Agius and Kelso impress with front-running pace at Mugello

Senna Agius came within a whisker of the Moto2 rostrum while Joel Kelso ran at the front before being pushed back by late Moto3 chaos

Gonzalez goes back to back in Moto2

Manuel Gonzalez was untouchable in sweltering Italian conditions, leading from the start and controlling the race throughout to take a lights-to-flag victory and strengthen his championship lead. It was his third win of the season and sixth podium from the opening seven grands prix.

Gonzalez made the perfect launch from pole and immediately settled into the lead. Early drama unfolded behind him, with Taiyo Furusato crashing out before Aron Canet and Xabi Zurutuza both went down in a separate Turn 7 incident. On the following lap, Alex Escrig was taken out by Alonso Lopez at the exit of Turn 3, with Lopez later handed a Long Lap Penalty.

As the race developed, Ivan Ortola surged forward from 10th on the grid and quickly emerged as Gonzalez’s nearest challenger. Further back, Filip Salac and Daniel Holgado were disputing the final podium position, while Agius steadily closed in on the group ahead.

By the second half of the race, Gonzalez had stretched his advantage beyond 1.5 seconds as Ortola began to lose ground. Holgado moved into third ahead of Salac, but Agius was rapidly joining that battle and looked increasingly threatening.

The Australian made his move in the final stages, catching and passing Salac before Celestino Vietti also came through. Then came a major twist when Ortola, running near the front, dropped out with a technical problem less than 10 kilometres from the finish.

That opened the door for a frantic podium fight. Vietti charged through to third with a lap and a half remaining, then grabbed second from Holgado at Scarperia on the final lap. Agius also attacked Holgado at the last corner and looked a chance of stealing a top-three finish, but Holgado reclaimed third in the sprint to the line by the slimmest of margins.

Agius had to settle for fourth, but it was still a superb result and enough to further cement his hold on fourth in the championship standings.

Behind the lead group, Salac finished fifth for his best result of the season and his first top-five since Aragon last year. Lopez recovered from his penalty to take sixth ahead of Izan Guevara in seventh. Barry Baltus climbed from 19th on the grid to finish eighth, while Collin Veijer and Deniz Oncu completed the top 10.

Vietti’s ride to second was one of the performances of the day, coming from 16th on the grid to claim a home podium and secure his third rostrum of the season, as well as his second in succession.

In the championship, Manuel Gonzalez leads on 129.5 points ahead of Izan Guevara on 95, with Celestino Vietti close behind on 93. Senna Agius remains fourth with 78 points, while Daniel Holgado rounds out the top five on 65.

Manuel Gonzalez – Winner
“It feels so good to race like this. It’s always nice to be able to take the lead, but mentally it’s really tough because you have to stay fully focused every single lap. In lap six or seven, though, as Ivan was closing in, I pushed a bit too hard because I wanted to pull away to have a more relaxed race. But he was really close, and I started making small mistakes. So, I told myself I just had to stick to my plan; if I could do that, the others would have a hard time keeping up with me. I stayed calm, stayed focused, and didn’t go over the limit in any corner. In the end, it worked because I was able to keep my lap times consistent. I felt really good with the bike, even though the last few laps were a bit difficult with the front tire. But everyone certainly had that problem. Ultimately, we secured another win and another podium, and that’s exactly what we want to achieve.  But as I always say: It’s easy to be happy in moments like these, but we also have to stay focused and deliver good results in tough situations. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and keep pushing, because we’ve got a really strong package now. We’re heading to Hungary with the same speed and determination as always to push to the limit and have fun riding again.”

2026 ITALIAN GP MOTO2 RACE

2026 MOTO2 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 7

Late charge puts Uriarte on the top step in Moto3

Alvaro Uriarte was the star of the Moto3 race, delivering a composed and clinical ride to take a breakthrough victory after judging the Mugello contest to perfection. The young Spaniard stayed in the fight throughout the lead group battle before making his move when it mattered, sealing an impressive win in one of the class’s typically frantic slipstream contests. For Australia, Joel Kelso was also right in the thick of it, showing strong pace and racecraft to remain a podium threat deep into the Grand Prix before ultimately just missing out in the late shuffle. Kelso had shown strong pace all weekend at Mugello and, starting from the front row, charged to the front on the opening lap.

Kelso’s seemed to have boosted confidence in the front of his Honda, and as the race unfolded he stayed embedded in the front-running battle as positions constantly changed in the slipstream. Joel Esteban moved into second by the end of lap one, with Danish shuffled back, while championship leader Maximo Quiles was still only 14th at that stage.

As the race settled into its familiar Mugello rhythm, Uriarte took a turn in the lead with the help of the draft, before Adrian Fernandez and then Alvaro Carpe also spent time at the head of the field.

A crash for Rico Salmela at the exit of Turn 4 on lap seven briefly split the field and allowed the leading group to edge clear, but that move proved temporary as the pursuers quickly closed back in. The race soon returned to a full-scale pack fight, and Kelso continued to hold position among the contenders as the tension built.

With three laps remaining, the field had compressed into a 15-rider freight train, where every corner exit and every tow down the straight mattered. Fernandez led the group from O’Shea and Quiles, but Kelso was still right there in the hunt as the race headed toward its frantic conclusion.

A huge rear-end moment for Quiles at the final corner on the penultimate lap shuffled the order and dropped the title leader out of the top 10, setting up an all-in last-lap scrap. Uriarte then made his decisive move at Casanova-Savelli, taking the lead from Fernandez and giving himself enough space to escape the madness unfolding behind.

That break proved decisive, allowing Uriarte to seal his first Moto3 victory. Carpe came through for second and Danish secured his first podium in third. Fernandez was fourth ahead of Esteban, while O’Shea took a career-best sixth.

Kelso remained in the thick of the fight until the chequered flag and brought home ninth after a bruising final-lap battle, with David Muñoz seventh, Veda Pratama eighth and Jesus Rios 10th. In a race where the lead changed hands repeatedly and no rider could relax for a moment, Kelso’s ability to stay in the front group from the opening lap to the finish was a strong showing.

Quiles, meanwhile, could only manage 11th after he and teammate Marco Morelli ran wide at the final corner while trying to avoid contact. Matteo Bertelle, Morelli, Scott Ogden and Guido Pini completed the points scorers, with Pini losing ground after a late visit to the gravel.

In the championship, Quiles still leads on 145 points, but his margin is now 52 over Carpe on 93. Adrian Fernandez is third on 89, Uriarte’s win lifts him to fourth on 67, and Veda Pratama is fifth on 66 heading into the next round at Balaton Park.

Brian Uriarte – P1
“P1, we did it! A hard-fought race in Mugello, with plenty of overtakes and a race where managing the final laps proved to be crucial. The work we’ve been putting in is paying off, and step by step we’re establishing ourselves among the front runners. A huge thank you to the team, my family, Emilio, and everyone who made this first Moto3 World Championship victory possible. Let’s keep pushing for more!”

Joel Kelso – P9
“Overall, a positive race today! I started off really well, and there was a massive group and a good battle out there. Unfortunately, in the closing laps, we just couldn’t find the right position going into the last lap. It was a step forward for sure, elbows are sore tonight after fighting for every postion in every corner. P9 is a start.. but I know we can achieve a lot more! Overall this is the first weekend I felt in the zone with the Honda.. let’s keep at it. It was a good weekend. Time to head to Hungary!”

2026 ITALIAN GP MOTO3 RACE

2026 MOTO3 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 7