Gonzalez extends Moto2 lead as Quiles steals Moto3 Catalunya win

Round Six – Catalunya

Moto2

Gonzalez times his run to perfection in Barcelona

Manuel Gonzalez underlined his Moto2 Championship credentials at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider absorbing the early pace of pole-sitter Celestino Vietti before striking in the closing laps to claim his second victory of the season.

Moto2 riders launch from the grid at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Vietti had looked in control for much of the 21-lap contest. The Beta Tools SpeedRS rider launched cleanly from pole, led through the opening corners and immediately set about trying to make the race his own. Gonzalez went with him, but rather than forcing the issue early, the championship leader appeared content to keep Vietti in sight and manage the tyres for the back end of the race.

David Alonso put together one of his strongest Moto2 rides yet at Catalunya, finishing sixth after a race-long push inside the top ten.

That patience proved decisive. Vietti’s advantage had stretched to around seven-tenths by mid-race, but Gonzalez never let the Italian disappear. As the laps wound down and the rear tyres began to slide, Gonzalez closed back in, then made the race-winning move into Turn One with three laps remaining.

Vietti was not done, but he was no longer close enough to make a genuine final-lap attack. Gonzalez crossed the line 0.203 seconds clear to take a composed and strategically mature victory, extending his championship lead in the process.

Manuel Gonzalez: “I’m over the moon because it was the best race of my life! After crossing the finish line, the emotions were incredible. I was shouting and crying. It might seem like a silly thing, but it’s the reward for all the work I put in at home and in training, always trying to improve and give more. Today was mainly just about strategy – how to manage the tyres. Vietti pushed really hard at the start, while I just tried to keep the pace without pushing too much.”

Manuel Gonzalez celebrates a Catalunya Moto2 victory that extended his advantage in the championship standings.

Vietti had to settle for second after leading the bulk of the race, but the Boscoscuro rider still left Barcelona with another strong haul and moved to third in the championship standings. His early pace was good enough to shape the race, but Gonzalez had the better tyre life and the cleaner final act.

Izan Guevara completed the podium after a fine recovery from 11th on the grid. The BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 rider worked his way through the group behind the leading pair and eventually reeled in Ivan Ortola, taking third place as the QJMOTOR – Bordoy – MSI rider faded from podium contention.

Celestino Vietti, Manuel Gonzalez and Izan Guevara on the Catalunya Moto2 podium.

Ortola still finished a strong fourth, having been part of the leading trio through the first half of the race before losing touch with Gonzalez and Vietti as the pace lifted. Fifth went to Dani Holgado, the CFMOTO Impulse Aspar Team rider unable to repeat his 2025 Catalunya win but satisfied with a more convincing race pace after a run of more difficult weekends.

Dani Holgado: “An intense Sunday and a long race where we had to really look after the tyres; the rear as much as the front. They were both suffering. I’m quite satisfied because the pace was fast and we were seven seconds quicker than last year. It’s something to be happy about but we need to keep working and to keep making steps to improve.”

Dani Holgado heads Alonso Lopez and Senna Agius during the Moto2 race at Catalunya.

David Alonso finished sixth after making one of the better starts of the race from the fifth row. The Colombian had been managing shoulder discomfort earlier in the weekend, but said that was not a limiting factor on Sunday. He tucked in behind Holgado in the early stages and stayed close enough to finish only a tenth behind his team-mate at the flag.

David Alonso: “I’m very happy for several reasons, mainly because my shoulder didn’t give me any problems throughout the race. I had the best start of my life, and I was very happy because everything seemed easier; it made everything much simpler. In the first part of the race, it was difficult to keep up with the others because I wasn’t as fast as them on fresh tyres, but I might be good at taking good care of the tyres, because I have been able to fight until the end.”

David Alonso heads Senna Agius and Alonso Lopez as the Moto2 pack sorts itself out at Barcelona-Catalunya.

Filip Salac was seventh for OnlyFans American Racing Team, ahead of Alonso Lopez, while Luca Lunetta took ninth for Beta Tools SpeedRS Team in his best Moto2 result to date.

Senna Agius leads Luca Lunetta during their Moto2 scrap at Catalunya, with Lunetta later getting through as Agius finished tenth.

Senna Agius rounded out the top ten for Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP. The Australian made good early progress from 12th on the grid and had been part of the group disputing sixth and seventh, but his rear tyre performance fell away more abruptly than expected. Agius could not convert his Friday and Saturday speed into the Sunday result he would have wanted, although he remains fourth in the championship standings.

Senna Agius: “I had a really good start; I couldn’t have been doing much better in the opening laps, and I settled into the group well. I wasn’t pushing, but rather trying to stay calm on the bike and not stress the tyres. When I got into seventh or sixth position, something strange happened with the rear tyre from one lap to the next. It wasn’t a gradual drop-off, and it wasn’t something we had not spotted during practices. A top-ten finish on a bad day like this is alright.”

