26/10/2025

Setback in Malaysia, determination for Portimão – Gonzalez remains in the title race!

A bitter Sunday marked the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix for the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Moto2 team: Senna Agius' race ended early, as did Manuel Gonzalez's, who crashed in the penultimate lap.

Manuel Gonzalez led the Moto2 World Championship for most of the season and went into the third-to-last race of the year with a two-point lead. The race, which started after MotoGP due to delays caused by an incident in Moto3, began for the Spaniard from seventh on the grid. After only two laps, however, the race had to be stopped due to Joe Roberts' motorcycle not being cleared from the track.
The restart – now scheduled for eleven laps – took place shortly afterwards. As before, Gonzalez got off to a solid start and followed the leading group. The 23-year-old attacked Barry Baltus and briefly moved up to fourth place, but the Belgian countered immediately. Gonzalez held on to fifth place, while his World Championship rival Diogo Moreira closed in on sixth place. Then, on the penultimate lap, came the moment of shock: Gonzalez's front collapsed and he crashed in turn 15. This meant that Gonzalez had to relinquish the World Championship lead for the first time this season and will travel to the Portuguese Grand Prix (7–9 November) nine points behind. The hunted became the hunter, and with 50 points still up for grabs, the ambitious Gonzalez is determined to give it his all to secure the title in the end.

The weekend also ended disappointingly for teammate Senna Agius. After a difficult Friday and starting in 23rd place, the Australian had to retire from the 20th race of the season in lap six due to engine failure – a bitter setback after his magnificent victory at the Australian Grand Prix the week before. But in just two weeks, the young Aussie will have another chance to make his comeback!

The entire Moto2 team of the German racing team sends the injured Moto3 riders Noah Dettwiler and Jose Antonio Rueda their best wishes for a speedy recovery and hopes to see them back on the track soon.

Results

Race
1. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ BOSCOSCURO
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ KALEX – (+2.035)
3. Barry BALTUS/ BEL/ KALEX – (+2.745)
DNF
Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX
Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX

World Championship
1. MOREIRA Diogo – 256
2. GONZALEZ Manuel/ SPA – 247
3. BALTUS Barry/ BEL – 221
10. AGIUS Senna/ AUS – 133

Team Classification
1. FANTIC RACING LINO SONEGO – 434
2. LIQUI MOLY DYNAVOLT INTACT GP – 380
3. CFMOTO POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR TEAM – 316

Manuel Gonzalez

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2025 - P2 - 247 Points

"To be honest, I'm still searching for words to describe this race. I pushed hard right from the beginning and felt very comfortable with the new tyres. We have actually improved a lot in this area. But then, when I overtook Baltus with five laps to go, the front closed in turn one, and from then on, I had big problems with the front in every corner and tried to avoid crashing. Nevertheless, I gave it my all to stay close to Baltus because the pace wasn't so bad. In doing so, we caught up with Holgado. So, I tried to fight my way through in the final laps. But because I was struggling with the front, I ended up crashing. Still, I'm satisfied because I gave it my all from the first lap onwards. We have to look at it that way and keep working for Portimao and Valencia. That will be important, and I'm also looking forward to riding at these tracks, which I really like. Of course, we will give 100 percent on the last two race weekends and we have to approach things with the same attitude as in Thailand. As I said, Portimao is one of my favourite tracks, and it's also the track where I rode this bike for the first time with this team, and even back then, it were fantastic few days. So, we'll try to recapture that feeling. But also in Valencia, another home race, we’ll try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can. At this point, I would also like to wish Noah and Jose Antonio a speedy recovery. I sincerely hope that both of them will come through this relatively unscathed."

Senna Agius

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2025 - P10 - 133 Points

"Not a good race for us today, even though I got off to a decent start. I settled in the pack, but I didn't have a good feeling for the bike. Nevertheless, I worked my way forward and was on track to score some points. Unfortunately, I the engine broke later going into turn one. I don't know exactly what happened, but I lost power along the straight. We came here with some positive results, so we need keep our head down and learn from this weekend. I wish both Moto3 riders all the best and hope they get back on their feet quickly."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"Unfortunately, it was a very unfortunate end to the weekend. Things were looking very good until shortly before the end, but then Manu crashed in the last corner. As you could see from the many scary slides during the race, something like this can easily happen in such conditions. But Manu also had to push because he wanted to finish ahead of his closest rival in the title fight. However, we won't bury our heads in the sand but will continue as before. There are still two races to go, in which hopefully luck will be on our side again. It continues in two weeks, and everything is still possible."

"Senna had a very difficult weekend here in Sepang. He had problems on Friday, but things went a bit better on Saturday. However, by the time he finally got going, it was already a bit too late. His race today was going well until an engine problem forced him to retire. These things are beyond our control. That's why we need to put Sepang behind us and look ahead. I think the next two circuits will be good for both of our riders. So, we are looking forward to Portimao and Valencia. Finally, the entire Intact GP Team would like to wish the two seriously crashed Moto3 riders all the best and hopes that their injuries are less serious than the terrible images suggest. We wish Noah Dettwiler and Jose Antonio Rueda all the best and a speedy recovery"

Pictures Moto2 - Sunday Malaysia GP 2025

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