Moto2 at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas at the Circuits of The Americas in Austin, Texas

Moto2 at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas at the Circuits of The Americas in Austin, Texas on April 10, 2022. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)

Drama hits for the early season title favorites, Arbolino emerges with the speed, Ogura takes back to back podiums and Dixon finally gets that rostrum finish, his first in Grand Prix racing. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) kept it calm under pressure at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, the Italian pulling clear to take his first Moto2 win in some style. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) charged through to second for his first back-to-back Moto2 podiums, with another first in third: Jake Dixon (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) gets his first rostrum finish in Grand Prix racing, battling Ogura and eventually taking P3.

Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), who retains that moniker, crashed out early, and then his closest rival at the time, Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) also crashed out in a dramatic Americas GP. Polemen Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) got off the line well but was denied the holeshot by a Vietti divebomb, and Canet and Arbolino then pushed the hometown hero back to P4 as the podium battle began to take shape. There was drama elsewhere early on too, first with a multi-rider crash involving, amongst others, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as he made contact with Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), before Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) also headed into Turn 12 too hot. Gabriel Rodrigo (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW Racing GP) were both caught up, riders all ok. Chantra was given a Long Lap for Portugal for the incident.

The drama continued through to Lap 2, with Canet losing and then taking P2 back from Arbolino, before the Spaniard began to set his sights on the lead. The deficit between first and second had narrowed to just a couple tenths and the lead soon changed hands at Turn 9, with Canet taking charge of the race and Vietti slipping to second. Then, just a couple of corners later at 11, a Beaubier error allowed a host of riders through as he dropped to eighth.

The American wasn’t the only rider struggling to keep himself upright at COTA, with Simone Corsi (MV Augusta Forward Racing) the next rider to crash out at Turn 14, before Pedro Acosta’s (Red Bull KTM Ajo excellent race start, P10 to P5, was in vain, as he slid out of the race and the top five at Turn 6 – riders OK.

Turn 6 then claimed another victim, this time in the form of Championship leader and race contender Vietti. It meant Arbolino and Dixon moved into the top three, and handed a comfortable advantage to new race leader Canet, but it didn’t last long. The Flexbox HP40 rider seemed to be cruising to a win before disaster struck on the eighth lap, losing the front end of his Kalex at Turn 7 to throw another twist in the tale of a fascinating Moto2 race in Texas. As a result, three riders were thrust into victory contention, Arbolino leading Dixon and Ogura, but a classy performance from a cool and composed Tiger Tony ensured he opened up an unassailable lead over the next few laps.

Lap 12 then saw the order of the podium decided, with Ogura taking over from Dixon at Turn 12. Luckily for the Briton, he had built up enough of an advantage over Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Beaubier that he just had to keep it steady to claim his first-ever Grand Prix podium. Arblolino crossed the line in some clear air for an impressive first Moto2 win, extending the advantage lap by lap to taste Prosecco in the intermediate class for the first time. Ogura kept second despite a late nibble from Dixon on the penultimate lap, with the number 96 choosing calm and that first ever Grand Prix finish.

For poleman Beaubier, what started out as a dream home race then sadly turned into a nightmare, as he cost himself a P4 finish and 13 valuable Championship points on the final lap, sliding out and handing Schrötter a first top four finish since the Valencia GP in 2020. Jorge Navarro recovered from a Long Lap Penalty to take a top five finish while Jeremy Alcoba made it two Liqui Moly intact riders inside the top six for his best rookie results so far. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) were next up, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) going from P18 to P9.

