Deniz Oncu snatched away victory from Ayumu Sasaki to secure victory in a soaking Australian Moto3 encounter, while series leader Jaume Masia could only manage eighth.

Oncu displayed strong speed throughout the entirety of the 21-lap race, which got underway in heavy wet conditions that also provided limited vision for the riders.

The Turk was part of a lead group made up of pole man Sasaki and Husqvarna team-mate Colin Veijer, CFMoto’s Joel Kelso and Leopard Racing’s Adrian Fernandez. It would be Fernandez who made the lead his own as the race progressed, the Spaniard enjoying a lead of just over a second as the race moved past half-distance.

Disaster would follow just half-a-dozen tours from home though as Fernandez dropped his Honda after running slightly wide at Turn 11, leaving Sasaki to take the lead ahead of Oncu and Kelso.

Oncu had managed to recover from a couple of nasty moments himself to close onto the rear of Sasaki as the duo began the final lap, the KTM Ajo pilot backing out of a move at Turn 1. He continued to stalk the Japanese rider across the remainder of the lap before finally diving down the inside at Turn 10.

He managed to get his machine stopped to secure the spot, Oncu taking the chequered flag 0.407s clear of Sasaki to record his third victory of the term.

Sasaki thus had to make do with a sixth runners-up finish of the season though, as title rival Masia could only secure eighth, he narrowed his points deficit to just four heading into next weekend’s Thai Grand Prix.

Kelso meanwhile secured his maiden Moto3 rostrum result at his home event after electing to back off in the closing couple of laps after suffering a couple of moments in the tricky conditions.

Veijer claimed a distant fourth ahead of Fernandez, who managed to quickly remount and salvage a top-five result.

Sic58’s Ricardo Rossi ended up sixth ahead of Taiyo Furusato and Masia, while Snipers’ Matteo Bertelle and CIP’s Lorenzo Fellon completed the top ten.

Daniel Holgado lost further ground in the championship battle having only secured 13^th, the Tech 3 man’s cause not helped by a crash on the sighting lap. Diogo Moreira also suffered the same fate, the Brazilian retiring not long into the race as his bike was unable to be sufficiently repaired.

Several riders lost out on top ten finishes due to falling foul of the conditions. Erstwhile title contender David Alonso fell victim to Turn 4 early on as did Ivan Ortola, while Mario Aji went down from sixth after losing the front at Turn 11 just past mid-way.

David Salvador crashed from the top ten after high-siding dramatically at Turn 8, while David Munoz also went down in a similar vein to Fernandez and Aji at Turn 11.  

Pedro Acosta cruised to a dominant seventh win of the 2023 Moto2 season in the Indonesian Grand Prix to extend his points lead to 65.  

The Ajo rider made a spirited start and managed to rise from fourth on the grid to second as the field exited Turn 1, the Spaniard quickly heaping the pressure on pole man Aron Canet.

Acosta managed to dispatch Canet at Turn 1 only a few tours into the encounter, the KTM junior rider swiftly settling into a rhythm that allowed him to continuously eke out a gap over his pursuers.

Having also looked after his tyres effectively, Acosta was never headed beyond this point and ended up taking the chequered flag first for the seventh time this term in assured fashion by just over two seconds on Canet.

The Pons pilot held off the advances of Speed Up’s Fermin Aldeguer in the closing stages, the British Moto2 GP victor having seemingly saved his rubber better than the pole man.

Aldeguer got to within six-tenths-of-a-second of his target as the race entered its climactic moments, though ultimately fell away once again. This left Canet to claim his 12^th runners-up result in the intermediate class ahead of Aldeguer, who claimed his second career rostrum finish.

Jake Dixon meanwhile enjoyed a late-race charge to grab fourth from Manuel Gonzalez on the final tour, the GasGas rider recovering from a mistake that saw him run wide while battling with Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino.

The Brit managed to recover the deficit and get back ahead of Arbolino before dispatching Gonzalez, the latter’s gamble on opting for the harder compound rear tyre failing to pay off as he rounded off the top five.    

