This is the fourth year of the Honda-powered intermediate World Championship that replaced the long-running 250 World Championship in 2010. The series has rightly won a reputation for fearsome racing that can be attributed the equality of the machinery. The category was created with two distinct goals: low costs and technical equality between all riders and teams, which is why the entire grid used Honda CBR600RR engines provided by MotoGP rights-holders Dorna, as well as control tyres and control ECUs.

With Marquez and Italian Andrea Iannone promoted to MotoGP duties, the outcome of the first race and the World Championship is wide open. Early favourite is last year’s runner-up Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) who won four races in 2012. The 21-year-old Spaniard was fastest during preseason testing and is brimming with confidence.

However, Espargaro is fully aware that he will have to fight all the way for the 2013 title. Also showing well at the final tests were his team-mate Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) and the other team duo of Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) and Nicolas Terol (Aspar Team Moto2 Suter). But expect great things also from some other stars of 2012, including yet another team duo of Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), as well as 2010 Moto2 king Toni Elias (Blusens Avintia Kalex).

Swiss ace Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter), who finished fourth in last year’s series, was expected to be in the thick of the fight for the 2013 title until he sustained an arm injury during preseason tests at Valencia. He is expected to return to action at next month’s Spanish Grand Prix. Meanwhile his place is taken by Spaniard Sergio Gadea.

The Qatar Grand Prix has another unique aspect – it is the only MotoGP event that takes place over four days, rather than three. This is because there is window of just five hours between dusk and 11pm, when plummeting temperatures coat the circuit with dew, which dramatically reduces grip. Practice sessions begin at 6pm on Thursday and Friday, followed by qualifying at 6pm on Saturday and racing from 7pm on Sunday. During race weekend the track is lit by an amazing 5.4 million watt lighting system, the biggest of its kind, which could illuminate a road from Doha to Moscow or 70 FIFA football fields.

The circuit itself, constructed in 2004 to bring MotoGP to the Middle East for the first time, is a sinuous test for man and machine, with the layout of individual corners inspired by famous corners at racetracks from around the world. Corner speed and machine agility are vitally important at Losail with only one straight worthy of the name – the 1.068km/0.664 mile start-finish, which demands plenty of horsepower.

After Losail the MotoGP circuit heads west, setting up camp outside Austin in Texas for the Grand Prix of the Americas at the new Circuit of Americas. Practice starts on April 19. Racing takes place on April 21. Then it’s back to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 5.




Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex rider Pol Espargaro says:

“Preseason testing went very well for us. I’m glad I was fastest in all three IRTA tests – one at Valencia and two at Jerez – but I am very well aware that you get no points for testing! The World Championship finally starts this weekend and I think we are ready to fight for the title, with the confidence and peace of mind that comes from having the best technical team behind me to achieve the goal. We will have to work race by race and never forget that Moto2 is a very difficult category. There are many other riders – some who have already been World Champions, others who have yet to be champions – so even if we give 110% of our potential we know this season will be tough.”

Blusens Avintia rider Toni Elias says:

“I like the layout of Losail but the fact that we are racing at night complicates things, mostly because of the dew that can affect grip. I would prefer to race during daylight, but racing by night isn’t a problem because, in the end, it’s the same for everyone. We did a very good job in preseason tests, but I think that we still have a last step to make, so we will try to make that step during the first two days of practice to reach qualifying in as competitive a position as possible. I am happy because we have improved a lot in a short time and I can’t wait for the first to start. Talking about results is always risky and even more so in a competitive category like Moto2, but if we can’t win in Qatar, being on one of the other two steps of the podium would be a good result for the first race.”

Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:

“Last year we achieved our aim of top-five finishes, but this season I need to step it up and be aiming for the podium in every race, starting this weekend in Qatar. We head to the first race off the back of three very positive preseason tests, with a bike that I feel confident with, and with a package that we know is competitive. I’m probably better prepared, both physically and mentally, for the start of the season than I’ve ever been before, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend ahead. A podium finish in Qatar would be the perfect start to what promises to be another tough and hard-fought season, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”

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