Gonzalez stretches Moto2 lead as Uriarte breaks through in Moto3 at Mugello

1 week ago 19

ARTICLE AD BOX

Round Seven – Mugello

Moto2

Gonzalez controls Mugello as Vietti charges to home podium

Manuel Gonzalez stretched his Moto2 Championship lead at Mugello with a controlled lights-to-flag victory, but there was plenty happening behind the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider across a race that mixed early drama, a technical heartbreak for Ivan Ortola, a late charge from Celestino Vietti and a near-miss podium bid from Australia’s Senna Agius.

Gonzalez controls the pace from pole

Gonzalez had started from pole and did exactly what he needed to do at lights out, converting that advantage into the holeshot and immediately settling into the rhythm that ultimately carried him to a 5.327-second victory. It was his third win of the season and another important statement in a campaign where he has now built a 34.5-point buffer at the top of the standings.

“It feels so good to race like this,” Gonzalez said. “It’s always nice to be able to take the lead, but mentally it’s really tough because you have to stay fully focused every single lap.

“In lap six or seven, as Ivan was closing in, I pushed a bit too hard because I wanted to pull away to have a more relaxed race. But he was really close, and I started making small mistakes. So, I told myself I just had to stick to my plan; if I could do that, the others would have a hard time keeping up with me.”

Moto2 podium at Mugello with Celestino Vietti, Manuel Gonzalez and Daniel Holgado holding trophies.

Early incidents thin the field

The opening laps were untidy further back. Taiyo Furusato was out almost immediately, while Aron Canet and Xabi Zurutuza were also early fallers. A lap later, Alex Escrig’s promising front-row start was undone when Alonso Lopez made contact with him at Turn Three, an incident that earned Lopez a long-lap penalty.

Ortola was the early mover. From tenth on the grid, he was into the top four on the opening lap and then quickly attached himself to Gonzalez’s rear wheel. By lap four he was second, and although Gonzalez was never headed, Ortola’s early pace suggested the leader would not be allowed to simply cruise away.

Ortola threatens before late heartbreak

Ortola also set the fastest race lap on lap two, a 1m49.497s, but sustaining that speed over the distance proved another matter. Gonzalez edged the advantage out as the race progressed, while Daniel Holgado, Filip Salac, Senna Agius and, from much further back, Vietti started to shape the podium fight.

Vietti’s race was one of the rides of the afternoon. Starting 16th, the Italian steadily picked his way through traffic while Gonzalez managed the pace out front. He was only seventh at mid-distance but made his late-race charge count, first clearing Salac, then Agius, before setting his sights on Holgado.

Ortola’s podium hopes ended cruelly with less than 10 kilometres remaining when his QJMOTOR – Green Power – MSI Kalex stopped with a technical problem. That promoted Holgado, Agius and Vietti into a three-way contest for the final two podium places, and the order changed repeatedly over the last lap.

Vietti storms through for home podium

Vietti attacked at Scarperia to take second from Holgado, then Agius launched a last-corner move on the Spaniard for third. The Australian got underneath Holgado but could not quite complete the job to the line, Holgado using the Mugello slipstream to snatch the final podium place back by just 0.017s.

Holgado’s third place was a timely result after a difficult weekend that had included a trip through Q1.

“I’m really happy to have achieved this podium; it feels great after going so many races without doing so,” Holgado said. “It was a very difficult race to manage; almost all of us were struggling with the front tyre. I started off more calmly, until I saw riders with a slightly slower pace than mine and decided to go for the podium because I wanted second place.

“It took its toll on me in the final laps and they caught up with me; I was trying to give it my all, but I couldn’t push any harder. Third place is a very positive result after starting the weekend a bit behind and having to go through Q1.”

Agius misses podium by 0.017s

Agius was left with fourth, but the manner of the result still marked a strong step forward. The Australian had qualified seventh, stayed in the podium fight deep into the race, and only missed the rostrum by the width of a drag race to the chequered flag.

“All in all, it was a really positive race here at Mugello today, finishing in fourth place,” Agius said. “I made a move for third place in the final corner, but unfortunately, I couldn’t hold onto that position all the way to the finish line because Holgado overtook me from behind.

