2. Esteve Rabat (Moto2)
Esteve Rabat went into the opening weekend as the Moto2 championship favourite and will have left Qatar with his status enhanced still further. The Spaniard filled the void left by Scott Redding at Marc VDS Racing and settled straight into his new squad in testing, being among the pacesetters throughout the winter.
Qualifying ended in dramatic fashion with a heavy crash for his teammate Mika Kallio but Rabat calmly went about his business, claiming the third pole position of his career. The Grand Prix itself didn’t start quite so well as Rabat was left trailing by Kallio and Takaaki Nakagami but the 24 year old soon reeled the leaders in and shortly after half distance, regained second from Mika.
Nakagami surrendered the lead on lap thirteen with Rabat charging up the inside into turn one and although the Japanese rider kept the pressure on in the latter stages, Esteve was cool enough under pressure to keep him at bay. It may have been academic in the end with Nakagami later disqualified for an illegal air filter on his Kalex but the way Rabat held his nerve showed how tough a rider he will be to beat this year and you would think that if any rider outscores him at the end of the year, they’ll be champion.
(Photo Credit: Marc VDS Racing Team)
