Where were the title contenders? Why Gonzalez and Guevara faltered

In the Moto2 race in Qatar, the two title rivals, Manuel Gonzalez and Izan Guevara, played a minor role. It was others – Daniel Holgado, Ivan Ortola and Alex Escrig – who caused a stir and secured top finishes.

Things were still going very well for Gonzalez in qualifying – the Intact rider secured a place on the front row alongside debut pole-setter Alex Escrig (Forward). Guevara (Pramac), on the other hand, struggled – he could not manage better than seventh on the grid. Then, on Saturday evening, the pair received some bad news: due to ‘slow riding’ on the racing line in Q2, they and six other riders were each demoted by three places on the grid by the FIM stewards. Gonzalez and Guevara thus slipped back to 5th and 10th places respectively.

Manuel Gonzalez: “I tried to finish the race as best I could!”

In Sunday’s race, World Championship leader Gonzalez showed good pace at the start. As the race progressed, however, it became increasingly difficult for him to keep up with the pace at the front. Gonzalez therefore focused on holding his position and finishing the race as best he could. He crossed the finish line in 6th place.

“It was a very difficult race and not at all what I’d imagined. We’d had really good pace on Friday and Saturday, and I felt very comfortable on the bike, both on new and used tyres. On Sunday, though, it was a completely different story,” Gonzalez lamented. “Things were still going well in the first few laps and I was able to stay with the group. But after about five laps, the bike wouldn’t turn properly into the corners and my lap times started to slow down. The tyre simply wasn’t performing as it should have. So I tried to adjust my riding style a bit to stay with the group for as long as possible. But it was impossible. So I just tried to finish the race as best I could.”

Izan Guevara hatte mit Motor-Problemen zu kämpfen

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

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Izan Guevara: “I could tell something wasn’t right!”

Things went even worse for title rival Izan Guevara. He struggled to keep up with his rivals’ pace during the race and kept slipping further and further back. On lap 14, the Spaniard was forced to retire due to technical problems with the engine and gearbox. The Pramac team had been struggling with a lack of performance from the Triumph engine for some time. Guevara said after the race in Qatar: “Over three consecutive race weekends, we’ve lost about 5 km/h compared to the other riders, even when we were drafting. I simply couldn’t defend my position or battle with the riders around me, as they were all able to overtake me on the straights. That was extremely frustrating, but I tried to stay calm and focus on giving my best.”

“I could tell on Sunday that something wasn’t right,” Guevara explained. “As I accelerated out of Turn 6, when I shifted from first to second gear, the engine hesitated before responding again. Then, with five laps to go, when I shifted down before Turn 1, the gearbox stopped working properly and I had to retire.”

In the overall standings, Gonzalez managed to extend his lead over Guevara. Ahead of the final two races of the season, the Intact rider holds a 13.5-point lead. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied. “Sixth place wasn’t the result we’d hoped for. Nevertheless, we’re taking ten points away from here, and that’s certainly positive,” said Gonzalez. “We always want more; we want to win races, but with the championship in mind, this is a good result. Now we’ll analyse the data so that we’re fully prepared for Portugal and can keep pushing. The gap isn’t particularly big, so we’ll have to give 100 per cent again there. Besides, Portimão is a circuit where I’ve always felt very comfortable. That’s why we’ll try to enjoy the weekend once more.”