Agius falls agonisingly short at Assen

Alonso comes out on top in an instant classic Dutch Moto2 showdown, as Kelso makes Moto3 gains with Honda

Assen produced a Moto2 contest to remember, with David Alonso, Manuel Gonzalez and Senna Agius fighting over victory right to the final chicane at the TT Circuit. Alonso came out on top, defeating Gonzalez by just 0.024s to claim his first win since the 2025 Hungarian GP, while Agius was just 0.234s behind in third.

Alberto Ferrandez led away for the first time from the front row, but Izan Guevara also got ahead of Alonso at Turn 1. Alonso settled into third in the early stages, while Agius made a strong launch from P6 and completed the opening lap in fourth, one place ahead of Daniel Holgado.

The order shifted rapidly. At the end of Lap 2, Guevara had hit the front, Alonso had moved past Ferrandez, and Holgado picked up two places at the final chicane to take third. A lap later, again at the Geert Timmer chicane, Holgado moved into the lead after getting by teammate Alonso and then Guevara.

Celestino Vietti’s race ended on Lap 3 with a crash at Turn 10, dealing another blow to his championship campaign after a bruising weekend for the Italian.

Up front, Alonso spent a few laps tucked in behind Holgado before retaking the lead on Lap 6. The polesitter then fired in an immediate fastest lap and by Lap 8 had built a 0.6s advantage over Holgado, Guevara, Gonzalez, Agius and Brno winner Ivan Ortola. Behind him, Gonzalez was making progress and climbed to second, while Agius also moved forward by passing Holgado to reach third.

By Lap 15, Gonzalez’s relentless pace had brought him onto Alonso’s back wheel. On Lap 17 of 22, Alonso made a small mistake at Turn 5 and Gonzalez took over at the front. At the same time, Agius was beginning his charge. After carefully managing his tyres through the first half of the race, Senna found his rhythm and began closing dramatically on the leading pair.

Agius, who started from sixth, had spent much of the race preserving his rubber, aware that his riding style places extra load on the tyre edges, especially at a fast, flowing circuit like Assen. Once he began pushing harder, he became the fastest rider on track, erasing a gap of just under two seconds in short order. He was 0.8s quicker than the two leaders on Lap 17, and after setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 18, he turned the lead fight into a genuine three-rider showdown.

Agius’s speed carried him into second on Lap 18, putting him right in the middle of the battle for victory. But his challenge was checked on the following lap by a mistake at Turn 7, which cost him crucial ground while hunting Gonzalez and allowed Alonso to get back ahead.

With two laps remaining, the top three were separated by only 0.3s. The fight ignited again at the Geert Timmer chicane on the penultimate lap. Alonso attacked, Gonzalez defended, and Agius tried to take advantage on the way out. Alonso became unsettled in the process, which held Agius up slightly and allowed Gonzalez to retain the lead heading onto the final lap.

Gonzalez then went ultra-defensive as Alonso, despite a big moment at Turn 11, swept around the outside into the final chicane. Agius looked to launch himself out of the last corner and make one final run, but teammate Gonzalez covered the inside and his Intact GP teammate then lost the rear as he tried to get the power down. That left Alonso clear to beat Gonzalez by 0.024s, with Agius crossing 0.234s behind the winner in a superb third place.

For Agius, it was another major statement performance. The New South Wales rider not only spent much of the race in third before joining the lead fight, he also showed the pace to suggest he could have won with slightly different timing in the middle stages. Even so, the podium marked another strong result for the Sydney-sider and moved him into third in the overall standings heading to the German GP, a circuit that should suit his style.

Guevara finished fourth but lost more championship ground to Gonzalez ahead of Germany. Ortola completed the top five, while Holgado eventually dropped to sixth, seven seconds from victory. Adrian Huertas equalled his best Moto2 finish with seventh, Filip Salač was eighth, and Dutch favourite Collin Veijer took ninth in front of his home fans. Ferrandez secured his second top 10 result of the season in 10th, while Zonta van den Goorbergh also scored at home with 13th.

Manuel Gonzalez remains on top of the Moto2 standings with 185.5 points, extending his advantage over Izan Guevara on 128. Senna Agius is now third with 123 points, just ahead of David Alonso on 116, while Celestino Vietti drops to 5th thanks to his DNF.

