Moto2 Championship battle heads to Aragon
Gosselies, Belgium – 22 September 2014: With the Marc VDS Racing Team’s Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio separated by just 22 points at the top of the Moto2 World Championship standings this weekend’s Grand Prix of Aragon could prove pivotal in the battle for the title.
In Misano Rabat became only the third rider ever to score three successive wins in the hotly contested Moto2 World Championship – the others being former champions, Marc Marquez and Toni Elias – but the 25-year-old Spaniard is keen to extend that winning streak at a track where he finished second 12 months ago.
A win this weekend would put Rabat more than 25 points – or one win – ahead of Kallio; an important psychological advantage going into the three overseas races that follow immediately after the Grand Prix of Aragon.
Kallio, of course, heads to Spain determined to reverse the results of the last three races, where he’s finished second to his Marc VDS teammate each time. The 31-year-old Finn has three race wins to his name this season, has been on the podium in every race since Assen and is keen to add another win in Aragon this weekend, to close the gap to his teammate in the championship standings.
Jorge Navarro heads home to Aragon after confidence boosting points scoring finish in Misano, his second since joining the Marc VDS Racing Team at Indianapolis. For the first time this season Navarro will not need to learn his way around a new track during free practice on Friday, as he’s raced at Aragon in the Spanish Championship and tested there aboard the Kalex-KTM ahead of the CEV round at Navarra.
Tito Rabat:
“It’s a little different racing in Spain, because you can feel the support of the home crowd, but that won’t alter my approach to this weekend’s race in Aragon. It’s still very close between Mika and me in the championship, so I go to Aragon with the same aim as always; to work hard with my crew, focus on my job, put in 100% and, on Sunday, try and fight for the race win.”
Mika Kallio:
“Now it’s time to think about the championship, as the end of the season is approaching and we have just five races left in which to decide things. It’s still close in the standings, but the last three races didn’t go our way; my race pace was good, but Tito just seemed to have more rear grip at the end of the race, which he used to his advantage. Maybe we need to modify our strategy for the remaining races and think about how we can save the tyres for the final laps because, now, I need to keep Tito behind me. He’s the main target because, unless we hit a problem, the others are maybe too far behind to challenge for the title. It looks like it’s going to be down to me or him now and I hope we can regain the upper hand this weekend in Aragon.”
Jorge Navarro:
“I like the Aragon circuit, it’s one of my favourites in Spain, and it will be good to finally race a Grand Prix at a track at which I’ve raced before. We tested at Aragon ahead of the CEV round at Navarra and we definitely made a big step forward with the Kalex-KTM there, so I feel confident going into the weekend and I’m hoping for a good result in the race on Sunday.”