Confident Ivan Ortola: Stress-free but with a plan to reach the Moto2 podium

14th on the grid – Ivan Ortola’s starting position for the Qatar Grand Prix was anything but promising. The reason for this uncharacteristic position was not solely down to a botched Q2 session. Ortola simply lacked pace. Finishing 16th – albeit just 0.8 seconds off the pace – was enough to send the third-placed rider in the World Championship into the first qualifying session.

This marked the low point of a mini-slump. After finishing fourth in Japan, Ortola slipped back to sixth in the race in Indonesia, then to eighth in Malaysia. On top of that, his fiercest rivals in the battle for third place in the World Championship – the Aspar duo of Alonso and Holgado – had recently been in fine form.

Ivan Ortola once again set the fastest lap of the race

Initially, nothing changed in the Qatari desert either. Both Aspar riders were ahead of Ortola, with Holgado even on the front row. But as the race progressed into the darkness, Ivan Ortola shone as he had in his heyday. The Kalex rider paced himself so well throughout the 19-lap race that nobody was faster than him in the decisive phase. With a time of 1:56.4 minutes, Ivan Ortola also set the clear fastest lap of the race. Also noteworthy: no other Moto2 rider has set more fastest race laps in 2026 than the MSi rider.

Thanks to his distinct strengths in races, the number 4 rider managed to achieve what seemed impossible. Starting from 14th place, he fought his way up to second place over the distance – with the final overtaking manoeuvre only succeeding from the slipstream just a few metres before the chequered flag. In the end, he finished a manageable two seconds behind the winner, Holgado.

Zuletzt wieder auf dem Moto2-Podest: Ivan Ortola

Foto: Gold and Goose

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For the rider from the Spanish MSI team, the result came as no great surprise. Ortola appeared confident after the 19th race of the year: “Although Saturday’s qualifying session in particular was marred by a number of minor mistakes – I was nevertheless certain I’d move up the field; I knew I had the pace, so I stayed calm.”

Overtaking with a clear head

Even a less-than-impressive start didn’t rattle Ortola: “I barely made up any places; I knew there was no point in attacking hard straight away. The front tyre is under a lot of stress at Losail. So I paced myself and overtook cleanly, one by one.”

The eleventh lap proved crucial, as Ortola managed to pass his World Championship rival David Alonso. In terms of the World Championship standings, however, the mission was only partially successful, as Dani Holgado was even faster at Losail. With two laps to go, the Aspar rider is now just 4.5 points behind Ortola. Alonso, too, is still in with a chance of third place, despite trailing by 14.5 points. The battle for the World Championship title between Intact rider Manuel Gonzalez and Izan Guevara (Pramac) is not the only close contest in the Moto2 finale.