Senna Agius was in the thick of a busy Moto2 group that included Aron Canet, Filip Salac and Luca Lunetta.

Collin Veijer’s race unravelled after a long-lap penalty and then a crash, while Joe Roberts and Alex Escrig also failed to make the finish.

Gonzalez now heads to Mugello with 104.5 points and an 18.5-point lead over Guevara. Vietti’s second place lifts him to third on 73 points, while Agius remains fourth on 65.

Catalunya Moto2 Race Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	M. Gonzalez	Kal	36m06.295
2	C. Vietti	Bos	+0.203
3	I. Guevara	Bos	+4.205
4	I. Ortola	Kal	+6.338
5	D. Holgado	Kal	+7.971
6	D. Alonso	Kal	+8.080
7	F. Salac	Kal	+9.636
8	A. Lopez	Kal	+11.312
9	L. Lunetta	Bos	+13.545
10	S. Agius	Kal	+13.761
11	D. Muñoz	Kal	+14.210
12	J. A. Rueda	Kal	+15.056
13	B. Baltus	Kal	+16.423
14	A. Canet	Bos	+17.667
15	A. Sasaki	Kal	+18.721
16	U. Orradre	Kal	+20.730
17	T. Arbolino	Kal	+21.344
18	A. Ferrandez	Bos	+21.405
19	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	+24.078
20	T. Furusato	Kal	+24.833
21	A. Huertas	Kal	+31.147
22	D. Öncü	Bos	+38.957
23	S. Garcia	Kal	+39.601
24	X. Zurutuza	For	+49.140
Not Classified
NC	C. Veijer	Kal	DNF
NC	J. Roberts	Kal	DNF
NC	A. Escrig	For	DNF

 Moto2 Championship Standings

Pos

Rider

Nat

Points

1	M. Gonzalez	SPA	104.5
2	I. Guevara	SPA	86
3	C. Vietti	ITA	73
4	S. Agius	AUS	65
5	D. Alonso	COL	58
6	I. Ortola	SPA	52.5
7	D. Holgado	SPA	49
8	D. Muñoz	SPA	41
9	A. Lopez	SPA	39.5
10	A. Escrig	SPA	30
11	C. Veijer	NED	29.5
12	T. Arbolino	ITA	26.5
13	F. Salac	CZE	19
14	B. Baltus	BEL	16
15	J. Roberts	USA	16
16	A. Canet	SPA	13.5
17	D. Öncü	TUR	9.5
18	A. Sasaki	JPN	8
19	A. Huertas	SPA	8
20	L. Lunetta	ITA	7
21	S. Garcia	SPA	5
22	J. A. Rueda	SPA	5
23	Z. vd Goorbergh	NED	4
24	M. Aji	INA	3
25	A. Ferrandez	SPA	1.5
26	T. Furusato	JPN
27	M. Ramirez	SPA
28	U. Orradre	SPA
29	J. Navarro	SPA
30	D. Foggia	ITA
31	X. Zurutuza	SPA

Moto3

Quiles wins another last-lap scrap in Catalunya

Máximo Quiles continued his remarkable Moto3 form at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, taking his third consecutive victory and fourth win of the season after another frantic final-lap fight in the lightweight class.

Maximo Quiles, Alvaro Carpe and David Munoz cross the line in a frantic Moto3 race at Catalunya.

The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider did not simply control this one from the front. Quiles spent much of the race boxed into the pack, managing the usual Moto3 slipstream games while also dealing with a few mechanical frustrations of his own, particularly on downshifts. Mid-race, he looked to be struggling to make forward progress, but the championship leader then changed the tone of his afternoon and began forcing his way back into winning contention.

Maximo Quiles wins another Moto3 thriller at Catalunya, heading Alvaro Carpe and David Munoz across the line.

By the final laps, Quiles was back where he has so often been in 2026: in the lead group, with the race coming down to positioning, timing and nerve. He took charge on the final lap and then had to defend all the way to the final corner, crossing the line just 0.094 seconds clear to take his first victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in any category.

Máximo Quiles: “It was definitely the toughest race. I don’t know where I found the energy for those final laps. Halfway through the race I couldn’t make any headway; I was having trouble downshifting and I thought, ‘This is going to be hell, I’m going to suffer a lot.’ I changed my mindset and switched to ‘killer’ mode. I started attacking and on the final lap I took the lead – it was a brilliant comeback.”

Maximo Quiles celebrates victory at Catalunya with the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team after extending his Moto3 points lead.

Quiles also admitted the final stages were tense as he defended from the pack and kept one eye on track limits, but the win further strengthens what is becoming a commanding early-season championship position. He now holds a 64-point advantage at the top of the Moto3 standings.

