P1 on Friday, pole position on Saturday, P1 on Sunday. Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was simply unstoppable at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas as wet weather added an extra dose of spice to the Moto2 Grand Prix. Dixon eventually beat Tony Arbolino (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) by 4.1s, Alonso Lopez (Team HDR Heidrun) completed the podium in P3, as a slick tyre gamble for Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dnavolt Intact GP) fails to pay off to see the now former title chase leader leave Austin with zero points scored.
Just as the Moto3 race ended, the skies decided to sprinkle some water over COTA to add some pre-race drama to Moto2. But with the rain not heavy, some riders decided to chance it on slick tyres for the start – including World Championship leader Gonzalez. Dixon, the polesitter and Argentina GP winner, opted for Pirelli’s wet tyres.
And it proved to be the right decision for the Brit and most of the other riders. On Lap 8, Dixon lapped Gonzalez, the Spaniard’s teammate Senna Agius and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team), who were all struggling to keep their Triumph-powered machines on the road.
With five laps left, Dixon grew his lead to six seconds over Arbolino, with Lopez four seconds behind the Italian. That gap dropped to 5.2s on the penultimate lap, but heading onto the final lap, it grew again to 5.5s. Meanwhile, chasing teammate Lopez for the final podium spot, Celestino Vietti (Team HDR Heidrun) crashed not once, but twice. Turn 12 the first and then eager to get back into the race, Turn 13 saw Vietti go down to end his points hopes altogether.
There were no such issues for Dixon though. A mixed conditions masterclass saw the #96 clinch a second consecutive victory and with it, the Championship lead. Arbolino collected his first podium of the season, and so too did Lopez as Boscoscuros locked out the rostrum.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO) claimed an important points haul in P4, with Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) coming from P26 on the grid to bag a P5 – a great ride from the Spaniard. Top rookie honours went the way of Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI) who secures his best Moto2 result in P6, with riding wounded Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing LINO SENOGO), Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team), Mario Aji (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounding out the top 10 – the latter duo also putting in career-best Moto2 rides. For Aji, that’s his greatest Grand Prix result to date.
Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) gave the home team some points in P11, Oscar Gutierrez (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI) claimed his first Moto2 top 15 while standing in for Sergio Garcia, Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) picked up points with a P13, reigning Moto3 World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) walks away from COTA with a P14 after a promising weekend, as Alex Escrig (KLINT Forward Factory Team) closed out the points scorers in P15.
A drama-filled Moto2 race in Austin ends with Dixon dominating… again. Heading to Qatar, the Briton holds a 13-point lead over Canet, with Gonzalez slipping to P3 before Round 4 gets underway.