05/10/2025

Despite disqualification: Gonzalez remains World Championship leader – Agius impresses with strong comeback

The Moto2 race at the Indonesian Grand Prix on the Mandalika International Street Circuit was a real test for man and machine, with asphalt temperatures exceeding 60°C. LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP riders Manuel Gonzalez and Senna Agius mastered the heat battle with flying colours: Gonzalez initially crossed the finish line in second place, while Agius finished 13th after a spectacular comeback. However, the Spaniard was subsequently disqualified, meaning the Australian was therefore classified in twelfth place.

The race on the 4.3 km long track was exciting right from the start. World championship leader Manuel Gonzalez was among the front runners straight away. Although he briefly lost a position at the start, he worked his way back up by lap eight and set off in pursuit of Diogo Moreira. The 23-year-old maintained a gap of around one second to the leader for a long time without taking any unnecessary risks. He confidently secured second place at the finish line – until an undetected problem dampened the celebrations: a transmission error in a parameter update of the official firmware meant his disqualification, even though it did not result in any advantage at any time. As a result, Gonzalez loses valuable points in the World Championship battle, but remains at the top of the overall standings with a nine-point lead. The Spaniard is in fighting spirit and wants to strike back stronger at the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

No less impressive was the performance of teammate Senna Agius. The Australian started the 18th race of the season from 22nd position after a difficult qualifying session. Immediately after the start, he had a slight collision with several opponents, which briefly took him off course and resulted in a long lap penalty. The 20-year-old quickly found his rhythm again, overtaking competitor after competitor and fighting his way into the points. At one point, he was even in eleventh place and saw the chequered flag in thirteenth – but Gonzalez's disqualification ultimately moved him up to twelfth place and earned him four World Championship points. In two weeks' time, Agius will be competing in his home race in Australia – a venue that holds many positive memories for him, to which he hopes to add more with the support of his home fans.

Results

Race
1.   Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KALEX
2.   Izan GUEVARA/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – (+7.261)
3.   Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – (+9.050)
12. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – (+19.501)

Disqualified
Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX

World Championship
1. GONZALEZ Manuel/ SPA – 238
2. MOREIRA Diogo – 229
3. CANET Aron/ SPA – 205
9. AGIUS Senna/ AUS – 108

Team Classification
1. FANTIC RACING LINO SONEGO – 400
2. LIQUI MOLY DYNAVOLT INTACT GP – 346
3. ELF MARC VDS RACING TEAM – 261

Manuel Gonzalez

Disqualified
Moto2 World Championship 2025 - P1 - 238 Points

"What can I say... I am obviously extremely disappointed that we had such bad luck with the firmware update, which resulted in me being disqualified from today's race. Despite all the bad luck, we are taking away the positive aspects of today. The championship is now closer, but that doesn't stress me out, rather, it motivates me to fight even harder and prepare even more intensively. We can't undo what's done, but we can roll back to the start in Australia at 100% and fight for our championship. I would also like to wish David a speedy recovery. We hope he can return to the track soon."

Senna Agius

P12 - (+19.501)
Moto2 World Championship 2025 - P9 - 108 Points

"We had a good rhythm today. But I went into the first corner a little too hot and pumped in a couple of riders. Unfortunately, I was the one who ended up in the gravel. I think that was the reason for the long lap penalty. After the long lap, I more or less fell back to last place and worked my way back up to 11th. In the end, we finished 12th with a competitive pace. We'll take that with us into the next race: a little more confidence. It's a tough time overall, but we have to stay strong and turn this final phase of the year around, because today I felt that we took a step forward today and understand the direction for the next races."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"First of all, I feel very sorry for David. It's bitter because everything would have been perfect in the race today. To retire due to such an unnecessary manoeuvre and suffer a serious injury is simply tragic. We hope he recovers as quickly as possible and wish him all the best for his recovery."

"Manuel showed strong pace here in Lombok right from the start and secured the second row of the grid in qualifying. We knew before the race started that we could compete at the front. Unfortunately, he was held up a bit in the early laps, which cost him energy. As a result, he was unable to close the gap completely. He got within a second, but it wasn't enough because he had to invest too much at the start to get to P2. With just under a lap to go, he was just managing the race. Nevertheless, it was a strong second place, which was then taken away from him. There was a transmission error in the last firmware update, in which only one parameter was updated. Unfortunately, it didn't signal this to us and although Manu didn't gain any advantage from it, we now have to accept the disqualification. Together, we will now make ourselves even stronger so that we are ready for the final World Championship battle."

"Senna had a weekend of highs and lows. Unfortunately, he didn't quite get it right at the crucial moment in qualifying. He could have been P1 in Q1, and his time there would have been good enough in Q2. As it was, he had to start from far back. However, he showed a very strong pace in the race, even after a long-lap penalty. In terms of speed, he could definitely have fought for a top-six finish. We have to take the positives, but he needs to learn to get the maximum out of qualifying."

Pictures Moto2 - Sunday Indonsian GP 2025

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