Gonzalez claims lights to flag victory and retakes the Championship lead

The Moto2 Championship arrived for Round 5 at the Cicuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain, marking the first European race of the season this weekend. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) – Championship leader heading into the round – found himself lower down the grid than he would have liked after a tough qualifying session. He was staring from 7^th on the grid, while Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) – 10 points adrift of Canet – had claimed pole position. Gonzalez was joined on the front row of the grid by Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) and Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP).

Gonzalez made the perfect start to lead into turn 1 with teammate Agius and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) hot on his heels. Nobody was able to match the pace of Gonzalez though, and he was soon pulling a gap on the chasing pack, and wasn’t challenged all race long. The Spaniard knew he had a lead of over 3 seconds on the final lap and showboated for his fans as he came around the final few corners before pulling a wheelie across the line as his team cheered proudly on the pit wall.

There was a race long battle for the remaining podium places between Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego), Senna Agius and Diogo Moreira, with Moreira eventually missing out and finishing in fourth place despite a valiant effort from the Brazilian to overhaul the Australian ahead of him.

Barry Baltus claimed the second podium of his career in 2^nd place, with Senna Agius once again completing a 1 – 3 finish for the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP as he joined teammate Gonzalez on the podium for the second time this season.

Further down the field than we have seen them so far this season, Aron Canet and Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) spent most of the race on the fringes of the top ten, finishing in 8^th and 9^th respectively, meaning that Gonzalez retakes the championship lead. Gonzalez is now 7 points ahead of Canet, with Dixon a further 13 points behind in 3^rd place.

It was a tough race for the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team duo – both Moto2 rookies this season – as they came together on the first lap, resulting in a crash for Holgado who scored his first DNF of the season. Alonso remained on board his Kalex for a few more laps before crashing heavily and taking Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) with him. Alonso’s helmet made contact with the rear wheel of Guevara’s machine, and the young Columbian was helped to walk away from the scene by a trackside medic.

Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) suffered two crashes in the race – one at the first corner on the first lap, and a second at turn 6 on lap 18.

After a podium last time out in Qatar, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in another strong performance to finish in 5^th place ahead of Albert Arenas and Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team), with Canet, Dixon, and Salac (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) completing the top 10. Onlyfans American Racing Team’s Joe Roberts and Marcos Ramirez finished in 11^th and 12^th, with the points-scoring positions rounded out by rookies Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team) and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ahead of Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2).

Moto2 returns to action for the Michelin Grand Prix de France at Le Mans from 9^th to 11^th May 2025.

Featured Image: motogp.com