The tricky Le Mans conditions upset the applecart in the all-Honda-powered Moto2 class, with earlier race winners Pol Espargaro and Esteve Rabat (both Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) crashing out early on in close formation. Another 2013 winner, Nico Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) joined the growing crash list.

British rider Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) proved master of the treacherous Le Mans surface to claim his first win in the class. Added to two previous second places it gave him a useful points lead of 24 over Rabat. Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) is third overall, after second place (his second rostrum) in France, with pre-season favourite Espargaro dropping to fifth.

Mugello is an important chance for Espargaro and Rabat to regain the initiative; and for former race winner Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter) to continue his return to the front, as he recovers from pre-season injuries.

With all machines powered by reliable race-prepared Honda CBR600 engines supplied by the organisers, Moto2 guarantees close racing. The nature of the Italian circuit, with its long flat-out run to the finish line, is certain to produce ultra-close slip-streaming battles throughout the field.

The Mugello circuit is a magnificent venue for grand prix racing, with sweeping curves and chicanes using both sides of the valley in a lap of 5.245 km (3.259 miles). Running clockwise it has nine right-hand and six left-hand corners, forming a series of loops and high-speed chicanes. It is most famous for its 1.1-km “straight”, undulating past the pits to finish over a blind brow at more than 350 km/h, followed directly by a looping 120-km/h corner.

Used fitfully in the 1970s and 1980s, the track outside Florence underwent a major refit for new owner Ferrari, and joined the calendar full time in 1991. In 22 years Honda has taken 12 wins in the Tuscan foothills.



Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding says:

“While it was good to finally win in Le Mans, it changes nothing. Our approach will remain the same, with the championship being the priority. The win in Le Mans has given me a 24-point advantage in the standings but, as we’ve seen in the past, it only takes one bad weekend to see that lead reduced significantly. Like Le Mans last week, Mugello is a circuit I like racing at. We have some new parts for the bike this weekend, which I think may give us something of an advantage at such a fast, flowing and technical track.”

Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex rider Esteve Rabat says:

“The error of Le Mans is forgotten, but you should always learn from mistakes to avoid repeating them. Mugello is a circuit I like and hopefully I can find the set-up fast. Then you can prepare for the race with some guarantees. Scott Redding has slipped ahead a little, but we are in the early races and certainly during the year I will be giving it everything I can.”

Marc VDS Racing Team rider Mika Kallio says:

“In Le Mans we went with a completely different set-up to that which we’d run previously and it took us until Sunday to refine it to the point where my feeling with the bike was good. It will be interesting to see how the feeling is on the first day in Mugello, especially with the new parts we have to test there, because we really need to get the bike dialled in for qualifying this week. Mugello is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar and, although I’ve had some bad luck racing in Italy previously, I’m hoping that my luck will finally change this weekend and we’ll come away with another good result.”

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