12/09/2026

Agius impresses with spectacular Misano Pole Position; Gonzalez in second row

LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP’s Moto2 team followed in the footsteps of their Moto3 counterparts: Senna Agius secured a masterclass pole position, and Manuel Gonzalez rounded up the team’s successful Saturday by qualifying in fifth place for Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix.

The Moto2 squad from the German based LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP outfit was the team to beat on both days of practices in Misano. The results from Friday morning, a stunning one-two with Manuel Gonzalez ahead of Senna Agius, were repeated in reverse order in the crucial Practice session a few hours later.

It wasn’t until Saturday morning, when the track at Italy’s famous Misano World Circuit was still largely wet following a morning rain shower, that Spaniard Gonzalez was beaten by Italian rider Tony Arbolino. Finishing second in FP2, the championship leader was nonetheless among the favourites for pole position, just like his teammate Agius, who, having finished ninth in the morning session, focused primarily on preparing for the race.

In Q2, it was Australian Agius who really shone in the bright sunshine. With a string of fast laps, he fought his way to the top in the final stages, even though one of his fastest lap times was cancelled due to exceeding track limits. In the end, Agius managed to improve his time once more and, with a time of 1'33.718, he secured a spectacular pole position for the second time this year, following the season opener in Thailand.

For Gonzalez, however, the final stages of the 15-minutes session did not go quite as he had hoped. After yellow flags were displayed, the 24-year-old from Madrid was unable to complete his final attempt to claim pole position without making a mistake. Starting fifth on the second row, the championship leader nevertheless has a promising starting position for the 14th race of the season on Sunday.

As usual, the lights will go out for the 14th race of the season on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. CEST.

Moto2™ Qualifying Results:
1 #81 Senna AGUIS / AUS / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´33.718
2 Daniel HOLGADO / SPA / CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team / KALEX / 1´33.911 +0.193
3 Angel PIQUERAS / SPA / QJMOTOR - Green Power - MSI / KALEX / 1´33.982 +0.264
…
5 #18 Manuel GONZALEZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 1´34.084 +0.366

Senna Agius

Q2: Pole-Position – 1´33.718

«I’m really excited to start from pole position tomorrow, because we need to keep scoring points for the championship to stay in the race and keep the pressure on. Today gives us a lot of confidence, because we went into qualifying with a very special strategy, one that was different from usual, and it seems to be working. We need to learn from this and give it even more at the next race weekends. I’m not saying I’ll start from pole every time, because that’s way too difficult in Moto2. But starting from the front simply saves us some hard work for Sunday. In the last race, I made things a bit harder on myself than usual, even though we achieved good results. So that’s the goal from now on, and tomorrow we’ll just enjoy starting from the top spot on the grid. I feel like I’m riding pretty well. We’ve worked a lot on race pace, and that gives me confidence. Still, we’ll have to wait and see what we can achieve tomorrow. Misano is certainly not an easy race because it’s very long, so it’s pretty physically demanding. I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep tonight so we can give it our all tomorrow and fight for the win. Many thanks to everyone who helped to achieve this today.»

Manuel Gonzalez

Q2: P5 – 1´34.084, Grid position 5

«Ultimately, qualifying didn’t go the way I’d hoped. I had the speed, maybe not for first place, but certainly for the front row. In the end, I wasn’t able to complete a complete lap because I made a few mistakes. Especially after the tyre change, after the yellow flags, some riders tried to follow me, and the lap didn’t go the way I’d imagined. Still, we’re not far behind. Fifth place isn’t bad at all, and I think we can compete well from here tomorrow. Riding a fast lap is one thing, maintaining that pace consistently throughout the race is something else entirely and very difficult. Today, however, I managed to consistently match my fastest times. It’s clear that my teammate had the best pace today. Yesterday afternoon I might have had a few tenths more. I think he and I will be similarly fast on Sunday. So, the key will be to get off to a good start, put in a strong first lap, and make up as many positions as possible. At this track, the riders are often separated by just a few tenths, and if you aren’t significantly faster than the rider in front of you, overtaking becomes correspondingly difficult. The first two laps will therefore be crucial if we’re able to fight for the win or a spot on the podium.»

#SanMarinoGP Saturday

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