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.
This afternoon, the Moto2 riders took part in the practice session for the United States Grand Prix. This session propelled the 14 fastest riders directly into Q2. In Austin, where the sun was still shining, Manuel Gonzalez was fastest at the start of the session, with a time of 2:06.687.
Midway through the session, he had to concede to David Alonso's attempt of 2:06.652. Meanwhile, Izan Guevara experienced a technical problem, while Angel Piqueras and Celestino Vietti, the fastest driver of the morning, crashed.
Vietti goes down after going P4 😓#USGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/0YdrvrPZJz
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 27, 2026
The fight for first place in the session seemed to be between Manuel Gonzalez and David Alonso, but after regaining the top spot at the end of the session, the 2025 runner-up crashed at turn 1.
This did not prevent Gonzalez from remaining at the top of the standings. Barry Baltus tried his luck in the final minutes to dethrone him, but fell short by a few points.
With three minutes remaining, David Alonso put everyone in their place with a time of 2:05.847, becoming the first driver to break the 2:06 barrier. This time naturally secured him the top spot in the session and his place in Q2. His teammate, who seemed to be the only one capable of challenging him in the final seconds of the session, was caught out by yellow flags in sector 3 on his last attempt. Daniel Holgado, finishing 20th, will have to go through Q1.
Manuel Gonzalez and Barry Baltus complete the top 3. Their teammates, Senna Agius and Tony Arbolino, also qualify, with the 5th and 6th fastest times.
Moto2 Austin – Practice standings:
Ranking : MotoGP.com