“There wasn’t much I could do about that. But I gave it my all right from the start. We do need to work on getting slightly better starts, though, to make life a bit easier for ourselves. Toward the end, I started struggling with grip issues, but up until then I still had a good pace, which is also a positive.”

Senna Agius leads a tightly bunched Moto2 group through a right-hand bend at Mugello.

Gonzalez extends title advantage

Salac completed the top five, his best result of the season so far, while Lopez recovered from his long-lap penalty to take sixth. Izan Guevara was seventh, enough to retain second in the Championship, although Gonzalez’s advantage at the top is now substantial.

Barry Baltus came from 19th on the grid to finish eighth, ahead of Collin Veijer and Deniz Öncü, while Gonzalez now heads to Balaton Park with 129.5 points to Guevara’s 95. Vietti’s home podium lifted him to 93 points, with Agius fourth in the standings on 78.

Mugello Moto2 Race Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	M. Gonzalez	Kal	35m12.315
2	C. Vietti	Bos	+5.327
3	D. Holgado	Kal	+5.462
4	S. Agius	Kal	+5.479
5	F. Salac	Kal	+7.568
6	A. Lopez	Kal	+9.987
7	I. Guevara	Bos	+10.952
8	B. Baltus	Kal	+15.463
9	C. Veijer	Kal	+16.428
10	D. Öncü	Bos	+19.587
11	T. Arbolino	Kal	+19.603
12	A. Huertas	Kal	+20.302
13	J. A. Rueda	Kal	+22.233
14	J. Roberts	Kal	+22.253
15	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	+22.874
16	L. Lunetta	Bos	+25.332
17	S. Garcia	Kal	+25.372
18	D. Alonso	Kal	+25.944
19	A. Ferrandez	Bos	+28.843
20	D. Muñoz	Kal	+28.862
21	U. Orradre	Kal	+35.661
Not Classified
NC	I. Ortola	Kal	2 laps
NC	A. Sasaki	Kal	13 laps
NC	A. Escrig	For	18 laps
DNF	A. Canet	Bos	DNF
DNF	X. Zurutuza	For	DNF
DNF	T. Furusato	Kal	DNF

Moto2 Championship Standings

Pos

Rider

Nation

Points

1	M. Gonzalez	SPA	129.5
2	I. Guevara	SPA	95
3	C. Vietti	ITA	93
4	S. Agius	AUS	78
5	D. Holgado	SPA	65
6	D. Alonso	COL	58
7	I. Ortola	SPA	52.5
8	A. Lopez	SPA	49.5
9	D. Muñoz	SPA	41
10	C. Veijer	NED	36.5
11	T. Arbolino	ITA	31.5
12	A. Escrig	SPA	30
13	F. Salac	CZE	30
14	B. Baltus	BEL	24
15	J. Roberts	USA	18
16	D. Öncü	TUR	15.5
17	A. Canet	SPA	13.5
18	A. Huertas	SPA	12
19	A. Sasaki	JPN	8
20	J. A. Rueda	SPA	8
21	L. Lunetta	ITA	7
22	S. Garcia	SPA	5
23	Z. vd Goorbergh	NED	5
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

Uriarte times final-lap Mugello attack to perfection

Brian Uriarte claimed his first Moto3 World Championship victory at Mugello after timing his final-lap attack to perfection in a typically frantic lightweight-class slipstreamer, while Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate Alvaro Carpe made it a one-two and Hakim Danish completed the podium.

Uriarte waits, then strikes

The race had all the usual Mugello Moto3 ingredients: repeated lead changes, a lead group that refused to fracture, and a final lap where track position, bravery and restraint were all tested at once. Uriarte made the decisive move through the Casanova/Savelli section and then had just enough breathing room to avoid being swallowed by the pack on the run to the flag.

Kelso features early in Mugello slipstream battle

Danish had inherited pole after David Almansa was ruled out through illness, but it was Australian Joel Kelso who made the strongest early impression. Kelso led the opening laps from the front row, with Joel Esteban, Uriarte, Jesus Rios and David Muñoz all part of the early exchange as the group began to form.

Maximo Quiles, the Championship leader, had work to do from 14th on the grid but was quickly into the top ten. By lap seven, the front of the race had already become a rotating cast, with Kelso, Uriarte, Adrian Fernandez, Carpe, Muñoz and Quiles all spending time at or near the front.

