VOL. 55 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 13, 2018 P33
JOE ROBERTS 13TH AS MOTO2
TESTING BEGINS
A
merica's only full-time grand prix rider Joe
Roberts began his Moto2 season off in fine
style after finishing the first Moto2 test of 2018
13th fastest at Valencia.
Riding for RW Racing with series debutant
chassis manufacturer NTS, Roberts acquitted
himself well in steadily gaining speed and confi-
dence in the test where expected title challenger
Mattia Pasini (Kalex) took the top spot ahead of
Lorenzo Baldassarri and Simone Corsi to make it
an Italian 1-2-3 in the timesheets.
"It's my first year on the NTS bike, it's a whole
new thing for me and it's definitely a different bike
to the Kalex I rode in the Repsol CEV series last
year," Roberts said. "I already tested the bike last
year and I had a few things I wanted to change
on it for this test, and here the team came with an
all-new 2018 bike.
"I just want to have a steady progression (in
2018)," he added. "I want to keep going forward,
get closer to the front—for the first year that is all
you can hope for."
Roberts ran a partial season in 2017 for the
Spanish AGR team, competing in the Repsol
CEV series but also a quarter of the Moto2 World
Championship after being called up to replace
Yonny Hernandez midseason. The Californian
impressed many with his 10th place on debut at
a shortened Czech Grand Prix but will be looking
for more consistent points finishes in 2018.
In the Moto3 test run concurrently with the
Moto2 outing at Valencia, expected title contend-
er Jorge Martin (Honda) topped the times ahead
of Enea Bastianini (Honda) with Marco Bezzechi
(KTM) in third. For a full rundown of the test, click
here. CN
Joe Roberts will be
one to watch over the
course of the 2018
Moto2 season.
