Ivan Ortola once again beat the established and potential MotoGP contenders
Instead of the actual World Championship favourites, it was Ivan Ortola – as in Brno – who set the pace in Moto2. The MSi rider secured pole position for the first time and proved unbeatable at the German Grand Prix as well.
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The situation in the Moto2 World Championship is remarkable. With almost all established MotoGP riders having sorted out their contract situations, the riders moving up from the middleweight class are now also being secured. Dani Holgado’s future is already confirmed. The fifth-placed rider in the World Championship, who was pipped to victory by Ivan Ortola at the Sachsenring, will ride a Ducati for Gresini in 2027. It is not yet official, but the promotion of his team-mate David Alonso is also a certainty. A Honda contract awaits the Colombian. Izan Guevara consolidated his position in the World Championship standings with another podium finish at the German Grand Prix, thereby strengthening his chances of promotion within the Pramac-Yamaha team.
Added to this are the two Intact GP heroes, Manuel Gonzalez and Senna Agius. The Spaniard has the World Championship firmly in his grasp – heading into the summer break, his lead over Guevara stands at 51.5 points. Senna Agius is third, and both riders are on the radar for a MotoGP contract with Tech3-KTM.
However, it is someone else who has been setting the pace in the class for weeks: Ivan Ortola. The Spaniard, who made his Moto2 debut in 2025, secured his first class victory at Brno. And he did so in spectacular fashion. On the final lap, he overtook David Alonso and won following a technically flawless last-minute manoeuvre.
Just one week later, Ortola struggled in qualifying, securing 15th on the grid. From there, however, he fought his way well up the field. Finishing fifth, the 21-year-old was just four seconds behind the winner. Then came the biggest achievement of his career at the Sachsenring. Ortola secured pole position and led the German Grand Prix from the first to the very last metre. Once again, the quality of his performance in the final stages was remarkable. The Spaniard came under fierce attack from Holgado, but rode flawlessly even under pressure. Ivan Ortola defended the lead so skilfully that he forced Holgado, the up-and-coming MotoGP rider, into a mistake.
After his second win in his third race – no other Moto2 rider has scored more than 61 points since Brno – Ortola remained calm: “That was the result of our excellent teamwork. We’ve now reached a level where the basic set-up is so good that I simply feel equally comfortable on the bike at every track. My team knows what I need – and I can put it into practice.”
I, too, dream of MotoGPIvan Ortola
Kalex rider Ortola on the thrilling race finish and the hoped-for victory thanks to the right tactics: “In the first few laps, you have to make sure you’ve got a bit of a buffer; that’s what I did. After that, I did everything I could to ride as consistently as possible. Even when Dani (Holgado) was already behind me, I stuck to that – I’d hoped to have a bit more in the tank than him in the final 1–2 laps when things got heated. After all, it was clear that the rear tyre would wear out badly.”
And it turned out exactly as the rider from Valencia had hoped: “Towards the end, I took a tight line at a consistent speed, and that was enough to stay out in front,” said the grinning MSi rider.
When asked about MotoGP and the fact that he had once again managed to beat all the potential and confirmed promotion candidates, the Spaniard – who has now climbed to sixth in the World Championship standings – concluded: “The lads around me are in a different situation. I, too, dream of MotoGP – but I’m just focusing on giving my best in every situation. And if the results are there, the rest will follow.”
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