Moto2 battle resumes at the Brickyard

Moto2 battle resumes at the Brickyard

After a four-week summer break, the Moto2 Championship battle kicks off once again this weekend, with Scott Redding and Mika Kallio both determined to start the second half of the season with a strong showing at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Redding heads to the world famous Brickyard with a 23 point advantage over Pol Espargaro in the Moto2 Championship standings; a lead he is keen to extend this weekend at a track he counts as one of his favourites after securing his first intermediate class podium at Indianapolis three years ago.

Fourth at Indianapolis 12 months ago, Kallio heads to Indiana this time around with his sights set firmly on the podium. The 30-year-old Finn currently lies fifth in the Moto2 Championship, but with just seven points separating him from Esteve Rabat in third, a good result this weekend could see Kallio leapfrog both Rabat and Dominique Aegerter in the standings.

Livio Loi returns to action in the Moto3 class this weekend and the 16-year-old Belgian is determined to increase his points tally during the second half of the season. Loi scored a point in his debut at Jerez earlier this year, but set up issues have hampered his progress since. Indianapolis is a new track for Loi, but he’s been learning his way around the circuit using the latest MotoGP ‘13 game on the PlayStation, playing as himself of course!

With more than 250,000 seats in the grandstands the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the biggest permanent sporting arena in the world, but the circuit has been criticised in the past for the bumpy and patchy nature of the MotoGP track, which runs inside the world famous oval. The track underwent extensive resurfacing work almost three years ago, but the variation in tarmac means that grip remains unpredictable.

Scott Redding #45:
“After a few weeks off I’m looking forward to getting back to work this weekend in Indianapolis. The summer break has been all about bikes – mountain bikes, motocross bikes and a few days at the Colin Edwards Bootcamp in Texas – but now it’s back to the Moto2 bike to get the second half of the season underway. I’m feeling fresh, relaxed and the track has been good to me in the past, so we’ll see how we go. We need to be back at the top of our game, like we were at the beginning of the year, and get the second half of the season off to a flying start with a good result this weekend in Indianapolis.”

Mika Kallio #36:
“I dropped a place in the championship because of the rear tyre problems in Sachsenring but the gap to third is still small and a good result this weekend would allow me to close the gap to, or maybe even pass, Rabat in the standings. I’m not a big fan of the Indianapolis track, partly because of the layout, but mainly because there are so many different types of tarmac and the amount of grip changes from corner to corner, which makes things difficult. The track can also be hard on tyres, which makes the selection for the race critical. Despite this, I was fourth in Indy last year and I hope I can improve on that this time around.”

Livio Loi #11:
“I want to be more consistent during the second half of the season, picking up more points in the remaining races. It will be difficult this weekend in Indianapolis, as it’s my first time at the track. I’ve spent some time during the summer break on the PlayStation, so I know the layout, but there’s still a lot for me to learn once I actually get to the circuit. If we can make another step forward with the bike and all goes well in practice and qualifying, then I think it will still be possible to finish in the points on Sunday.”