After two rounds, the Moto2 World Championship is more open than ever. The class has seen two different riders take the lead in the championship: Manuel Gonzalez and then Daniel Holgado. These two riders are also the two who won the first two races of the season. However, they are not the only ones in contention for victory this weekend in Austin. Five riders have already led at least one lap in a Grand Prix this year. So keep an eye on Daniel Muñoz, Izan Guevara, and Alex Escrig, who are all just a few points behind the leaders in the overall standings.
After David Alonso received a penalty following qualifying, Barry Baltus started from pole position. At the start of the race, the Belgian driver demonstrated excellent control, leading into the first corner. However, a massive pile-up behind him took out seven cars. The red flag was waved, and the race was shortened to 10 laps.
Sergio Garcia, David Alonso, Daniel Muñoz, Collin Veijer, Filip Salac, Alberto Fernandez, and Angel Piqueras were the drivers involved in the incident. The latter two were taken to the medical center. Deemed responsible for the incident, Holgado received a Long Lap penalty, as did Daniel Muñoz. Although not involved in the multi-car crash, pole-sitter Barry Baltus received a similar penalty for impeding Alonso Lopez at Turn 1.
LIGHTS OUT IN #MOTO2 (I.e.
Magic start from @AlonsoLopez_21 into the lead 🪄#USGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/SjVmUek0rV
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 29, 2026
At the second start, Barry Baltus had less control under braking, but again completed the first lap in the lead. His objective was then to extend his lead over his rivals to minimize the impact of his Long Lap penalty. On the third lap, Senna Agius overtook Baltus to take the lead, just as Baltus was about to serve his penalty two laps later. After the Long Lap, Barry Baltus was in 6th place.
Another rival, however, would come from behind to block Senna Agius's path. Celestino Vietti took the lead at turn 11 with two laps to go. He regained the lead a few corners later. Entering the final lap with a four-tenths of a second advantage over his rival, he maintained his lead to cross the finish line first and take the victory.
Celestini Vietti and Izan Guevara completed the podium ahead of the Alonso-Gonzalez duo. Barry Baltus finished in 6th position, three seconds behind the day's winner. Everything suggests that without this Long Lap, the Belgian could have secured his first victory in the Moto2 category.
Moto2 Austin – Race Results:
Ranking : MotoGP.com