Agius battles ‘strange’ feeling as Guevara masters Motegi

The Moto2 title fight blew wide open in Japan as Izan Guevara capitalised on Gonzalez’s costly start line glitch

Senna Agius came to Motegi needing a strong points haul, but the 21-year-old was left to manage a difficult Moto2 race after grip issues blunted his charge from the outset.

Starting 10th on the grid for the 16th round of the 2026 season, Agius was unable to turn that promising launch position into forward progress. Instead, he slipped back one place on the opening lap and by lap six had dropped to 12th as the race unfolded around him.

The grip limitation stayed with him throughout the contest, leaving him unable to attack the riders ahead in the way he had hoped. On lap 11 of 19, Agius lost another position and eventually crossed the line in 13th place at the chequered flag.

Up front, the race was turned on its head before it had even started. Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez struck clutch trouble on the front row and threw his hand in the air, forcing his bike to be wheeled away from the grid. There was no delay to proceedings, and although Gonzalez eventually got going from pit lane, he was nearly 30 seconds behind the race leader by then.

That leader was Izan Guevara, and the Spaniard made the most of the opportunity from pole position. He grabbed the holeshot and settled in at the front ahead of Tony Arbolino, Filip Salač, Ivan Ortola and the Aspar Team pair of David Alonso and Daniel Holgado.

As the race developed, Guevara, Arbolino and Salač emerged as the key podium contenders. By lap nine, the top five had broken 1.4 seconds clear of Holgado, with Guevara still controlling the contest and Arbolino and Salač staying right with him. Ortola and Alonso were still in touch, but had begun to lose a little ground by halfway.

Arbolino eventually made his move with three laps to go, diving up the inside at Turn 9, but the attempt was too ambitious. He ran in hot and drifted wide on the exit, allowing Guevara to sweep back through and restore his lead. That moment gave Guevara the breathing space he needed heading onto the final lap.

From there, Guevara stayed composed to seal a second straight victory and his third win of the 2026 campaign, delivering a major blow in the championship chase. Gonzalez’s scoreless weekend saw his lead over Guevara slashed from 35.5 points before Motegi to just 10.5 heading to Indonesia, with the championship now a straight fight between the Spanish pair. The late season drama will no doubt give Gonzalez flashbacks of his nightmare finish to the 2025 season, when Diogo Moreira was able to steal the Moto2 championship win despite Gonzalez’s seemingly insurmountable points lead.

Arbolino’s second place marked his first podium of the season and ended a 34-race drought, while Salač’s third gave him a fifth podium of the year. Ortola held off Alonso and Celestino Vietti in the fight for fourth, with Deniz Öncü taking his best result of the season in seventh. Holgado faded to eighth, while Alonso Lopez and Jose Antonio Rueda rounded out the top 10.

Izan Guevara
“Incredible! It has been a really good weekend. Yesterday we took pole and today we turned it into another victory. We won in Austria and now here in Japan with very good pace in both races, so I’m extremely proud. To win in Japan and be part of a Japanese team makes it even more special. The Yamaha President, Shitara-san, was here enjoying the races today, so I would also like to dedicate this victory to him and to everyone at Yamaha for the great work they are doing. I’m really proud of this weekend. “The race was really good, and I enjoyed it a lot. I tried to manage the pressure from Tony [Arbolino] behind me and take care of the tyres so I could be strong at the end of the race. That was the key to bringing home the victory and making it two wins in a row. “At the start, when Manu’s bike stopped, I saw that the lights were not going out and then I noticed the yellow flag and saw that it was Manu. It was a strange situation, and obviously I didn’t want to make any mistake or lose my focus. I was a little more cautious at the beginning because of that, but then I was able to settle into my rhythm and focus on the race.”

Manuel Gonzalez
“Another bit of bad luck today. As we went into warm-up lap, I felt strong vibrations when braking. I wasn’t sure what was going on, because slight vibrations are normal whenever the brake pads are replaced. However, when I reached my starting position, I tried to engage the clutch, but it didn’t work. So, I couldn’t shift into first gear or get started. I had to leave the starting grid and push the bike into the pit lane, where my crew was able to adjust the clutch so I could start the race. But since I had to start from the pit lane, there wasn’t much left to gain. Still, as soon as I was on track, I didn’t think about anything else and just gave it my all, as always. I was riding really fast, but then I had problems with it again. Ultimately, it is what it is. I’m sure I would have been right up there at the front if everything had gone normally. You never know, but the speed was definitely there, as you could see from the lap times, which matched those of the top riders. So, we have to take the positives with us, since we’re still in the lead despite this mistake. It seems like we’re still the strongest. We have to keep going like this and keep working but also avoid making any more mistakes. So, off to Indonesia, where we’ll carry on in exactly the same way.”

Senna Agius
“Right from the start of the race today, I had a strange feeling on the bike and was unable to overtake or attack. It’s unfortunate but we need to stay calm and investigate to come back to our level that we know. That’s exactly what we’ll be working on ahead of Indonesia, so that we can give our best there once again.”