Julian Simon – World Champion
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Julian Simon is one of those Grand Prix mystery men, riders who at one point achieve the ultimate goal of a World Championship, and then struggle to recapture that success in another class.
In 2009, Simon mounted the podium 12 times, including seven wins, in the 125cc class. He beat Bradley Smith, Nico Terol, Pol Espargaro, who finished 2-4 respectively. A youngster named Marc Marquez finished 8th in that, his second 125cc season.
As reigning 125cc champ, Simon moved to the new Moto2 class in 2010 and finished 2nd behind veteran GP rider Toni Elias. Simon looked like he would be a strong Moto2 contender for the foreseeable future.
But over the next four Moto2 seasons, Simon claimed only one podium (Indianapolis 2012) as he moved from FTR to Suter to Kalex chassis. He has struggled to find the speed he showed in 2010, and last year managed season-best 6th-place finishes in Japan and Malaysia.
Hence the mystery: How does a rider who has had this much success in the past find himself stuck in the middle of the pack?
For 2015 Simon will be on a Speed Up chassis with the QMMF team. Here’s hoping the new bike suits him better and that he can return to the front of the pack.
In the mean time, Simon will join the Superprestigio class in Barcelona, December 13th.
©2014 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved
Camera Info: Nikon D4 with Nikon 500mm f/4.0
[mgallery keyword=”Moto2″]
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