Gonzalez claims Pole Position; Agius impresses at his home Grand Prix despite a crash

Manuel Gonzalez secured his second pole position of the season at the Australian Grand Prix, giving him the best starting position to celebrate his 100th Grand Prix start on Sunday. Local hero Senna Agius put in strong performances in all sessions and was among the fastest in qualifying as well, before a crash dashed his chances of a top spot on the grid. The Australian will start his home race from seventh place.

Over the past few days, teams and riders at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in southern Australia were initially treated with glorious early-summer weather, before rain, wind, and significantly cooler temperatures turned Saturday’s events upside down.

Both Manuel Gonzalez and Senna Agius were already in good shape on Friday. Gonzalez, the championship leader, finished fifth in Free Practice 1 and eighth in the afternoon’s Practice session, while Agius made a strong impression with a third-place finish and a second-place finish. 

On Saturday morning, Gonzalez focused on building confidence in the wet under the changed conditions. Finishing 13th in the rain, he handled this challenge well. Australian Agius finished the session as the second-fastest rider, making his intentions very clear: Following his spectacular victory last year, he is determined to win his home race again this time around. 

In the later qualifying session, teams and rider had to deal with dry conditions. After his scheduled pit stop, Manuel Gonzalez set the fastest time of 1'30.122 on his first flying lap. None of his competitors managed to beat that time afterwards. Gonzalez thus secured his second pole position of the season. On Sunday, he will reach a special milestone: At Phillip Island, he will compete the 100th Grand Prix of his career—and will start from the pole position.

With a lap time of 1'30.295, Senna Agius took the lead early in qualifying, once again underscoring that he is among the top contenders at his home race. However, an unfortunate incident occurred after his pit stop: During his out-lap, Agius crashed in Turn 8. Fortunately, he was uninjured, but he was unable to translate the pace he had previously shown into a better starting position. He will start his home Grand Prix on Sunday from the third row in seventh place.

The race will start on Sunday at the usual time of 12:15 p.m. local time, which means 02:15 a.m. CET in Europe following the switch to winter time there.

Moto2™ Qualifying Results:
1 #18 Manuel GONZALEZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´30.122
2 Barry BALTUS / BEL / REDS Fantic Racing / KALEX / 1´30.228 +0.106
3 Filip SALAC / CZE / OnlyFans American Racing Team / KALEX / 1´30.237 +0.115
…
7 #81 Senna AGIUS / AUS / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´30.295 +0.173