MotoGP Argentina: Moto2 race preview

As Moto2 moves to Argentina, Celestino Vietti and Aron Canet have been the most consistent performers so far this season - but Lowes has form at Termas…

We’ve seen two stunning runaway wins so far in 2022, with Mooney VR46 Racing’s Vietti proving the class of the field in Qatar and then Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra putting in a history-making masterpiece in Mandalika. Now it’s more fresh turf for the newer faces in the field, so can Vietti and Canet (Flexbox HP 40) keep their 100 per cent podium record rolling? And what will Chantra have in store off the back of his maiden win?

Starting with the most recent winner, there’s a good omen from back in 2019 as the Thai rider has both experience and success in Argentina, having taken his first Moto2 top ten at the venue in only his second race in the class three years ago. That could bode well, but if experience is to prove king then Elf Marc VDS Racing’s Sam Lowes - third overall as it stands - is arguably in the best position as he arrives with two previous podiums at Termas de Rio Hondo. Former teammate Augusto Fernandez, now Red Bull KTM Ajo, has ridden the track too, although suffered an injury at the venue in 2019. While Jake Dixon (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) also knows Termas and the Brit was on pole and the pace last time out before his crash.

It will be interesting, then, to see if Vietti and Canet can come out swinging in the face of experience, with more podiums for the two this weekend likely to prove statements of intent: three podiums at three very different tracks and in very different conditions would go a long way to proving their speed is here to stay throughout the season.

On the other side of the coin, there are a few riders looking for a