If in Moto GP it is Italy who dominates and Spain who chases, in Moto 2 the roles are reversed. As in the 2023 World Championship, in the current one it is also a motorcyclist from the land of bulls and paella (as well as, for a few days, of the European football champions) who excels. Let's go back first to last season and then to the current one (between confirmations and news, positive and negative).
The 2023 World Cup
The 2023 edition of this motorsport category starts without the reigning champion. It is the Spaniard (also he) Augusto Fernandez who, after finishing with the world title behind the Japanese Ai Ogura, his compatriot Aron Canet and the Italian Tony Arbolino, decides to land in Moto GP (where, however, he will not have much luck). His three pursuers, therefore, hope for a new season at the top having one less important opponent for the final title.
From the back, however, there is no shortage of pegs who are pawing to gain space. Above all another Spaniard or Pedro Acosta, so in the 2022 World Championship he is capable of winning the last race scheduled in Valencia. In addition to Acosta, the British Jake Dixon and another exponent of the Spanish colony also promise to do battle, namely Fermin Aldeguer. These are the premises: the word to the asphalt. From the first Grands Prix, it is clear what the main duel at the top should be.
Acosta won two of the first three races (in Portugal and Chile, interspersed with twelfth place in Argentina). As his first rival he has Arbolino, who instead triumphs in the Albiceleste race while still finishing on the podium the other two. The duel between the two pegs continued in the following weeks, in which, however, an increasingly overwhelming superiority of the Spaniard could be seen. Acosta, in fact, finished on the top step of the podium in Italy, Germany, San Marino and India while, in the same phase of the season, Arbolino conquered three second places and other decidedly more disappointing placings.
At the end of the World Cup there was a drop by the two leaders, while behind them a sensational comeback was staged by Aldeguer. After a nightmare start, the Spaniard grew progressively until he won the last four races of the World Championship. A string that earned him third place, in a podium completed by Acosta in first place and Arbolino in second. Behind the top three are Dixon and Canet. On the other hand, Ogura was disappointing, finishing ninth.
The 2024 edition
As happened the previous year, the world champion Acosta moved up a category and went to Moto GP. Without the reigning champion, there are many riders with what it takes to take his place. Needless to say, those who most of all have opposed Acosta in 2023 are part of this category, namely Arbolino, Aldeguer, Dixon and Canet. In addition, Ogura does not give up after the last and disappointing year and hopes for redemption. These are the most predicted names on paper but, as the beauty of the World Championship dictates, there can also be some surprises. The script of the 2024 edition of Moto 2, in fact, reflects this last unwritten rule and has done so since the debut race.
In Qatar it was the outsider Alonso Lopez (seventh in the final standings the year before) who triumphed. Behind him the Belgian Barry Baltus and the Spaniard Sergio Garcia (who finished seventeenth and fifteenth respectively in the previous World Championship). A completely new first podium of the season then, which brings a breath of fresh air and metaphorically gives a wake-up call to the protagonists of previous editions. In the following weeks, the return of some old acquaintances intersects with the confirmation of certain surprises. Above all Sergio Garcia, who takes the lead of the standings by winning in Chile and France and also finishing on the podium at the Grands Prix of Catalonia and Holland.
Alonso Lopez's has been a good World Championship so far, even if it is not up to his compatriot's level: after his exploit on his debut, he subsequently conquers only two third places (in France and Italy). Baltus returns even more to the ranks with a decidedly complicated continuation of the competition: excluding the second place on his debut, his best placement is in the next race in Portugal when he finishes thirteenth.
Finally, it is worth noting the entry into the top fight by the American Joe Roberts (currently third) Having said the surprises of 2024, between positive results with continuity and isolated exploits, it is now time to take stock of the World Championship of the other drivers predicted high up on the starting grid. Great flashback from Ogura (the closest to the leaders Garcia). A couple of victories and a momentary fourth place for Aldeguer, while his compatriot Canet has his only joy of the season in the success in Portugal. Definitely more shadows than lights, finally, for the blue Arbolino (never able to enter the top three so far).