Lead group reforms after Salmela fall

Rico Salmela’s crash on the exit of Turn Four briefly threatened to split the field, with the leading eight riders edging away from the chasers. At Mugello, however, that sort of gap can disappear in one run down the main straight, and Eddie O’Shea was among those who helped drag the second wave back into the battle.

By lap 12, O’Shea was in the lead, a notable moment in itself, but it did not last. Fernandez, Quiles and Kelso all cycled back through the front positions as the final laps approached, and Fernandez looked well placed when he led across the line with two laps remaining.

Quiles loses ground at the worst moment

Quiles appeared to be setting himself up for another major points haul, but his race unravelled at the final corner on the penultimate lap when a big rear-end moment spat him out of the seat and cost him a stack of positions. Instead of fighting for victory, the Championship leader suddenly found himself outside the top ten.

Red Bull KTM Ajo seizes its chance

That opened the door for the final lap to become a Red Bull KTM Ajo opportunity. Uriarte struck through Casanova/Savelli, moving ahead of Fernandez and gaining just enough margin as the pack behind tripped over itself in the fight for the podium.

Carpe then emerged from the scramble to take second, 0.418s behind his team-mate, while Danish held on for third, only 0.456s from the win. Fernandez, who had looked a serious winning chance with one lap remaining, was pushed back to fourth, still banking a useful result on a day when Quiles finished only 11th.

Esteban took fifth, ahead of O’Shea, whose run to sixth was the best result of his Moto3 career. Muñoz, Veda Pratama, Kelso and Rios completed a top ten that was covered by just 1.091 seconds at the flag.

Brian Uriarte crosses the Mugello finish line to win the Moto3 race as the pack follows behind.

Kelso in the fight but shuffled late

Kelso’s ninth place did not fully reflect the Australian’s early influence on the race. He had led the first three laps and remained embedded in the lead group throughout, but as is often the case at Mugello in Moto3, being in the fight at the start of the final lap is no guarantee of emerging near the front at the chequered flag.

Title lead trimmed heading to Balaton

Quiles salvaged five points in 11th after his late scare, but his Championship lead was trimmed to 52 points over Carpe. Fernandez sits third, 56 points from the lead, while Uriarte’s breakthrough victory lifts him to fourth in the standings on 67 points, one ahead of Pratama.

Mugello Moto3 Race Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	B. Uriarte	Ktm	33m07.801
2	A. Carpe	Ktm	+0.418
3	H. Danish	Ktm	+0.456
4	A. Fernandez	Hon	+0.482
5	J. Esteban	Ktm	+0.842
6	E. O’Shea	Hon	+0.970
7	D. Muñoz	Ktm	+1.069
8	V. Pratama	Hon	+1.081
9	J. Kelso	Hon	+1.085
10	J. Rios	Hon	+1.091
11	M. Quiles	Ktm	+1.202
12	M. Bertelle	Ktm	+1.285
13	M. Morelli	Ktm	+1.351
14	S. Ogden	Ktm	+1.569
15	G. Pini	Hon	+2.330
16	R. Yamanaka	Ktm	+5.565
17	A. Cruces	Ktm	+5.596
18	V. Perrone	Ktm	+5.636
19	C. Buchanan	Ktm	+5.740
20	N. Carraro	Hon	+8.904
21	R. Moodley	Ktm	+9.679
22	Z. Mitani	Hon	+26.357
23	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+26.435
Not Classified
NC	R. Salmela	Ktm	11 laps
NC	C. O’Gorman	Hon	15 laps

Moto3 Championship Standings

Pos

Rider

Nation

Points

1	M. Quiles	SPA	145
2	A. Carpe	SPA	93
3	A. Fernandez	SPA	89
4	B. Uriarte	SPA	67
5	V. Pratama	INA	66
6	M. Morelli	ARG	61
7	V. Perrone	ARG	56
8	D. Almansa	SPA	52
9	G. Pini	ITA	47
10	D. Muñoz	SPA	47
11	H. Danish	MAL	43
12	J. Esteban	SPA	35
13	M. Bertelle	ITA	29
14	E. O’Shea	GBR	29
15	A. Cruces	SPA	26
16	C. O’Gorman	IRL	22
17	R. Salmela	FIN	21
18	J. Kelso	AUS	15
19	J. Rios	SPA	14
20	S. Ogden	GBR	12
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