in for the second and third day, the 33-year-old Australian and his 27-year-old Spanish team-mate continued their work despite cold and treacherous conditions, establishing a solid set-up base for possible wet races to come.
Simon was as high up as third and West as high up as eighth in some of the wet sessions in February, confirming the team’s high potential for the 2015 season.
“We are feeling good at the moment,” West said last month. “I think we can launch a serious season of success if we start well,” the Australian added.
The final three-day test also took place at Jerez, Spain last week. The Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar starts on Thursday with two practice days for the riders, before qualifying on Saturday, with the Moto2 race due to take place at 7:20pm local time on Sunday night.
THE PENINSULA
