Guevara claims second win of the season ahead of Salac and Alonso

The picturesque Red Bull Ring in Spielberg played host to the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria this weekend. Round 15 of the Moto2 World Championship saw Filip Salac (OnlyFans American Racing Team) take his first pole position of the season – and his first in three years – with a new lap record.

Salac was joined on the front row of the grid by Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team), while Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI), Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), and David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Team) lined up on the second row. A crash for Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) in the early stages of qualifying meant that the Australian had to start from 15^th on the grid.

Gonzalez made a good start from the front row of the grid to lead Salac and Ortola into turn one, but he quickly dropped down to 6^th place while Salac moved into the lead of the race. Escrig was sent wide into turn one and used the trackside short cut to rejoin the race in 5^th place – the incident was investigated by race control, but no further action was taken. Escrig’s race ended with a crash from 6^th position on lap ten.

Ortola briefly led the race following a pass on Guevara, but Guevara was soon back into the lead and building a gap at the front. Having just been announced as taking the final seat on the MotoGP grid for next season, Agius had a disaster of a race. He dropped down to 18^th before pulling into the pits with an issue. The team worked on the bike and sent Agius back out – presumably to check the issue had been resolved – before he rolled back down pit lane to end his race. That’s two non-finishes in a row for Agius who will no doubt be looking to bounce back next time out.

Back at the front of the race, Salac passed Ortola for 2^nd place as Guevara continued to increase his lead. Ortola was soon out of podium contention as he was also passed by Alonso on lap 15. Lap 17 saw a huge moment – and a great save – which resulted in Guevara running wide at turn nine. Luckily, he had such a good lead that he was able to hold on to the race lead and go on to win his second race of the season. Salac took 2^nd place, with Alonso in 3^rd place.

Championship leader Gonzalez crossed the line in 4^th, with Ortola, Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2), Dani Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Team), Barry Baltus (REDS Fantic Racing), Deniz Öncü (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), and Luca Lunetta (BETA Tools SpeedRS Team) rounding out the top ten.

Guevara’s victory sees him close the gap to Gonzalez in the championship to 35.5 points.

Moto2 returns to action for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan at the Mobility Resort Motegi from 2^nd to 4^th of October.

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