Moto2: what has happened to Joe Roberts?

From favourite to “desaparecido”, the start of the new 2022 Moto2 season has not exactly been a bed of roses for Joe Roberts, a veteran of the intermediate class who should have been up at the sharp end from race one. But perhaps there is something of a “curse” attached to those who are labelled favourites before the season even gets underway, only to find they then fail to live up to expectation.

A below-par season start

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The Miami rider is not short on experience, having spent four full seasons in Moto2 prior to this one. He was already a favourite in 2021, but the approach to the new team and bike proved more difficult than expected. And yet the Italtrans team is supporting him in every way, betting on the American as a title contender following Enea Bastianini’s win in 2020.

And yet Joe failed to meet with expectation last year, closing thirteenth with a total of 59 points. This year, everyone thought that he’d be off to a flying start, considering his experience with both the Italtrans team and the bike, but he finished the Qatari race eighth and the Indonesian round eleventh. Less than inspiring results, which only got worse in Argentina, where the American crossed the line in thirteenth place. Having started from fifteenth on the grid after a disappointing qualifying on Saturday, Joe Roberts ran a race in which there were no real highlights, good or bad.

The right choice for the Italtrans team?

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“It was a difficult weekend”, he commented after the Argentina GP, “We’re having problems and don’t have the answers right now. We need to remain focused, because I’m sure things will get better. I can’t wait to get to Austin to race in front of my home crowd”. Yes, because the Austin race is fast approaching, a track at which Roberts will have a great opportunity to do well, considering he’s racing ‘at home’ in front of his fans.

It will be an important test bench for him, although the US track hasn’t smiled on him in the past, the American having never reached the points zone. Will this be his year? And from here, might he be able to kick start a season that has clearly begun in the wrong gear? We hope so, also because the Italtrans rider has what he needs to be running top five. But it seems so difficult to get there… perhaps too difficult! Might the Italian team have miscalculated this time? The mood is definitely not the best: “Joe didn’t show the right determination in Argentina”, commented his crew chief Giovanni Sandi, “and we weren’t competitive. It’s not a result that represents us, but we’ll do our best to do better”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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