Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü face the final stretch of the season with good expectations in Australia.

The Australian Grand Prix takes place this weekend, and Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü want to return to the top after a demanding round in Japan and a week off. The race at Phillip Island kicks off the last triple-header of the campaign.

The track is one of the most special circuits of Vietti’s sporting career. The Italian achieved his first podium in the World Championship at the Australian track, but comes into this round after a difficult weekend in Japan, where the choice of tyres in a rainy race affected his fight for the top positions. He will face a big challenge in Australia, where weather conditions often play a big role as well. With 140 points, he is eighth in the overall standings.

Öncü continues to make great progress in his first year in Moto2. He enjoyed a solid weekend in Japan, although the Sunday results did not reflect the work he put in, given the difficult track conditions. At Phillip Island he was the Moto3 winner in 2023, clinching the victory on the final lap. He remains in contention for the Rookie of the Year honour in the intermediate class, and is 19th with 34 points.

Red Bull KTM Ajo are sixth in the Team standings with 174 points. The team have wins at Phillip Island through Brad Binder (twice) and Miguel Oliveira, in addition to three further podiums. The Moto2 race will be held on Sunday at 12:15pm local time.

Circuit information – Phillip Island Circuit
Length: 4.448 m / 2.764 miles
Width: 13 m / 42.65 ft.
Left corners: 7
Right corners: 5
Longest straight: 900 m / 0.559 miles
Constructed: 1956
Modified: 1988

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“We finished the Japanese GP with confidence in dry conditions. We were quite fast, and the feeling is good. We hope the weather will be more straightforward compared to the last weekend, but anyway Phillip Island is a track that I like a lot. I got my first podium there, so it’s very special for me. I hope to do a good job and we will see what we can do on Sunday.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“After a difficult weekend in Japan and a few days of rest, we are looking forward to going to Australia to keep improving. We continue to make progress and understand everything better, so I’m confident we can get a good result there. Last year we got the win, but this time it will be different because it’s a new class. I think we can do well at Phillip Island.”