Álvaro Carpe produced one of the rides of the race to finish second. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider had started 13th, but worked his way into the lead battle and was close enough to keep Quiles under pressure through the final sector. He ran out of road to find a clean way past, but second place marked a strong recovery from a difficult qualifying position.

Alvaro Carpe, Maximo Quiles and David Munoz on the Catalunya Moto3 podium after a last-lap thriller.

David Muñoz completed the podium in third, the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP rider again showing the aggression and racecraft that makes him such a constant factor when Moto3 descends into a late-race pack fight.

Behind the podium trio, the leading group remained tightly compressed, with riders trading places repeatedly as the slipstream concertinaed the pack around the long Barcelona layout. The margins were again typical Moto3: small on the stopwatch, brutal in consequence.

Marco Morelli was another rider to recover strongly after a difficult opening phase. The Argentine dropped as low as 18th in the early laps and was not comfortable under brakes, particularly with the front end, but once he found clearer air he began to claw his way back towards the leaders.

Morelli eventually finished sixth, less than six-tenths behind Quiles, salvaging a strong result from a race that had threatened to get away from him in the opening laps. The result also moves him to fourth in the championship standings on 58 points.

Marco Morelli: “It was a tough race. At the start, which is when everyone rides most aggressively, we really struggled. I was trying to brake hard, but I was having problems with the front end of the bike and couldn’t manage it. Once the track cleared out, I was able to set my own pace and close the gap on the front-runners.”

Marco Morelli fought back from a poor opening phase to finish sixth in the Catalunya Moto3 race.

For Quiles, though, Catalunya was another important statement. He has already won races in different ways this season, and this one added another layer: a victory built not from early domination, but from patience, recalibration and a decisive late strike when the race was at its most chaotic.

The Australasian interest came further back in the pack, with Australian Joel Kelso bringing the GRYD – MLav Racing Honda home 18th, 10.785 seconds from the win after spending much of the race on the fringe of the points battle.

Kiwi Cormac Buchanan completed the 18-lap distance for CODE Motorsports in 24th, a tough afternoon from the rear of the grid but another full race worth of Moto3 mileage as he continues to build experience in the class.

The Moto3 field now heads to Mugello with Quiles holding a sizeable championship buffer, while the chasing pack will be looking for a way to turn race-by-race pressure into a sustained title challenge.

Catalunya Moto3 Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	M. Quiles	KTM	32m28.964
2	A. Carpe	KTM	+0.094
3	D. Muñoz	KTM	+0.098
4	B. Uriarte	KTM	+0.128
5	D. Almansa	KTM	+0.552
6	M. Morelli	KTM	+0.581
7	H. Danish	KTM	+0.623
8	V. Pratama	Hon	+0.984
9	A. Fernandez	Hon	+1.011
10	C. O’Gorman	Hon	+1.151
11	E. O’Shea	Hon	+5.236
12	V. Perrone	KTM	+9.805
13	A. Cruces	KTM	+9.853
14	M. Bertelle	KTM	+9.909
15	R. Yamanaka	KTM	+9.951
16	J. Esteban	KTM	+10.008
17	R. Salmela	KTM	+10.074
18	J. Kelso	Hon	+10.785
19	S. Ogden	KTM	+18.949
20	R. Moodley	KTM	+20.287
21	G. Pini	Hon	+21.969
22	Z. Mitani	Hon	+27.942
23	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+27.991
24	C. Buchanan	KTM	+40.082
Not Classified
NC	J. Rios	Hon	DNF
NC	N. Carraro	Hon	DNF

Moto3 Championship Standings

Pos

Rider

Nat

Points

1	M. Quiles	SPA	140
2	A. Fernandez	SPA	76
3	A. Carpe	SPA	73
4	M. Morelli	ARG	58
5	V. Pratama	INA	58
6	V. Perrone	ARG	56
7	D. Almansa	SPA	52
8	G. Pini	ITA	46
9	B. Uriarte	SPA	42
10	D. Muñoz	SPA	38
11	H. Danish	MAL	27
12	A. Cruces	SPA	26
13	M. Bertelle	ITA	25
14	J. Esteban	SPA	24
15	C. O’Gorman	IRL	22
16	R. Salmela	FIN	21
17	E. O’Shea	GBR	19
18	S. Ogden	GBR	10
19	J. Rios	SPA	8
20	J. Kelso	AUS	8
21	R. Yamanaka	JPN	7
22	L. Rammerstorfer	AUT	2
23	M. Uriarte	SPA	2
24	Z. Mitani	JPN
25	R. Moodley	RSA
26	N. Carraro	ITA
27	C. Buchanan	NZE

2026 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo