2026 US Moto2 - Qualifying Results

Moto2 qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas  in Austin,Texas saw David Alonso on unstoppable form, lowering the lap record further on his way to his first Moto2 pole position, which would have been the first for a Colombian in the class before a demotion for a technical infringement.

• 2026 US MotoGP LIVE: Sprint action from COTA

Practice had seen the Kalex rider set a new lap record, illustrating his pace at the Texas track. On track, Alonso had been a bright light on a difficult day for the rest of the Aspar outfit in Moto3 and with championship leader Daniel Holgado struggling, the Colombian claimed his first pole with a new benchmark run of 2:05.203s - the clear run lifting him from third heading into the last nine minutes of the session, avoiding the late yellow flags.

Barry Baltus had already done enough for second on his Fantic Racing bike, finishing just 0.144s slower before his final flying lap. That last run was set to be an improvement but finished in the gravel. His crash left Adrian Huertas nowhere to go behind hitting the Belgian and his bike. Both riders walked away from the incident.

The late news from race direction saw Baltus elevated to pole after Aspar were informed that the rear tyre pressure on the number 80 bike was just below the accepted level, cancelling Alonso's laps on that tyre and pushing him back to 17th on the grid.

That sees Baltus start from pole with his lap time of 2:05.347s now the session best and the lap record at COTA.

Alonso Lopez - a podium finisher in America last season - looked back to his best in third after being in the mix near the top of the timesheets all weekend for Italjet Gresini on his way to complete the top row in third.

Angel Piqueras was the best of the rookies in qualifying  and the best of the riders to graduate from Q1 in fourth for QJMotor - Galfer - MSI. The Spaniard has a double long lap penalty for the race after attempting to re-join after crashing out in Brazil.

Celestino Vietti was fifth for the SpeedRS team, the best of the Boscoscuro riders in qualifying.

Senna Agius was in better shape after a tough Brazilian round for the Australian and the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP team, placing sixth.

Alex Escrig locked in behind Vietti for his final flying lap, moving up from 10th to seventh at the chequered flag for the Forward Racing Team.

Izan Guevara lost track time in several sessions leading up to Q2 as he suffered from bike issues, but bounced back in qualifying to work his way up to eighth for Blu Cru Pramac Yamaha.

Collin Veijer was ninth quickest for Red Bull KTM Ajo with Manuel Gonzalez off the pace, completing the top ten on the second Dynavolt bike, but with early title rival Holgado even further down the grid.

Home rider Joe Roberts was the top American Racing rider in eleventh, just a thousandth ahead of team-mate Filip Salac in 12th.

Tony Arbolino was quickest in the morning FP2 session, but didn’t have the pace to match in Q2, finishing 14th for Fantic.

Daniel Holgado had been on record pace to move up from Q1 but his progress stalled in Q2. Trying a different out of sync run did not reap any benefits as he lacked a tow, leaving the Brazil race winner and polesitter at the last round down the grid in 16th.

A crash at the start of the session left Ivan Ortola without a time in 18th.

Official COTA Moto2 Records:
Fastest race lap: Alonso Lopez (2024) 2:08.210s
All time lap record: Manuel Gonzalez (2025) 2:07.355s
New lap record: David Alonso (2026 - Practice) 2:05.847s

Q1 - Holgado progresses for second week in a row

An early lap, that was at the time a new record from Holgado, saw him power through after a long delay following a fall for Ayumu Sasaki. The Japanese rider saw his bike skid back on track after sliding through the direction changes beginning at turn three, with the bike finally halting at turn six, leaking onto the track.

Piqueras put in his best at the same time, with most of the best laps coming early in the restart, with the same applying to third placed Escrig. Aron Canet (13th) responded to pick up the final progression spot.

Mario Aji just missed out, so the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider will line up 19th, after finishing the session fifth.

Sasaki made it back on track and moved ahead of his RW Racing team-mate for seventh.

Dennis Foggia (27th) remained at the SpeedRS Team to continue to replace the injured Luca Lunetta. Only one rider is behind him on the grid, Moto3 reigning champion Jose Antonio Rueda.

Full qualifying results can be found below.