Moto2, qualifying: Daniel Holgado sets lap record ahead of Intact duo

Following his crash in Brno, in which Barry Baltus sustained a shoulder injury, the Belgian is back at Silverstone. In FP1 on Friday morning, the Fantic rider immediately set the second-fastest time. He was half a second off World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, who had set the fastest time by a clear margin in the weekend’s first session. Filip Salac followed in third place, 0.281 seconds behind Baltus.

FP1 is followed on Friday by the Moto2 class’s timed practice session. The aim here is to qualify directly for Qualifying 2, which only the fastest 14 riders can achieve. The remaining riders must take part in Q1 on Saturday, from which the top four then advance to Q2.

At the start of the 40-minute free practice session on Friday afternoon, the air temperature was a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius. There was therefore no sign of the classic British weather.

After five minutes, Mario Aji (Kalex) topped the timesheets with a lap of 2:02.590. By way of comparison, the Moto2 lap record at Silverstone was set by Intact rider Gonzalez in 2025 with a time of 2:02.111.

After nine minutes, Daniel Holgado (Kalex) took the lead with a time of 2:02.386 minutes. Daniel Muñoz (Kalex) was now in second place.

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MotoGP World Championship

08.08.2026 - 10:35

The top five after ten minutes: Holgado, Muñoz, Aji, Agius and Ortola. Manuel González was in seventh place at this stage.

Halfway through the session, the order at the top remained unchanged. However, the top riders in the middleweight class had not yet shown their full hand. The final push for the fastest times always takes place at the end of the session.

With 12 minutes to go, the first crash of the Moto2 qualifying session occurred. Ivan Ortola went over the front wheel at Turn 15 – he was uninjured but frustrated that his session was over. At that point, the two-time winner this season was fifth.

Then came the final push for the fastest lap. Alonso Lopez (Gresini) surged forward to sixth place. Seven minutes before the end, Intact rider Agius set a lap record of 2:01.910! His team-mate Gonzalez moved into second place with a time of 2:02.212.

Shortly afterwards, Forward rider Alex Escrig set the third-fastest time. Then came the announcement that Gonzalez’s fast lap had been disallowed. The response was immediate: the Spaniard once again set the second-fastest time with a lap of 2:02.260 mins.

Then Holgado surged into first place with a time of 2:01.815 minutes – a new record!

Two minutes before the end, Alonso Lopez crashed in Turn 3. His front wheel also gave way.