Andrea Iannone heads the Moto2 title chase in the early stages of season 2011.

Italian Andrea Iannone is the early Moto2 standings leader after taking victory in the wet at Jerez last time out, and the Speed Master team rider will aim to maintain and stretch his lead at the top this weekend at Estoril in Portugal.

Hot on his heels however are two riders who have also enjoyed strong starts to the campaign in the shape of Stefan Bradl and Thomas Lüthi, who are currently level on points.

German rider Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) won the season opener in Qatar and was the victor at Estoril last season so will be confident of pushing at the front, whilst Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) has registered podium finishes in the two rounds of the season so far.

Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) and Alex de Angelis have both had encouraging starts to the season, the former scoring a podium in Jerez and the latter having stood on the rostrum at Estoril in last year’s race.

Moto2 rookie Bradley Smith’s first two races in the category on board the Tech 3 machine have made a distinct impression and the Brit was a podium finisher in the 125 class at the Portuguese track for the past two seasons.

Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) will be hungry for a first top-three result of 2011 whilst for fellow Spaniard Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) the aim will be some first Moto2 points, after the reigning 125 World Champion experienced a tough introduction to the class in the opening two rounds.

Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) will be determined to pin down his first points of the season, as will Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP) who made such an impact in his world championship debut as a wildcard in this race last season.

Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) will look to mark his 150th GP start with a memorable result, as he becomes the first Finnish rider ever to reach the milestone.

South African rider Steven Odendaal will again ride on a Suter for the MS Racing outfit as a wildcard entry, after debuting at Jerez.

With two victories from the opening two rounds of the season Nico Terol is in fearsome shape, and will be the man to beat at Estoril having already opened up a 19-point advantage at the top of the 125cc GP Championship.

Aside from Terol’s blistering start to 2011, there have been impressive displays from the riders following, one being young German talent Jonas Folger.

The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport man, who placed fifth in Qatar and second at Jerez, will be confident of pushing for a similar result in Portugal, whilst his compatriot Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) will also be eager to challenge for a first victory.

The wet race at Jerez saw six riders in the 125 class score their best ever GP result, and Frenchman Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) was amongst them. A first podium for Zarco has placed him as part of a closely grouped trio which includes Folger and Cortese.

Meanwhile the confidence of young Brits Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) and Taylor Mackenzie (Phonica Racing), who both finished inside the top five, will be high.