Pilots' Special 2011: Karel Abraham to show his potential in MotoGP

Rider Karel Abraham is another of this season’s rookies in MotoGP. The Czech makes his debut in the premier class aboard a Ducati for the Cardion AB Motoracing team. He doesn’t arrive with big numbers or results from the other categories, but there are always more riders welcome on the grid.

Although his arrival has sparked a lot of gossip, such as how easy it is for some to reach MotoGP when they have people backing them, and also whether he will manage to adapt to the category or cause a lot of problems on track.

In my view, the young rider deserves a vote of confidence. It is true that he has reached the premier class more quickly than other riders, but now that he is there, let’s let him demonstrate what he can do before we judge. Besides, it’s his first season, so he has to adapt and get a feel for MotoGP.

For now his times aren’t very fast, but they are similar to those posted by the other newcomers, so it must be taken into account that it’s his first season and that mastering a Ducati Desmosedici is not easy. He has also been improving on each of the pre-season test days at Sepang.

On the first day of practice at Sepang he finished last, in 18th place with a lap time of 2:04.470 after completing 52 laps of the Malaysian circuit. On the second day he was 17th with a time of 2:03.466 after 47 laps, and finally, on the closing day he was 14th with a time of 2:02.645 after 29 laps of the Sepang track.

So we can see the progress: little by little he has been improving. Now we’ll have to see how things go at the next test at the end of February on the same track. Although it’s clear he is not the favourite for the title, the Czech seems likely to adapt and start putting together interesting races.

He has to work twice as hard to silence all the rumours circulating in the paddock about him.

What do you think?

We’ll keep a close eye on MotoGP.

Source | MotoGP Official website