Arbolino’s title chances continue to look ever more remote as he took sixth having struggled for rear grip past half-distance, though he still had enough speed to stay ahead of Japanese GP winner Somkiat Chantra.

Sergio Garcia came home eighth on the sister Pons entry, while Joe Roberts claimed ninth for Italtrans ahead of the other Marc VDS machine of Sam Lowes.

Ai Ogura had a tough day and could only salvage 17^th having run outside the top 20 in the opening circulations, while Alonso Lopez also failed to score after crashing at Turn 1 on the first lap with Alberto Surra.

Gresini’s Filip Salac also suffered a tough day, the Czech rider first making a mistake that dropped him towards the back end of the top 20 before going down at the final bend after making contact with Ogura.

Pedro Acosta cruised to a second straight Moto2 win in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, while Jake Dixon was taken out by Alonso Lopez.

Acosta was forced to find his way to the lead on two occasions after the encounter’s original start was red-flagged due to a Turn 1 crash instigated by Gresini’s Jeremy Alcoba, the Spaniard cleaning out the likes of Fantic’s Celestino Vietti and Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra.  

Acosta swiftly regrouped when the race got back underway for a reduced 12-lap sprint, the series leader moving clear of a fast-starting Sergio Garcia on the opening tour before swiftly extending his advantage.

He had crafted a 1.5-second lead in just a couple of laps before Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino moved through to second, though the Italian also found himself unable to do much about his championship rival as he steadily fell away.

Acosta eventually took the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Arbolino in assured fashion to extend his points advantage to 39 ahead of next weekend’s Japanese GP.

The breathless battle for third meanwhile between Garcia and Italtrans racer Joe Roberts continued right up until the final couple of bends, the pair swapping places on multiple occasions as Garcia desperately tried to hang onto a maiden series rostrum result.

The Spaniard managed to hit back on every move Roberts made, the American pulling off a bold move at the banked Turn 9 on the final lap before running wide, which allowed Garcia to sneak back through once more.

Garcia’s hard work went to waste though as he ran wide at Turn 13 and had to slow significantly to not crash on the dirty paintwork on the outside of the track, allowing Roberts to slip through and secure his first podium finish of the year.

Garcia managed to at least keep the charging Yamaha Master Camp pilot of Manuel Gonzalez at bay to salvage fourth, while Zonta van den Goorbergh secured his first points of the 2023 campaign with an assured ride to sixth for the Fieten Olie GP squad.

Darryn Binder did well on his first appearance since Austria as he returned from injury, the South African taking seventh ahead of the sister Fieten Olie entry of Barry Baltus.

Marcos Ramirez was able to take the restart after being collected in the first restart crash to secure ninth for American Racing, while Filip Salac rounded off the top ten for Gresini.

The Czech rider’s team-mate Alcoba meanwhile also managed to make the restart, though he crashed out while taking the second of the long-lap penalties he received for his part in the Turn 1 incident.

Jake Dixon saw a potential rostrum charge ended after being taken out by Alonso Lopez at Turn 4 shortly after the restart, the GasGas man diving past Lopez on entry to the corner before the Speed Up rider tried to cut back, though he gassed up too early and clattered into the side of Dixon.

Both went down as a result, with Lopez remounting to take the chequered flag outside the top 20 while Dixon crashed again later on into retirement.

Ai Ogura also crashed as a by-product of Aron Canet taking out Sam Lowes at Turn 3 having outbraked himself on the inside, Canet retiring on the spot while Lowes and Ogura remounted en route to 19^th and 21^st respectively.  

Deniz Öncü and Celestino Vietti have been confirmed as the 2024 rider pairing for the highly competitive Red Bull KTM Ajo squad, fuelling speculation regarding the future of current rider Pedro Acosta amid links with a move up to the premier class.

The announcement today confirms that Acosta, who currently leads the way in Moto2, will not be a part of the Ajo Moto2 squad next year, with a move up to MotoGP looking almost certain.

However, there is currently no room amongst the KTM stable for the Spaniard to slot in, with factory Red Bull KTM riders Brad Binder and Jack Miller, plus GASGAS Tech3 pilots Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez, all under contract next year,

Therefore, one rider may be cut out of their deal early to make way for the hot prospect that is Acosta.

