Celestino Vietti secured his firs win of the Moto2 season this Sunday, dominating the Austrian GP. The Italian kept his momentum from the first podium of the season achieved in the previous round, and repeated his 2023 victory in Spielberg.
The race began with a strong start from Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) from pole position, and Arón Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) from the second position on the grid. It was Canet who took the lead.
Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro) was in third, but was soon overtaken by Alonso López (Sync SpeedUp/Boscoscuro). On the second lap, there was a change in leadership, with Vietti capitalizing on a wide line from Canet to take the lead. Shortly after, the Spaniard also lost his position to López.
Fully committed into Turn 1 🔥@AlonsoLopez_21 also overtakes Canet now 👊#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/BYN9dNMsCk
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 18, 2024
The top three maintained this order over the following laps, while García continued to lose positions. Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar/Kalex) moved up to fourth place, with Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) in fifth.
On the tenth lap, Vietti lost considerable time due to an error heading into turn three, allowing López to close within half a second. Right behind, Canet, who nine laps from the end, took advantage of a mistake by López to close in on the second-place rider, before launching an attack on the main straight a lap later.
In the final ten laps, Dixon became a real threat to the riders in the podium positions, getting within a second of Canet, who almost crashed on lap 17.
At the front, Vietti managed to break away in the final stages of the race, leaving the battle for second place between López, Canet, and Dixon. The Briton attacked Canet at the start of the final lap to take third place but didn’t have enough time to challenge López for second.
LAST LAP ⚔️
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 18, 2024
Vietti leads comfortably but here comes @jakedixonracing for 3rd 👊#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/WzGk8zyXcl
With no rivals close enough to challenge him, Vietti sealed the victory 2.520s ahead of López, with Dixon completing the podium. Canet and Arbolino rounded out the top five. Championship leader García finished only 14th after a Long Lap penalty near the end, while Fermín Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) could do no better than 20th.
