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If last year was anything to go by , the 2023 Moto2™ World Championship should be compulsive watching as MotoGP™ ’ s next generation of stars are poised to do battle . 2022 was a year of transition in the class , which resulted in unparalleled variety . Eight different riders winning races , eleven taking pole position and twelve appearing on the podium . Interestingly , seven of those victors won for the first time in the class . But it looks like one rider in particular will take over Augusto Fernandez ’ s crown . That name is Spanish sensation Pedro Acosta , who enjoyed a strong preseason . He came out swinging , too , scoring a controlled victory in race one before taking a further win in Austin , and a podium at Jerez . A crash out of the French GP put him on the back foot , but he recovered brilliantly , winning in Italy , Germany , San Marino and India to wrap up the title with two races to spare . One of Italy ’ s brightest stars has been one of the strongest names so far . Tony Arbolino showed impressive consistency in the autumn of last year in his first season for Marc VDS . Now in his second , the 23-year old has his eyes on the title , and scored a podium in Portugal before winning in Argentina and France . Yet disappointing results at Assen , Silverstone , Austria , Barcelona and Japan , ultimately allowed Acosta to escape in the title race . British duo Sam Lowes and Jake Dixon should both be factored in as potential race winners . No one could live with Lowes at Jerez , where he scored his 10th victory in the class . Likewise , Dixon has been a consistent top six runner so far and scored memorable wins at Assen and Barcelona . He now sits third overall . But he must look over his shoulder as another Spanish sensation – Fermin Aldeguer – is in tremendous form . The 18-year old has come of age in the second half of this year , taking a maiden victory at Silverstone , before racking up three straight wins in Thailand , Malaysia and Qatar . He ’ ll be keen to end the year in style . Likewise , much will be expected this weekend from Ai Ogura , the 2022 runner-up . At Assen and Austria he showed he will consistently figure at the front once back to full fitness from a nasty wrist injury sustained during preseason .
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