Moto2 World Championship leader Gonzalez: “Marquez and Ogura will decide the title between themselves”

Silverstone could have seen Moto2 World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, riding for the German Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP team from Memmingen, secure his fifth win of the season, but instead the day ended in disaster. The Spaniard crossed the finish line first and began to celebrate – but one lap too early! The 24-year-old eased off the throttle slightly, whereupon Daniel Holgado crashed into the back of his bike. The collision bent the exhaust on Gonzalez’s Kalex; he subsequently fell back and crossed the finish line in 14th place, whilst the Czech rider Filip Salac (American Racing) snatched victory.

Despite this mishap, Gonzalez sits a comfortable 42.5 points clear of his nearest rival, Izan Guevara, in the overall standings after 12 of 22 races. The runner-up in the world championship and current championship leader is on the verge of extending his contract with Intact until the end of 2027, as he has once again failed to secure a move up to MotoGP, and in the Superbike World Championship too, other riders are being given preference in the attractive factory teams of Ducati and BMW. SPEEDWEEK.com sat down with him for an in-depth summer interview; read the fourth and final part of this major series.

Moto2-WM-Leader Manuel Gonzalez

Foto: gold & goose

Manuel, was the winter particularly tough after missing out on the world title last year? It was harder to bring the season to a close than to get through the winter. When I got home, all I could think about was getting back to training and preparing for the following year. Whenever I go through a difficult phase, I start thinking the very next day about how I can come back stronger. That motivation never goes away.

Dr Angel Charte wants to launch a joint psychological support programme for all riders in the World Championship. What do you think of that? I remember that we filled in some questionnaires on this topic a while ago, but that’s about all I know. These days, every rider works with their own support team, just as they do with physiotherapists. It’s a very individual sport, and everyone needs different forms of support.

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You get the impression that a rider would be reluctant to share certain things if they knew a rival would be attending the same consultation later on. Yes , everyone experiences situations differently, and I think this work is very personal.

Your performance on a wet track: is that something you’d like to improve? Yes and no. Actually, I’ve always ridden well in the rain. It’s not as though I say to myself in these conditions: ‘I want it to rain because then I’ll be the fastest.’ But historically speaking, it’s never been a problem for me.

In Moto2, however, you seem to find it a bit more difficult. Yes , because this bike gives very little feedback in the wet. It’s much harder to push to the limit. What’s more, these days we very rarely ride on a wet track, and when we do, it’s almost always in free practice. And when you’re leading the World Championship, it makes no sense to take unnecessary risks in free practice in the rain. You have to be able to weigh up very carefully when it’s worth taking a risk and when it isn’t.

So do you think the perception that you’re not particularly strong in the rain is unfair? It might be. The last race I rode in Moto2 that was completely rained out, I finished eleventh – ahead of Pedro Acosta. If there’s another wet race this year, we’ll have a good opportunity to really see where we stand.

Let’s switch to the championship. Who do you think will win the MotoGP World Championship? I’d love to see Ai Ogura win.

Do you really think he stands a chance? I really do. He’s doing exactly the same as he did back when he won the Moto2 World Championship. He might not win as many races as others, but he’s always right up there at the front. It’s that consistency that ultimately decides the title.

So you reckon his chances are realistic? Yes, 100 per cent.

And Marc Márquez? Himtoo . When Marc is at his best, it’s practically impossible to beat him. As far as I’m concerned, the championship will be decided between these two.