The signing of Öncü and Vietti also means that current rider Albert Arenas will have to seek a new opportunity elsewhere in 2024.

In Öncü and Vietti, Ajo has now secured two riders with heaps of potential to help continue its success in Moto2 next year.

Acosta currently leads the way in this year’s Moto2 standings and Fernandez won the title for Ajo last year. Previously, Remy Gardner took top honours for Ajo back in 2021, while Johann Zarco also secured success with the team back in 2015 and ’16.

Öncü, who swapped Tech3 for Ajo this year in Moto3, is a title contender in the junior category, having finally ended his long wait for a win with a maiden victory in Germany earlier this year.

The 20-year-old Turkish rider has since picked up another victory in Austria and sits fourth in the Moto3 standings, 17 points behind leader Daniel Holgado.

“I’m very happy to be moving up to Moto2 with Red Bull KTM Ajo,” said Öncü in a statement on the MotoGP website.

“The main goal this season is to improve in Moto3 and get good results to fight for the title.

“I just want to thank Aki, KTM and Red Bull for their confidence in me and for this opportunity.”

Vietti currently rides for the Fantic Racing Moto2 squad and is a member of Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Rider Academy.

The Italian rider has six wins across the Moto3 and Moto2 classes and was an early title favourite in the intermediate class last year before a run of crashes ruled him out of contention.

Picking up one more win in Moto2 this year in Austria, Vietti is still struggling for consistency and sits sixth in the standings, 105 points back from Acosta.

But another podium (2nd) last time out in Misano proves he has the pace and Ajo, widely considered to be something of a finishing school for talented Moto2 prospects is the perfect place for him to continue his development.

“It’s a great opportunity for me so I am very happy about the news,” Vietti said.

“I have to say thanks to KTM and Aki Ajo for believing in me. Also thanks to VR46 Riders Academy management, as without them none of this would be possible.”

Ajo Team Manager Aki Ajo added: “I have to say that we are excited to have a great mix of experience in this class and young talent with Deniz, who we already know.

“Celestino has shown in the last years that he is one of the top riders in the class.

“Of course, we are very happy to have him on our team alongside Deniz, who is one of the fastest riders in Moto3. The combination will be great and we are excited about it.”

Pedro Acosta dominated proceedings at Misano in the Moto2 San Marino Grand Prix to further extend his points advantage, while title rival Tony Arbolino battled back to fourth.

The KTM Ajo racer made a rapid start to jump clear of pole-man Celestino Vietti into Turn 1, the Spaniard quickly establishing a blistering pace out in front that only Vietti and Pons’ Aron Canet could match.

Canet soon though eliminated himself from contention after tucking the front of his machine at Turn 14 approaching half-distance, leaving Vietti to run down Acosta – the Fantic pilot reducing the leading advantage to just under half-a-second as the race moved past half-way.

This was as close as Vietti would get to snatching away supremacy though as he began to struggle with his front tyre, the Italian nearly losing the front of his bike several times across the closing stanza and thus allowing Acosta cruise well clear for his fifth victory of the term by 6.3 seconds over Vietti.

The battle to third meanwhile went down the very end as Arbolino fought back from ninth on the grid to chase Speed Up racer Alonso Lopez for the final rostrum spot, the Marc VDS man reducing the Spaniard’s gap to under a second in the final lap but was ultimately forced to settle for fourth as Lopez claimed his first podium finish since Le Mans in May.

Acosta thus extends his points lead to a stout 34 over Arbolino heading into the flyaway portion of the year, with GasGas’ Jake Dixon falling to 65 markers adrift of the series lead after struggling to 12^th, the Briton lacking pace on Sunday after crashing during qualifying.

Ai Ogura meanwhile managed to pull off an impressive comeback through the field to complete the top five for Honda Team Asia having started a lowly 13^th; the Japanese ace leading home team-mate Somkiat Chantra after the duo dispatched Manuel Gonzalez in the closing stages.

