VOLUME 58 ISSUE 12 MARCH 23, 2021 P97
Joe Roberts
moves to 2020
title winners
Italtrans for 2021
and has only one
thing on his mind:
becoming World
Champion at the
end of the year.
MOTO3
Such was the talent on display in the Moto3
class in 2020, all of the championship's top
five have stepped up to Moto2. Eventual
champion Albert Arenas, Tony Arbolino, Ai
Ogura, Raul Fernandez and Celestino Vietti's
have all stepped up, meaning Jaume Masia
must start the season as favorite. Having
moved from Leopard Honda to Aki Ajo's highly
successful KTM squad, the Spaniard must
iron out his inconsistencies to improve on his
sixth in last year's championship.
Much is expected of Petronas Sprinta
Honda duo John McPhee and new recruit
Darryn Binder, who both must put up champi-
onship challenges to ensure career progres-
sion. The likes of Sergio Garcia, now riding for
Aspar GasGas (a rebranded KTM), Leopard
Honda's Dennis Foggia, Max Racing Husqvar-
na's Romano Fenati and SIC58 Squadra Corse
Honda's Tatsuki Suzuki should all be regularly
in the hunt for race wins. And a crop of new
rookies, headed by reigning Red Bull Rookies
champion Pedro Acosta, could well be in oc-
casional podium contention.
Development has been frozen for Honda
and KTM, the class' two manufacturers,
meaning the close racing that defined recent
seasons will remain. Just five races over the
past two seasons have been won by more
than one second.
