#AustrianGP – MOTO2: Vietti victorious at the Red Bull Ring as Garcia finishes P14
Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is back on top at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, taking victory after a brilliant ride from the Italian. Vietti took his third victory at the Red Bull Ring and became the eighth different winner in 2024. The #13 crossed the line 1.850s ahead of Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp), who took a strong second place. Lopez defended on the final lap, beating Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) to the flag, with the British rider securing back-to-back podiums.
Once the lights went out it was a hectic Turn 1, with Canet and Vietti beginning to battle on the opening lap. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) secured the early advantage, taking the lead from the Italian as Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) sat in third. However, not everyone completed the opening lap after a crash from Alex Escrig (KLINT Forward Factory Team) and Mario Aji (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).
Vietti reclaimed the lead on Lap 2, as the fastest lap began to change hands with red hot pace at the front as the Italian put down the hammer – extending a comfortable margin. Meanwhile, Lopez also entered the podium places as Garcia dropped back to P6 with Dixon and Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Tony Arbolino finding their way through on the Spaniard.
Canet sat in third position, beginning to pile the pressure on Lopez as Vietti over a second on Lap 10, running wide at Turn 3 after he hit a false natural. This bunched up the front group as Dennis Foggia (Italtrans Racing Team) crashed on Lap 12 as his teammate Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) continued to battle for 18th position with Sync Speedup’s Fermin Aldeguer.
At the end of Lap 15, Canet and Lopez began to battle for P2, with the #44 unable to complete the key move. Meanwhile, Dixon began to catch the podium places, beginning to show a strong late-race pace at the Red Bull Ring.
Meanwhile, Garcia was now under pressure from Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) in the battle for sixth position. The #3 was the only MT Helmets – MSI rider on the circuit after Ai Ogura was declared unfit due to a fracture in his right hand. On Lap 20, the drama soon unfolded for Garcia, who received a Long Lap penalty – dropping to 13th position.
In the closing stages, Vietti continued to string out a strong lead and looked unstoppable. However, the battle for the podium was not decided with a three-way fight for second position with just two laps remaining. Dixon looked to enter the podium places at Turn 4, backing out on his move on Canet.
Heading onto the final lap Dixon made the move stick on the run to Turn 1, setting his sights on Lopez for second. However, as the chequered flag waved it was Vietti who took victory from Lopez in second, with Dixon crossing the line in third.
Missing out on the podium rostrum in Austria was Canet, with the Spaniard losing out on the final lap after both Dixon and Canet exceeded track limits on the last lap. Canet finished ahead of Arbolino, who rounded out the top five, with the #14 taking another strong result, as Ramirez jumped to sixth position. Meanwhile, Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) finished inside the top 10, crossing the line in seventh with Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), taking eighth. Meanwhile, the final spots inside the top 10 went the way of Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) and Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team).
Further back, it was a tough Sunday for some key contenders, with Garcia crossing the line in 14th position – scoring limited points. Furthermore, Aldeguer would score zero points in Austria, finishing in 20th position.
After qualifying we worked hard to find the best set-up to give me confidence. Today in the race I finally felt comfortable, I was overtaking very well under braking. I want to thank the whole team for their efforts. Too bad about Q1 yesterday and the crash today, because we could have been in the top ten. We have two days of testing ahead of us at Misano where we will have the chance to improve again.
Dennis Foggia – NC
I am happy with the race because I was able to make up a lot of positions. It was a pity to have started so far back, because the pace was that of the top riders and with another grid position I would have finished further ahead. Let’s take the positives: we learnt a lot today and we will continue to improve.
Diogo Moreira – P16
Thank you to the entire team for the great work throughout the weekend. Today we had a very competitive bike, but we made a couple of mistakes midway through the race that hurt us. It’s a shame. We are going to Aragón with a lot of strength.
Jaume Masia – P19
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Austria.