16/05/2026

Manuel Gonzalez back on the front row of the grid

The Spaniard will start the sixth race of the season in Barcelona on Sunday from third on the grid. Teammate Senna Agius finished twelfth in a hectic qualifying session.

The weekend kicked off on Friday in unusually cold conditions at the famous Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Senna Agius showing impressive form. Second place in free practice and second in Practice session again, just a fraction off the fastest time, raised expectations for Saturday. Gonzalez finished these sessions in P5 and P7 respectively.

On Saturday morning in FP2, Manuel Gonzalez sent a clear signal of his intentions for qualifying by setting the fastest time. Crossing the track limits once and being held up slightly in the closing stages cost him a potential pole position in his second home race of the season. However, starting from third on the grid, the 23-year-old from Madrid still sees his chance in the race.

Senna Agius, on the other hand, highlighted his potential this morning with a strong pace and feels well-prepared for the race, even if the fourth row of the grid is initially disappointing for the ambitious Australian rider.

The Lights went out for the race on Sunday 12:15 pm CEST.

Moto2™ Qualifying Results:
1 Celestino VIETTI / ITA / Beta Tools SpeedRS Team / BOSCOSCURO / 1´41.076
2 Collin VEIJER / NED / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KALEX / 1´41.338 +0.262
3 #18 Manuel GONZALEZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´41.436 +0.360
..
12 #81 Senna AGUIS / AUS / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´41.792 +0.716

Manuel Gonzalez

Q2: P3 - 1´41.436 +0.360

«We were really close to taking pole position today. In the end, we're starting from the front row, which is always our goal and makes life easier, especially at this track. It's very important here to be in the mix at the front during the opening laps, stay calm, and look after the tyres so we can push towards the end of the race. I'm very happy because I've felt more comfortable with the bike since yesterday; although we managed to improve today, we were particularly fast on used tyres. But we also managed to take a step forward in qualifying. However, on my fastest lap, I just slightly touched the green, and on my final lap, I was held up a bit by another rider. But we made it onto the front row and, more importantly, we're ready for the race. I can run a good pace, even though we know tomorrow's race will be very long and tyre management will be tricky at the end, but our strategy is very clear. We're certainly in the hunt, we have the speed and the pace, so we'll be trying to win. There are plenty of riders who also have good pace, but we've worked a lot with used tyres and hope it pays off.»

Senna Agius

Q2: P12 - 1´41.792 +0.716

«We aren't where we want to be in qualifying. During our second run, I lost focus in the group because there were slow riders ahead of me. It got a bit chaotic, but in Moto2 you can't afford to drop any tenth of a second. We're in P12, which isn't where we want to be, but our race pace is definitely good enough to fight at the front. We'll just try to get the best start possible, move up through the field during the race, and bag as many points as we can.»

#CatalanGP 2026

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