The Moto2™ and Moto3™ seasons kick off in earnest this week as both classes head to the Valencia circuit in Spain for their first three-day test of 2013.

From Tuesday the 12th to Thursday the 14th both the intermediate- and lightweight-classes will get track time as they prepare for what promises to be yet another nail-bighting season. All eyes in Moto2 will be Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaró as he enters the fold as this year’s favourite, pursued by the likes of Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding and Italtrans Racing Team’s Julián Simón, with series-newcomer and last year’s Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese’s debut also greatly awaited on his Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex.


Without its champion there to defend his title, Moto3’s Maverick Viñales will once again have high expectations heaped upon him as he lines up with a JHK T-shirt Laglisse KTM, as he will do battle with the likes of Luis Salom and Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who have been promoted to the Red Bull KTM Ajo factory team this year. And with a raft of exciting talent coming into the World Championship such as rookie sensations Florian Alt, at Kiefer Racing, and Lorenzo Baldassari, at Go & Fun Honda Gresini Moto3, the upcoming Valencia test is set to give a flavour of the year ahead.

Until 12:40 CET the track will be open for all bikes to work on set-up and numerous options, following which there will be separate outings for the Moto3 and Moto2 class between 12:50 and 15:00. From 15:10 to 17:00 the track will once again be open to both classes on track. The schedule is designed to give teams similar track conditions, so as to not disadvantage anyone in case the weather turns bad.

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