Italtrans’ Joe Roberts was eighth ahead of Gresini’s Filip Salac, while the wild-carding Mattia Pasini rounded off the top ten for the RW Racing operation having narrowly held off the sole remaining Pons of Sergio Garcia at the death.

Sam Lowes saw a potential top five run come to an end after crashing at Turn 1 while running sixth and hunting down the riders ahead as the race entered its final quarter, while the other Speed Up entry of Fermin Aldeguer lost out on a points finish due to a crash of his own.

Pedro Acosta cruised to a second-successive Moto2 victory at the Sachsenring to further close in on series leader Tony Arbolino, who finished second.

The pole-man lost out to Arbolino off the start and settled into second just ahead of Pons’ Aron Canet, though keen to not hang around Acosta soon forced his way through on his title rival at Turn 12 at the end of the opening tour.

The KTM Ajo pilot quickly began to find his rhythm as he relentlessly edged away from the Italian across the opening half of the encounter, Acosta holding a 2.2 second advantage just prior to mid-distance as he elected to keep the gap constant and manage his tools.

The 2021 Moto3 world champion expertly managed his race across the remainder of the contest to eventually take the chequered flag in an assured fashion by 2.7 seconds ahead of the tight battle for second between Arbolino and GasGas’ Jake Dixon.

Having been shuffled back to fifth in the opening circulations, Dixon soon recovered back to third having re-passed Alonso Lopez’s Speed Up bike and taken profit from Canet who crashed out at Turn 13 just half-a-dozen laps in.

He then slowly closed on the Marc VDS racer across the remaining distance before finally arriving firmly within attack range with just a few laps to go, the Briton inflicting heavy pressure through the fast middle potion of the lap – though ultimately Arbolino was able to come up with an answer to every question asked of him to hold on to the runners-up spot ahead of Dixon.

Somkiat Chantra enjoyed a lonely race in fourth to secure his best reuslt of the year so far having also found a way through on Lopez in the early goings, the Honda Team Asia rider coming home  over six seconds down on the battle for the remaining podium spots.

Lopez claimed fifth ahead of VR46 Mastercamp’s Manuel Gonzalez and the sister Marc VDS entry of Sam Lowes, with Fermin Aldeguer making late progress to snatch eighth on his Speed Up machine.

Albert Arenas was ninth on the other KTM Ajo bike, while Celestino Vietti held off the sole remaining Pons entry of Sergio Garcia to complete the top ten.

Filip Salac – who came into the German Grand Prix weekend sitting fourth in the riders standings – suffered a tough day en-route to a lowly 13^th for Gresini, his team-mate Jeremy Alcoba missing out on a point to Dennis Foggia after receiving a long-lap penalty for taking out Bo Bensneyder and Darryn Binder at Turn 1 on the first lap.

Acosta’s second consecutive victory means he closes Arbolino’s series lead to just 15 heading to Assen for the Dutch TT next weekend, with Lopez holding onto third overall but now just three points clear of Dixon – and 62 adrift of the championship peak.

Deniz Oncu secured a long-awaited maiden Moto3 victory at the Sachsenring by passing Ayumu Sasaki on the final corner on the very last lap.

The Turkish rider slotted into the top three in the early stages of the encounter behind series leader Daniel Holgado as well as Sasaki, who managed to convert pole position to the lead after passing fast-starting team-mate Dennis Veijer.

The Japanese pilot – who secured pole by over a second – soon began to start gapping the field as he unleashed his full potential, the Husqvarna racer pulling nearly a second-and-a-half before Oncu finally dispatched Holgado and began his pursuit.

The KTM Ajo man soon began to make an impression on the leadership and started to cut down Sasaki’s lead slowly but surely, Oncu finally reaching the tail of the leader with just over half-a-dozen laps remaining.

Oncu elected to sit in behind Sasaki over the remainder of the race a he sized him up for a move at the final corner, despite seemingly struggling with his left leg as he continually massaged it when possible over the closing stages.

With the lead duo having pulled well clear of the rest – with third placed Holgado starting the last tour over 12 seconds adrift – Oncu started to attack on the very final lap, Oncu trying to make Sasaki go defensive before diving down the inside at the final corner just as he had practiced.

