Brazil Moto2 and Moto3 delivers thrills and spills

Senna Agius fights forward from last on the grid while Joel Kelso just misses out on top 10 in red flagged race

Moto2 – Holgado wins Brazil thriller

Daniel Holgado delivered a gritty win at the Moto2 Grand Prix of Brazil, surviving a late challenge from Daniel Muñoz in a tense two-rider fight that also reshuffled the title picture. While the lead pair traded blows at the front in Goiania, Australia’s Senna Agius was left to salvage what he could after a difficult qualifying session dumped him to the back of the grid.

Alex Escrig launched from his earlier front-row breakthrough to grab the holeshot, but Muñoz immediately carved through from 11th to second on the opening lap. Holgado settled into third from pole as David Alonso slipped backwards early, and by lap two Muñoz had struck for the lead with a move on Escrig at Turn 6. Holgado then sliced into second and soon after took over at the front, making his intentions clear.

Behind them, Agius faced a very different race. In the hottest conditions of the weekend, the New South Welshman made a solid getaway, picking off riders immediately and moving past Jose Antonio Rueda and Jorge Navarro at Turn 1 to climb to 26th. From there it became a long, methodical recovery in a field that quickly stretched out, limiting chances to gain big chunks of time.

By lap six the leading group of Holgado, Muñoz, Escrig, Alonso and Manuel Gonzalez had broken clear. Gonzalez then moved past Alonso to take fourth, while Alonso continued to slide and fell into a scrap with Izan Guevara and Tony Arbolino as the front three began to form their own contest. With the laps ticking down, Gonzalez started to close on Escrig for the final podium place.

Agius kept grinding forward and by mid-race had worked his way to 21st, tucked in behind Dennis Foggia, but the gaps ahead were already sizeable. On lap 20 he latched onto Joe Roberts and moved into the fight for 18th, only for Roberts to respond late and edge clear at the finish. Agius ultimately crossed the line 19th, a frustrating result given the pace he has shown this season, including pole in Thailand, but also a reminder of how quickly momentum can swing in Moto2.

Up front, the win became a straight duel. Muñoz attacked with two and a half laps remaining and briefly hit the front, but Holgado responded immediately down the long start-finish straight and then pulled out a decisive gap. He started the final lap with a 0.7s cushion and held firm to the chequered flag for his first win of the year, sealing the points lead in the process.

Gonzalez completed the podium after a last-lap move at Turn 4, diving inside a slightly wide Escrig to steal third. Escrig still banked a career-best fourth, while Alonso recovered enough to fend off Guevara and Arbolino for fifth. Collin Veijer, Celestino Vietti and Ivan Ortola rounded out the top 10.

For Agius, it has been a bruising opening to 2026, with technical trouble in Thailand followed by a compromised Brazilian weekend, even if his underlying speed remains obvious. The championship now heads straight to Austin, where the Australian will be looking to turn flashes of pace back into the results they should deliver.

BRAZIL MOTO2 RACE RESULTS

2026 MOTO2 WORLD STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2

Moto3 – Quiles conquers Goiania from 4th row start

Maximo Quiles produced a sharp fightback to win a stop-start Moto3 race in Goiania, converting an early red flag into a frantic five-lap shootout and emerging with both the victory and the championship lead. Marco Morelli backed him up for an Aspar Team one-two and celebrated his first Moto3 podium, while Veda Pratama delivered a landmark result for Indonesia with a maiden GP rostrum in third.

For Australia’s Joel Kelso, the day was defined by lost track position and repeat recovery rides. After qualifying a solid seventh, Kelso launched well and held his place through the opening exchanges even as Quiles lunged up the inside at Turn 1. The early laps were messy, with polesitter Joel Esteban initially leading before the front group reshuffled into an Argentinian one-two as Valentin Perrone and Morelli hit the front. Quiles was quickly on the march and the championship leader David Almansa charged from 14th on the grid into the mix.

Kelso’s race took a hit on lap four when he was forced wide at Turn 1 and shuffled back to 15th. He responded by picking his way forward, and by mid-race he had recovered to 12th, still in touch with the second group and with the podium battle not completely out of reach as the race began to split. Up front, Quiles and Almansa had edged clear before the complexion changed again.

Drama escalated when Esteban crashed out of the top three, then Almansa suffered a heavy moment of his own, going down from the lead on lap 13. Soon after, Scott Ogden crashed and the red flags were thrown as officials dealt with the incident. Almansa was okay but, having crashed before the stoppage, could not restart, wiping out the points he looked set to bank as title leader.

That stoppage turned the race into a five-lap dash. Quiles nailed the restart to grab the holeshot and set the tempo, with Alvaro Carpe, Adrian Fernandez and Guido Pini in the mix behind as positions changed almost corner by corner. Morelli kept the pressure on and closed right onto Quiles late, but Quiles held his nerve through the final sector to seal the win. Kelso lined up in 11th for the sprint, he was again knocked backwards in the early shoving and slipped to 15th. Once more he fought back through the pack to finish 12th, limiting the damage on a day where track position was everything and the stop-start format made every mistake costly.

Behind the Aspar pair, Pratama’s third place was a breakthrough for both rider and nation, giving Indonesia its first ever Grand Prix podium in any class. He held off Carpe and Pini, with rookie Rico Salmela taking an impressive sixth. Perrone, Fernandez, Casey O’Gorman and Hakim Danish completed the top 10 in a race that flipped the title picture and left plenty of riders, Kelso included, feeling they had more to give without the interruptions.

BRAZIL MOTO3 RACE RESULTS

2026 Moto3 World Standings AFTER ROUND 2