Lopez led from lights to flag for first win in over two years

The Michelin Grand Prix of Aragon was the scene for round 13 of the 2026 Moto2 season, and fans were treated to a tenth different pole-sitter of the season as Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) took his first pole in 3 years. Joining Lopez on the front row of the grid were Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) and Dani Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team).

Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) lined up in fourth place, with David Alosno (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) alongside. Row three of the grid featured Angel Piqueras (QJMOTOR – Reverte – MSI), Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team), and Filip Salac (OnlyFans American Racing Team). Barry Baltus (REDS Fantic Racing) had qualified in 7^th, but was handed a penalty for slow riding in qualifying that saw him start from 19^th.

As the lights went out, poleman Lopez made the best of his start position to lead into turn one from Guevara, Holgado, Gonzalez, and Veijer. There was soon a lead group of nine riders out at the front of the race, with Alonso, Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP), Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – Reverte – MSI) and Piqueras hot on the heels of Veijer.

Veijer was making life difficult for Gonzalez in the early stages of the race, and soon made a move on the Spaniard to claim 4^th place into the final corner of the second lap. Meanwhile, Agius was trying his best to pass Alonso, but with every attempt to pass him, Alonso slammed the door closed. Having fended off several challenges from Agius, Alonso set his sights on Gonzalez ahead of him. It took him a few laps and a bit of back-and-forth between them, but Alonso was able to pass Gonzalez for 5^th position on the tenth lap of the race, with Agius taking advantage of the Colombian’s move and following him through, demoting Gonzalez to 7^th.

Collin Veijer was also making progress through the lead group – after a couple of laps battling with Holgado, Veijer was able to make the move stick and move ahead of Holgado to 3^rd. Piqueras appeared to be having issues with his bike – he ran wide several times and dropped off the back of the lead group before pulling in to the pits to end his race.

Holgado found himself dropping back in the group as he was passed by teammate Alonso, and then by Agius too. Alonso continued moving forward, and soon passed Veijer to move into 3^rd place and podium contention, while Gonzalez ran wide into turn one and dropped down to 8^th.

There was a crash at turn four on the 15^th lap for Veijer, bringing an early end to what had been a strong performance. Gonzalez passed Holgado late on to take 6^th, while Alonso was closing in on the lead duo of Lopez and Guevara.

Alonso and Guevara went head-to-head on the final lap of the race, but Guevara was able to hold Alonso off and keep 2^nd place. The race belongs to Alonso Lopez though – he took the lead into turn one of the first lap, and he didn’t look back. No one else had anything for him and he was unchallenged throughout the race as he claimed his first victory since Qatar 2024 to become the eight different winner of the season.

Behind the podium trio, the top ten was rounded out by Agius, Ortola, Gonzalez, Holgado, Deniz Öncü (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), and Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team).

In terms of the championship standings, Gonzalez still leads but Guevara has closed the gap down to 32.5 points, with Agius a further 26 points behind in 3^rd. Strong performances over the last few races have seen Ortola move to within 4.5 points of Agius too.

Moto2 returns to action for the Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera from the 11^th to 13^th of September.

Featured Image: Ksc Photography Services