He pulled off the move expertly to carry momentum on exit to take the chequered flag 0.095s clear of Sasaki, who led every lap but the final one as he secured his third successive rostrum result behind Oncu who bagged his first ever lightweight class success.

Holgado held off Ivan Ortola for the final rostrum spot by just over a tenth, while fifth went the way of GasGas’ David Alonso who led a big line of riders battling for the position.

Jaume Masia lost further ground in the title race as he came home sixth for Leopard Racing ahead of Diogo Moreira, with Ryusei Yamanaka taking eighth on the sister GasGas entry.

Stefano Nepa ended up ninth on his Angeluss MTA prepared bike, with Xavier Artigas completing the top ten after Matteo Bertelle crashed while heading for a top ten finish with only a couple circulations remaining.

David Munoz salvaged 12^th having had to serve an early long-lap penalty, while Veijer saw his spirited start go to waste after crashing out at Turn 12 only a few laps into the contest.

Holgado now holds a 41 point advantage in the overall standings over Masia, with Ortola having closed to within just three of the Spaniard in third overall – with Sasaki and Oncu also making ground on the leading riders with their strong German runs.    

Pedro Acosta flew to a third Moto2 win of the season at Mugello as he closed on runner-up Tony Arbolino’s points advantage.

The Spaniard managed to get ahead of pole-man Aron Canet on the run to Turn 1 as well as bat off the advances of an aggressive Sam Lowes to establish himself at the head of the field early on, though Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez soon began to heap on the pressure having taken second by taking out Lowes towards the end of the opening tour.

Lopez’s victory challenge was therefore swiftly ended as he copped a penalty for his part in the Lowes clash, the three-time 2023 rostrum man dropping significant time after having to take a second long-lap for running wide in his original punishment.

Arbolino was the main beneficiary of the calamities ahead as he became Acosta’s closest challenger, though the Marc VDS man ultimately lacked the pace of the leader as he slowly but surely was dropped across the remainder of the contest – eventually taking the chequered flag 6.1 seconds adrift after 19 laps.

The battle for the final spot on the podium went down to the very final lap as Canet began to fade having not long prior taken the spot away from Gresini’s Filip Salac, with Jake Dixon charging towards the Pons racer having also got the better of Salac.

The GasGas pilot caught Canet at the perfect moment and managed to slipstream alongside him on the run to Turn 1 on the very final lap, the Briton pulling off a well-judged move to snatch away the position and secure it to the line.

Celestino Vietti meanwhile enjoyed a spirited late-race attack having looked after his rubber effectively, passing the recovering Lopez to round off the top five.

Salac eventually took seventh having struggled for speed across the closing tours, while Manuel Gonzalez claimed eighth on his Yamaha VR46 Mastercamp entry.

Somkiat Chantra made progress late in the game to take ninth on his Honda Team Asia-run Kalex, while Sergio Garcia completed the top ten having run as high as fifth during the mid-point of the race.

Mattia Pasini ended up 11^th having run well in his first wildcard outing of the year for the Fieten Olie outfit, the Italian heading Italtrans’ Joe Roberts after the American struggled to match his strong qualifying speed on Sunday.

Acosta’s success sees him close to within 20 points of Arbolino heading into next weekend’s German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, with Lopez remaining in third overall but now a distant 48 adrift of the series lead.

Pedro Acosta defeated Tony Arbolino on the final lap of the Moto2 Americas Grand Prix to secure his second win in the opening three contests of 2023.

The KTM Ajo racer led the early laps as he fended off an attacking Alonso Lopez, though his job was made all the harder after hitting a false neutral while changing down for the slow Turn 12 – causing him to run off circuit and down to fourth.

He swiftly managed to dispatch Pons man Aron Canet and a fading Lopez to make it back into second as mid-distance approached, before then chasing down leader Arbolino.

The Marc VDS pilot remained steady out in front despite the significant pressure being heaped upon him by Acosta, the Italian eventually making an error at Turn 1 with only a few laps to go that allowed Acosta to slip through – the he redressed the balance soon after as the Ajo pilot ran wide at Turn 12 once again.

