2014 Moto2 World Championship

rdf:langString 2014 Moto2 World Championship

rdf:langString Grand Prix motorcycle racing

rdf:langString F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

rdf:langString The 2014 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 66th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Pol Espargaró was the reigning series champion, but did not contest the season as he joined the series' premier class, MotoGP. Scoring a record tally of points for the intermediate class, with 346, Marc VDS Racing Team rider Esteve Rabat wound up as the series champion, finishing 57 points clear of his teammate Mika Kallio. Rabat also set records for pole positions with 11, and tied the record for podiums with 14 – including 7 wins – matching Marc Márquez in the 2012 campaign. Kallio, a three-time winner, sealed the runner-up position in the championship after a collision with his closest challenger for the position, Maverick Viñales, in the final round of the season in Valencia. Both riders retired from the race as a result of the incident, giving Kallio the position by 15 points. Viñales' performances – his best results being four victories – were easily good enough for him to finish as the highest placed rookie in the championship standings, finishing almost 200 points clear of the next best rookie, his Paginas Amarillas HP 40 teammate Luis Salom, who finished eighth in the championship. Fourth place in the championship was taken by Interwetten Sitag rider Thomas Lüthi, who won late season races in Japan and Valencia; the latter coming after Rabat was slow coming off the final corner of the race. He finished just ahead of compatriot Dominique Aegerter, who for the Technomag carXpert team, achieved his first Grand Prix victory during the 2014 season. Having scored his first pole position in qualifying, Aegerter took his maiden victory in his 129th start, fending off Kallio's advances in the closing stages. The only other race victor was Anthony West for the QMMF Racing Team, winning a wet race at Assen; it was his second race win at the track, having triumphed in similar conditions in 2003. Riding a Speed Up, it was the only time a Suter or Kalex did not win a race throughout the season. Kalex dominated the constructors' championship, amassing 430 points out of a maximum total of 450.

rdf:langString F.I.M.Grand Prix motorcycle racingseason