A fine ride from Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP) saw him round out the top 10 ahead of Albert Arenas (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) and Marcos Ramirez (MV Augusta Forward Racing). Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2 and Romano Fenati (MB Conveyors Speed Up) complete the points finishers. The Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas certainly delivered Moto2 drama by the bucketload in Austin, and next up for the intermediate class is a date at the Autodromo do Algarve in two weeks’ time. (Source: MotoGP)

Pos	#	Rider		Bike	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h	Points
1	14	Tony Arbolino		Kalex	18	39'06.552			152.2	25
2	79	Ai Ogura		Kalex	18	39'09.991	3.439	3.439	152	20
3	96	Jake Dixon		Kalex	18	39'11.339	4.787	1.348	151.9	16
4	23	Marcel Schrotter		Kalex	18	39'21.081	14.529	9.742	151.3	13
5	9	Jorge Navarro		Kalex	18	39'22.899	16.347	1.818	151.1	11
6	52	Jeremy Alcoba		Kalex	18	39'23.940	17.388	1.041	151.1	10
7	64	Bo Bendsneyder		Kalex	18	39'24.183	17.631	0.243	151.1	9
8	16	Joe Roberts		Kalex	18	39'26.336	19.784	2.153	150.9	8
9	37	Augusto Fernandez		Kalex	18	39'31.147	24.595	4.811	150.6	7
10	7	Barry Baltus		Kalex	18	39'36.843	30.291	5.696	150.3	6
11	75	Albert Arenas		Kalex	18	39'40.027	33.475	3.184	150.1	5
12	42	Marcos Ramirez		MV Agusta	18	39'41.337	34.785	1.31	150	4
13	18	Manuel Gonzalez		Kalex	18	39'41.540	34.988	0.203	150	3
14	12	Filip Salač		Kalex	18	39'44.338	37.786	2.798	149.8	2
15	5	Romano Fenati		Boscoscuro B-21	18	39'44.960	38.408	0.622	149.7	1
16	19	Lorenzo Dalla Porta		Kalex	18	40'26.551	1'19.999	41.591	147.2
17	4	Sean Dylan		Kalex	18	40'30.989	1'24.437	4.438	146.9
dnf	6	Cameron Beaubier		Kalex	17	37'09.125	1 Lap	1 Lap	151.3
dnf	28	Niccolo Antonelli		Kalex	12	27'27.034	6 Laps	5 Laps	144.6
dnf	40	Arón Canet		Kalex	7	15'09.416	11 Laps	5 Laps	152.7
dnf	13	Celestino Vietti Ramus		Kalex	4	8'40.972	14 Laps	3 Laps	152.3
dnf	51	Pedro Acosta		Kalex	3	6'32.821	15 Laps	1 Lap	151.5
dnf	61	Alessandro Zaccone		Kalex	3	6'48.352	15 Laps	15.531	145.8
dnf	24	Simone Corsi		MV Agusta	2	4'30.176	16 Laps	1 Lap	146.9
dnf	54	Fermin Aldeguer		Boscoscuro B-21	0	18 laps
dnf	22	Sam Lowes		Kalex	0	18 laps
dnf	35	Somkiat Chantra		Kalex	0	18 laps
dnf	84	Zonta Van		Kalex	0	18 laps
dnf	2	Gabriel Rodrigo		Kalex	0	18 laps

Moto2
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the oldest established motorsport world championship and the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are unavailable for purchase by the general public and unable to be ridden legally on public roads. The championship is currently divided into four classes: the eponymous MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE.

Moto2 was initially a 600 cc four-stroke class introduced in 2010 to replace the traditional 250 cc two-stroke class. Engines were supplied exclusively by Honda, tires by Dunlop and electronics are limited and supplied only by FIM-sanctioned producers. Carbon brake discs are banned, only steel brake discs are allowed. However, there are no chassis limitations. Until 2019, only 600 cc four-stroke Moto2 machines were allowed.

Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas (COTA) is the premier destination for world-class motorsports and entertainment in the United States. Just outside downtown Austin, Circuit of The Americas has hosted the biggest names in racing, action sports and music. At its heart is a 3.41-mile racetrack that was designed to challenge the world's most exacting competitors while providing a thrilling spectacle for audiences.

The 20-turn, counterclockwise circuit takes advantage of the naturally undulating landscape, including an intimidating 133-foot hill at Turn 1. It has hosted the Formula 1 United States Grand Pix, MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, ESPN's X Games, the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge and more. Nestled within the track is Germania Insurance Amphitheater, the largest permanent outdoor amphitheater in Central Texas, and its 251-foot signature observation tower.

MotoGP
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Circuit of The Americas
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Photos by Ralph Arvesen
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