Aussie Moto2 young gun bounces back in style at COTA, while Joel Kelso shows front running pace before a cruel crash in Moto3
Moto2
After a tough start to the season, Australia’s Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) delivered a determined ride at COTA to claim his third Moto2 career win, holding off a late charge from Celestino Vietti (HDR SpeedRS Team). Vietti secured his first podium of the season in second, with Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) completing the rostrum in third.
Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) launched well to grab the holeshot, but the opening lap quickly turned chaotic. A Turn 1 collision eliminated championship leader Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team). Moments later, a major multi rider crash at Turn 11 involved Filip Salac, Angel Piqueras, David Alonso, Collin Veijer, Sergio Garcia, Daniel Muñoz and Alberto Ferrandez, bringing out the red flag. All riders were reported conscious, and the race was restarted over 10 laps. Those who fell were eligible to restart, although Piqueras and Ferrandez were taken to the medical centre.
Penalties followed, with Holgado handed a Long Lap Penalty for causing the Turn 1 crash, and Muñoz plus Barry Baltus (REDS Fantic Racing) penalised for unsafe changes of direction from the original start. Deniz Öncü also crashed on the sighting lap but still made the restart.
When the lights went out again, Lopez led into Turn 1 before Baltus hit the front at Turn 13, though he still needed to serve his penalty. Agius soon surged into second, then attacked for the lead on lap three at Turn 12. Vietti began carving his way forward, picking off Guevara and then Lopez, as the reshuffled race settled into a late sprint.
Baltus briefly reclaimed the lead at Turn 12 on lap five before serving his Long Lap Penalty and dropping back, while David Alonso mounted an eye catching recovery, charging from 17th on the grid into the fight for fourth. Up front, Vietti and Agius traded the advantage, with Vietti edging ahead down the long back straight before Agius responded with a decisive move into Turn 3 with two laps to go, then leading onto the final lap.
Vietti threw everything at the closing stages, but Agius held his nerve to take an emotional win, with Guevara securing a strong third.
Behind the podium fight, Alonso’s recovery to fourth stood out, while Manuel Gonzalez finished fifth, doing enough to take over the championship lead. Baltus took sixth ahead of Lopez, while Alex Escrig battled to eighth, Roberts salvaged ninth after restarting, and Tony Arbolino rounded out the top ten. Next up, Moto2 heads to Jerez as the European leg begins.
2026 MOTO2 COTA RACE
| POS | RIDER | BIKE | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Agius | Kalex | — |
| 2 | C. Vietti | Bos | 0.497 |
| 3 | I. Guevara | Bos | 0.908 |
| 4 | D. Alonso | Kalex | 1.843 |
| 5 | M. Gonzalez | Kalex | 2.729 |
| 6 | B. Baltus | Kalex | 3.251 |
| 7 | A. Lopez | Kalex | 5.003 |
| 8 | A. Escrig | Fwd | 6.83 |
| 9 | J. Roberts | Kalex | 7.761 |
| 10 | T. Arbolino | Kalex | 8.74 |
| 11 | I. Ortola | Kalex | 11.485 |
| 12 | A. Huertas | Kalex | 11.828 |
| 13 | A. Canet | Bos | 12.152 |
| 14 | D. Muñoz | Kalex | 14.246 |
| 15 | J.A. Rueda | Kalex | 20.119 |
| 16 | D. Holgado | Kalex | 21.206 |
| 17 | A. Sasaki | Kalex | 25.265 |
| 18 | T. Furusato | Kalex | 26.356 |
| 19 | D. Foggia | Bos | 26.488 |
| 20 | D. Öncü | Bos | 31.146 |
| 21 | F. Salač | Kalex | 32.37 |
| 22 | Z. vd Goorbergh | Kalex | +2 laps |
| NC | M. Aji | Kalex | +2 laps |
| NC | C. Veijer | Kalex | +7 laps |
| NC | J. Navarro | Fwd | +7 laps |
2026 MOTO2 WORLD STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 3
| POS | RIDER | NAT | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Gonzalez | SPA | 39.5 |
| 2 | I. Guevara | SPA | 36 |
| 3 | D. Holgado | SPA | 33 |
| 4 | C. Vietti | ITA | 32 |
| 5 | D. Muñoz | SPA | 26 |
| 6 | S. Agius | AUS | 25 |
| 7 | D. Alonso | COL | 24 |
| 8 | A. Escrig | SPA | 23 |
| 9 | A. Lopez | SPA | 18.5 |
| 10 | I. Ortola | SPA | 17.5 |
Moto3
Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) broke through for his first Moto3 Grand Prix win in a COTA classic decided right on the line, beating Maximo Quiles (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) by just 0.056 seconds. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) grabbed third after a frantic final corner sequence that also robbed Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) of a potential win, leaving him fourth.
Carpe converted pole into the early lead from Perrone, with Quiles diving into third at Turn 1 as the front group immediately began to form. Pini and Leopard Racing teammate Adrian Fernandez joined the fight as the leaders swapped positions and tried to break the tow.
The battle was initially seven riders, but with 10 laps remaining Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) crashed and Joel Esteban (LEVELUP – MTA) couldn’t avoid the bike, both riders walking away okay. Fernandez then started to fade, leaving four riders to fight for the podium.
Over those same middle laps, Australia’s Joel Kelso made impressive progress from the fourth row. He got a strong launch to sit ninth by lap two, then continued to carve forward. By lap eight Kelso had fought to the front of the second pack in sixth and, crucially, he had race pace to match the leaders. The charge ended in heartbreak on lap nine when Kelso crashed out after a promising ride that was shaping as his best of the season.
At the front, the last three laps turned into an all out brawl. Pini twice took aim at Quiles, finally making a move stick at Turn 12, and that shuffle brought Carpe and Perrone right back into the fight. Perrone led onto the final lap, positions flipped repeatedly through the infield, and everything came down to the last corner.
Carpe lunged for the win, pushing Perrone wide and opening the door for the two riders behind. Pini and Quiles launched through, and in the drag to the line it was Pini who prevailed by 0.056 over Quiles, with Carpe just hanging on for third.
Fernandez held on for fifth, while a separate scrap behind went to the wire as Adrian Cruces took sixth. Rookie Rico Salmela stole seventh at the line ahead of rookie Brian Uriarte after late contact, with Matteo Bertelle ninth and Scott Ogden tenth. Eddie O’Shea narrowly missed the top 10 but claimed his best Moto3 finish to date, while Casey O’Gorman crashed out after starting from the front row.
