Celestino Vietti runner-up at Austin, Boscoscuro on the podium: is a turning point coming in Moto2?

Italy celebrates at Austin’s COTA: Vietti second in Moto2, with Boscoscuro and the SpeedRS Team a fine slice of the tricolor on the podium.

Third GP and the first podium of the 2026 season arrives. Celestino Vietti made his mark in a Moto2 race reduced to 10 laps after a nasty crash in the opening stages of the first start (how the riders are doing). The start wasn’t the best, but the only factory rider for SpeedRS/Boscoscuro managed to climb back and become a protagonist, stringing together a fine battle for the win particularly with Senna Agius, who then triumphed in Austin. ‘Celin’s’ second place, however, means the fourth podium since parting ways with KALEX to bet on the Vicenza brand (last year he took two podiums and a win). Has the turning point in Moto2 arrived for the Piedmontese rider? With two top 10s and a P2, he now sits fourth overall, a decidedly encouraging situation, but one to be confirmed after the three-week break that now awaits the World Championship due to the postponement of the Qatar GP.

What happened last weekend is certainly good news for Italian colors. Italians shone in all categories at the Texan COTA: after Saturday, with Bagger podium by Filippo Rovelli, on the intense GP Sunday we first recorded in Moto3 our Guido Pini winning, then in MotoGP Aprilia shone, particularly with Marco Bezzecchi’s triumph. In Moto2 the good news is precisely Celestino Vietti 2nd, with an Italian team and manufacturer. “A wonderful result, especially because it’s not one of my favorite tracks, I always struggle” the Turin native told motogp.com at the end of the GP. “This time the feeling was good from Friday. I’m happy with the team’s work, since winter testing we’ve worked well and I feel good with the bike. In the first two races we were a bit unlucky, even though we were still fast.”

It certainly wasn’t a walk in the park. “It was still a tough race, especially managing the tires, and in particular when I caught Senna [Agius] I had a small drop at the front. When he passed me again I told myself okay, let’s go home with a second place. I’m very happy both for myself and for the team.” And if he’d had more tire left? “With ifs and buts you go nowhere” is the reply. “Senna rode better and managed the tire better than we did, next time we have to do more so we can fight in the final laps too.” His mind is already on Jerez, where he finished 2nd in testing, as well as being a track he really likes. Has he found the formula to finally be a protagonist in Moto2?