Acosta was keen to get back on terms with Arbolino though as he searched for a way through as the final tour began, the 2021 Moto3 world champion eventually deciding to make a move by diving down the inside to snatch the lead away at Turn 12.

He then put on an impressive display of defensive riding across the final corners to take the chequered flag just 0.146s ahead of Arbolino, and well ahead of the rabid battle for the final step on the rostrum.

Speed Up man Fermin Aldeguer looked good to finally secure a debut intermediate class podium finish as he began the final lap in front, though Canet made up good time through the esses and managed to slide past the Spaniard.

The two continued to battle across the final sector of the lap before eventually both running themselves off track, allowing Bo Bensneyder to sneak through and steal third at the death – the Dutch rider scoring his maiden series podium result in his 90^th start despite having started the final lap in sixth.

Jeremy Alcoba led home Gresini team-mate Filip Salac in what was an ultra-strong day for the Italian operation, with Aldeguer eventually coming home sixth.

Lopez was seventh on the other Speed Up having taken profit of Canet’s final lap escapades, the latter taking eighth ahead of pole-man Celestino Vietti – who struggled for speed all race – and Manuel Gonzalez.

Ai Ogura managed to score the final point in 15^th on his comeback ride just behind a struggling Sam Lowes and Italtrans’ Dennis Foggia, the Honda Team Asia rider narrowly preventing home hero Joe Roberts scoring a point in his home event.

Jake Dixon saw his chances of adding a second-straight podium finish to his account ended after crashing at Turn 9 on the warm-up lap, the GasGas rider seemingly touching the kerb on the inside of the corner and going down into retirement before he’d even begun.

Barry Baltus saw a strong day ended after a crash at Turn 9 – in similar circumstances to those that Dixon fell victim to earlier prior to the outing – having worked his way up to the top five on his RW Racing GP-run machine in the opening stages of the encounter.

Pedro Acosta secured an assured victory in the Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix having led all but one lap to take the chequered flag 1.3 seconds clear of Aron Canet.

The KTM Ajo racer maintained his starting spot of third through the opening few corners as pole-man Filip Salac and Canet disputed the leadership, Canet eventually settling into the leading position as Acosta slipped through to second.

He didn’t wait around though as by the end of the second tour he had managed to find a way past the Spaniard into the lead, where he duly tried to stretch the field.

The 2021 Moto3 world champion looked comfortable out in front as he and Canet pulled clear of the battle for third consisting of Salac, Manuel Gonzalez and Marc VDS rider Tony Arbolino.

Canet refused to lie down and die though as he remained firmly glued to Acosta’s rear wheel, though the leader had expertly saved his best until last and managed to extend his advantage over the final few laps – eventually crossing the line 1.358s ahead of Canet to secure his fourth intermediate class success.  

Behind the leading duo it was Arbolino who managed to complete the rostrum placings, the Italian passing Gonzalez for the position late on but just lacking enough speed to make a run for the race win.

Salac also got the better of Gonzalez in the closing tours to claim fourth ahead of the Yamaha VR46 pilot, while Jake Dixon carved up the field from 12^th on the grid to finish sixth.

Sam Lowes also moved up through the pack like his fellow Briton to take seventh on the other Marc VDS machine, with a fading Albert Arenas taking the flag eighth ahead of Jeremy Alcoba and Somkiat Chantra’s Honda Team Asia entry.

Celestino Vietti recovered to 11^th having taken a double long-lap punishment as a result of ignoring black and orange flags shown to him in last season’s Valencia finale.

Darryn Binder looked good to challenge for a top ten position in his maiden Moto2 contest before a crash at mid-distance, the South African eventually re-mounting his Intact GP-run machine to take 16^th.

Alonso Lopez failed to finish after suffering a disastrous opening outing, the Speed Up racer picking up a long lap penalty for taking out Bo Bensneyder at Turn 1 early on relegating him to 17^th before a late crash eliminated him for good.  

Pre-season title challenger Ai Ogura was absent from the Portuguese GP due to injury, as was reigning Moto3 world champion Izan Guevara – with both set to make their returns in the third round of the year at the Circuit of the Americas.