13/09/2026

Fifth win of the season for Manuel Gonzalez – Bitter end for Pole setter Agius

It was a mix of joy and disappointment for LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt GP’s Moto2 team on Sunday in Misano: Manuel Gonzalez celebrated his fifth win of the season, while for pole-sitter Senna Agius, the race was over as soon as at Turn 1.

Gorgeous late-summer weather at the Italian Adriatic coastline and packed grandstands provided a magnificent backdrop for the 14th race of the season. From the perspective of the Memmingen-based team, everything was in place for another spectacular performance by the leaders in this year’s riders and team standings.

Since Senna Agius started from pole position and Manuel Gonzalez in P5 on the second row, expectations were understandably high for race day at the Misano World Circuit.

Unfortunately, just a few hundred meters after the start from pole position, Agius was involved in an incident. The Australian rider entered the first corner with Daniel Holgado and Angel Piqueras behind him when Piqueras hit the brakes too late, causing him to take both Holgado and Agius with him into the gravel. For all three riders, the race was over before it had even really begun. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.

Gonzalez emerged unscathed from the three-rider crash coming from the second row and made it safely through Turn 1, immediately settling in behind Collin Veijer, who led the pack for four laps. During that time, Gonzalez kept a close eye on his rival and launched the decisive pass at just the right moment. From that point on, the championship leader was fully in control of the race and kept his cool even when a warning for exceeding track limits popped up.

At the finish line, Gonzalez had a gap of just under 2.5 seconds over Veijer. His closest rival in the overall standings, Spaniard Izan Guevara, finished in fifth place, allowing Gonzalez to extend his lead in the championship to 47.5 points.

Action continues as early as next weekend with the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg.

Moto2™ Race Classification (22 Laps):
1 #18 Manuel GONZALEZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 34´57.913
2 Collin VEIJER / NED / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KALEX / +2.451
3 Barry BLATUS / BEL / REDS Fantic Racing / KALEX / +4.692
…
DNF #81 Senna AGIUS / AUS / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX

Moto2™ World Standings:
1 #18 Manuel GONZALEZ / SPA / KALEX / 232,5
2 IZAN GUEVARA / SPA / BOSCOSCURO / 185
3 Ivan ORTOLA / SPA / KALEX / 157,5
4 #81 Senna AGIUS / AUS / KALEX / 149

Moto2™ Team Standings:
1 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP 381,5
2 CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team 276
3 BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 202,5

Manuel Gonzalez

Race: Winner
Moto2 World Championship 2026: P1 - 232,5 Points

«I’m absolutely thrilled about this win, because in the last few races we knew we had the pace to win but lacked the opportunity. Here, we had the speed, the right mindset, and the confidence, and we seized the opportunity. That said, I was lucky not to be caught up in the crash in the first corner. After that, I had good pace, even though Collin put a lot of pressure on me. Towards the end, I had a little trouble with my right arm, since Misano is a track where I struggle physically because there are so many right-hand turns with hard braking points. So, I tried to stay calm, avoid mistakes, and I also received a warning for going off the track. So, I told myself: This isn’t the right moment for a long-lap penalty. Many thanks to the team for their work, as well as to the sponsors, my family, and everyone else who supports me. Also, given the past races, it’s extremely important to have built up more of a points lead over the riders behind me. Especially since we had bad luck at Silverstone and lost points instead of further extending our lead. I’m looking forward to the next races, hoping to keep winning, because that’s what I want and what we know we’re capable of. Austria is a track that I also like and where I'm fast. So we'll try to win there again.»

Senna Agius

Race: DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2026: P4 – 149 Points

«The positives of this weekend outweighs what happened today because there’s no time to be angry and upset about what happened. I will take this mindset to FP1 in Austria and continue the way we left here. That’s my mentality for the rest of the season and we will do our best at all times to recovery back as many points as we can.»

Jürgen Lingg

Teammanager

«It was a very exciting weekend. First, I’d like to congratulate both Davids. Almansa had certainly hoped for more, but both did a great job, as did the entire Moto3 team. Congratulations to everyone.»

«After yesterday’s qualifying, we went into the Moto2 race with high expectations. Senna was very calm on the starting grid, and we knew he had a strong pace. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to prove it because he was involved in a crash right in the first corner. That was, of course, very unfortunate. Nevertheless, he put in a strong performance throughout the weekend, and we’re convinced he could have competed at the very front today as well.»

«Manu didn’t quite hit his stride yesterday in qualifying when it really mattered. Still, it was enough to secure a spot on the second row of the grid, which may even have turned out to be an advantage after the incident in the first corner. That allowed him to handle the situation well and position himself perfectly. Later on, he had the race firmly under control. You could see how he kept a close eye on his rivals at first. Once he overtook them, he didn’t let anything slip by. After the warning for exceeding track limits, things got even more exciting. But that’s exactly what sets Manu apart: when it counts, he stays calm and doesn’t make any more mistakes. He proved that impressively again today and secured a thoroughly deserved victory despite the incident in the first corner. This was an important step for the championship, not only because of the extra points, but above all from a mental point of view. He showed great mental strength. That’s exactly how we need to continue next week in Spielberg. Congratulations to everyone.»

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