Dixon takes championship lead with lights to flag victory in tricky conditions.

Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) dominated the whole weekend at the GP of the Americas – he was fastest in all sessions and all weather conditions – taking pole position ahead of championship leader Manu Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), with Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO) rounding out the front row of the grid.

There was early drama as rain started falling as the Moto2 riders headed out to the grid – it seemed light, but riders confirmed on the grid that the back part of the circuit was fully wet. The race was declared wet by Race Direction, and riders were left with a decision to make on the grid – change to wet tyres and hope it remained wet, or gamble with sticking with slicks in case the rain eased off quickly.

Most riders went with changing to wet tyres, with Jake Dixon leading the majority of riders in doing so, although a few decided to stick with their slicks – including Manu Gonzalez, home hero Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team), and Dixon’s teammate Filip Salac.

They lined up on the grid, the lights went out, and Jake Dixon got a cracking start from pole position – pulling a lead of a few bike lengths by the time he entered turn 1 ahead of Barry Baltus, Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), and Alonso Lopez (Team HDR Heidrun). Manu Gonzalez and the others on slicks quickly dropped to the back of the field as they struggled for grip on a wet track.

The first few laps saw some position swapping behind Dixon, but as he increased his lead at the head of the pack, Lopez and Arbolino settled into second and third respectively. They continued to have some back and forth throughout the race, but neither had the pace to catch Dixon as he extended his lead to over 5 seconds, only easing off slightly on the final lap. The Brit wheelied across the finish line as his team hung over the pit wall to see him take his first back-to-back victories in Moto2. Arbolino – who often shows himself to be a master of tricky conditions – finished in second, with Lopez taking third.

Aron Canet took 4^th ahead of Guevera who had been battling for most of the race with Dani Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), Barry Baltus, Ivan Ortola (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), and Mario Aji (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia). It was Ortola who finished sixth, with Baltus, Holgado, Aji, and Veijer who rounded out the top 10.

The riders on slicks were surely left regretting their decision when the race leaders began lapping them on only lap six! Salac pulled into the pits and changed to wet tyres, but it was too late to make any difference.

Rookie Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM AJO) had a strong performance in the tricky conditions, working his way through to finish 10^th and take his first points in Moto2, while reigning Moto3 champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) also scored his first points with a fourteenth-place finish. Veijer’s teammate Deniz Öncü crashed out of the race at turn 10 on lap 13, before Celestino Vietti (Team HDR Heidrun) crashed at turn 12 on lap 15. Vietti was able to remount and rejoin the race only to crash again a corner later.

Dixon leaves the USA as championship leader – thirteen points ahead of Aron Canet, with Manu Gonzalez one point behind Canet in third, having failed to score any points this weekend.

Moto2 is back on track for Round 4 from 11^th – 13^th April for the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit.

Featured image: motogp.com