Kent weighing up MotoGP option for 2016

Danny Kent’s future should be resolved in “the next few weeks” with the Moto3 championship leader now one of the hottest riders on the market. Kent has impressed everyone with his mature approach to racing this year and as revealed in this week’s Motorcycle New he has an offer on the table to make a shock move to MotoGP next year.

A decision hasn’t been made by Kent yet as to whether he should bypass a return to Moto2 in favour of moving to the premier class but speaking to MCN in Brno today he admitted that it was a real possibility.

“I’m still in the middle of deciding and I have an offer on the table for MotoGP and now I need to sit down and see what the best route is for me,” said Kent. “I think that in the next few weeks there’ll be an announcement for where I’ll be, it could be at Silverstone, but my mind isn’t made up yet on what I’ll do. There’s a few things that we need to work on but any riders dream is to go to the top.”

The move from Moto3 to MotoGP has been made by Jack Miller this year and while the Australian has had some difficult races he’s flashed his potential on numerous occasions and shown it’s possible to adjust to the bigger machine.

“Jack’s not done too badly this year and in Argentina he was the top Open rider,” said Kent when asked about the comparison. “He’s shown that it’s not impossible to jump to MotoGP and he’s done it with the spec electronics this year. I can see him making a step next year because he’ll go into the season knowing those electronics and having ironed the issues  that some other teams are going to face with adapting to them.

“Also with Michelin coming back next year I think that next year is the best year that a Moto3 rider could think of making the jump. For next year it’s all new tyres, the electronics should bring the satellite bikes closer to the factory bikes. Hopefully next year with the changes it gives the satellite teams a chance to compete. I think that next year will be a good opportunity to move up if you’re offered it.”

MCN learned at Indianapolis that it was Pramac Ducati that had approached Kent and although the Leopard Racing rider refused to name the team it was clear how seriously he was weighing up the move. However, Kent also stressed that while he would love to ride in MotoGP he is still considering his intermediate class options. The one key for him is to ride a Kalex and thus ensure that he has the potential to ride the most consistent bike in the class. If he moves to Moto2 retaining his links to the Kiefer squad is the most likely option.

“I’ve got offers in Moto2 and that’s to be on the Kalex, I want to ride that bike if I move into the class. For a rider it’s easier mentally to know that you’re riding that bike because even though there’s other chassis that are working well but the Kalex is the one that is doing most of the winning. If you’re riding the Kalex and it’s not winning you know it’s down to you. Speed Up have approached me too but I think that we can expect an announcement in the next few weeks about if it’ll be Moto2 or MotoGP for me.”