        From favourite to &ldquo;desaparecido&rdquo;, 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 &ldquo;curse&rdquo; 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  The Miami rider is not short on experience, having spent four full seasons in Moto2 prior to&nbsp;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&nbsp;following Enea Bastianini&rsquo;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&rsquo;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?  &ldquo;It was a difficult weekend&rdquo;, he commented after the Argentina GP, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re having problems and don&rsquo;t have the answers right now. We need to remain focused, because I&rsquo;m sure things will get better. I can&rsquo;t wait to get to Austin to race in front of my home crowd&rdquo;. Yes, because the Austin race is fast approaching, a track at which Roberts will have a great opportunity to do well, considering he&rsquo;s racing &lsquo;at home&rsquo; in front of his fans. It will be an important test bench for him, although the US track hasn&rsquo;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&hellip; perhaps too difficult! Might the Italian team have miscalculated this time? The mood is definitely not the best: &ldquo;Joe didn&rsquo;t show the right determination in Argentina&rdquo;, commented his crew chief Giovanni Sandi, &ldquo;and we weren&rsquo;t competitive. It&rsquo;s not a result that represents us, but we&rsquo;ll do our best to do better&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP: Vi&ntilde;ales-Quartararo role reversal - who&rsquo;s smiling now?       

<p>In his second season with the Italtrans team and his fifth in Moto2, the American should have been one of the favourites for 2022. But things are not going to plan</p>

Moto2: what has happened to Joe Roberts?

One of the big surprises of the 2020 Moto2 season was Joe Roberts, the American rider competing with the American Racing Team. His year far exceeded expectations, with numerous podiums and pole positions. A performance that attrached the attention of team Italtrans, this year&rsquo;s title winners with Enea Bastianini, who have snapped up the American for 2021.  Beaubier returns to Europe: will he be champion like Hayden and Kocinski?  &quot;I thought I could win at Le Mans&quot;  One of the hardest episodes for the rider to digest was the problem at Le Mans. Despite scoring pole, a team error meant he missed out on the win: &quot;When I got to Le Mans I immediately realised I was competitive and after finishing practice in first place, I also set pole. I was really motivated for the race and thought I could win. It was a pity because the mechanics were unable to make the changes in time, forcing me to start from the back. These mistakes shouldn&rsquo;t happen, but they do, just like crashes, which are rider errors&quot;.  Joe then spoke about next season, during which he expects to make another step forward: &quot;When I started negotiating with Italtrans I was surprised, because it&rsquo;s a top team and usually works with Italian riders while now they have an English speaker. I liked the atmosphere right away, from the first time I spoke with Giovanni Sandi and the other team members, so much so that I wish the first race were next week and not in a few months&quot;.  &quot;Beaubier can also score great results&quot;   He also refers to other American talents arriving on the world stage: &quot;Thanks to me and Gerloff, who&rsquo;s doing so well in Superbike, I think US interest in the world championships is growing. The arrival of Cameron Beaubier, who moves to my old team, will further boost this and I&rsquo;m sure he can achieve great results. His presence will give me extra motivation, but my goal is always to fight for the win&rdquo;.  Translated by Heather Watson  Moto2, Baldassarri: a return to Forward Racing after a tough 2020 

<p>In an interview published on the MotoAmerica site, the American rider talks about the 2020 season and what he expects from 2021, as a rider with team Italtrans</p> 

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Moto2: what has happened to Joe Roberts?

Moto2, Joe Roberts: “I've boosted US interest in the world championship”