Maximo Quiles added another major result to his 2026 campaign at Assen, converting pole position into victory and joining the circuit’s list of winners after a polished ride in the 20-lap Moto3 contest. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider beat David Almansa, with teammate Marco Morelli completing the podium, while Alvaro Carpe’s non-finish proved costly in the championship fight.

Senna Agius
“It was a great race. I got off to a good start and tried to conserve my tires, since my riding style puts a bit more strain on the edges, especially at this track, where you’re banking for long times. That’s why I focused on riding properly to conserve the tires. I think we managed that exceptionally well. But when I started to push, I couldn’t quite keep up with the two leaders and had to struggle a bit until I found my rhythm. I had really good race pace, as we’d already discovered in practice sessions, but I think I could have won today if I’d pushed a bit harder in the middle of the race to keep up with Manu and David. But I made up the gap, and once I was right there, I waited for the right moment and to find my way. If I could ride that last lap again, I’d do it a little differently. But we’re back on the podium. A big thank you to the team. We’re really in a good moment right now and just need to stay consistent. I’m really happy with everything at the moment. Of course, I want more, I’m hungry for it, and I’d love to get back to work right away. I’m looking forward to Germany, where I really like the track and it suits my riding style. But for now, I’m just enjoying the moment, standing on the podium in a World Championship race is always a reason to smile.”

2026 ASSEN MOTO2 RESULTS

2026 MOTO2 STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10

Quiles tightens title grip with Moto3 masterclass

Maximo Quiles turned pole into victory at Assen for his sixth win of 2026, while Australian Joel Kelso continued to show stronger speed despite a frustrating race and a penalty.

Quiles made the ideal launch and grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1, but Almansa was immediately in the fight and attacked at Turn 5. The early laps quickly settled into the usual Moto3 pack battle, but Carpe’s race unravelled almost straight away. On Lap 2 at Turn 5, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider touched the rear of Morelli, went down and brought Adrian Cruces into the incident. Carpe was out on the spot, while the Argentine Morelli stayed upright and the CIP GreenPower rider rejoined.

By the middle of Lap 4, Almansa was being challenged by Veda Pratama, who briefly moved ahead at Turn 12 before Almansa reclaimed the lead at Turn 15. As the race moved into Lap 7, several riders had made major progress through the field. Hakim Danish had climbed into third, while Valentin Perrone and Jesus Rios charged forward from 16th, 19th and 21st to join the top-six fight.

Pratama, after spending time at the front, then crashed at Turn 5 and dropped out of contention. At half distance, Almansa tried to split the race apart, but Quiles stayed attached. Danish and Rios also latched on, making it a four-rider break ahead of Adrian Fernandez.

A scrappy run through the final chicane at the end of Lap 10 involving Rios, Danish and Almansa handed Quiles a small gap, although Almansa closed it again two laps later. He returned to the lead at Turn 14 on Lap 12 and pushed with consecutive personal best laps in an effort to break Quiles, but the championship leader answered at Turn 8 on Lap 13 to move back in front. Their fight allowed Czech GP winner Danish to close back onto them in third.

With five laps remaining, Carpe officially retired after his attempted comeback. Soon after, Quiles and Almansa lifted the pace again and broke clear in the final stages, leaving Danish under pressure in the battle for the last podium place. Morelli surged through late, despite being on used tyres, but could not get close enough to challenge for the win.

The last lap began with Quiles leading an all-Spanish fight for victory over Almansa. A moment for Almansa at Turn 9 settled the issue, allowing Quiles to escape and secure his sixth win of 2026. The result stretched his championship lead to 90 points over Carpe after Round 10.

Almansa’s second place marked his second podium in the last three Grands Prix and lifted him to third in the standings. Morelli took his second podium of the year in third. Perrone matched his COTA result with fourth, ahead of Rios in fifth. Brian Uriarte finished sixth, followed by Danish, Australia’s Joel Kelso, Fernandez and Casey O’Gorman.

Kelso was frustratingly close to a top 5 result after startinmg from teh front row for the first time on a Honda, but an error in the opening laps meant he was hit with a three-second penalty for cutting the chicane, dropping him from sixth to eighth. Even so, the Queenslander left Assen back among the stronger riders in the field and carrying confidence into the next round in Germany.

In the championship, Maximo Quiles remains firmly in control on 211 points, holding a 90-point advantage over Alvaro Carpe on 121. David Almansa is now third with 109, while Brian Uriarte and Marco Morelli are tied on 102 in a tight fight for fourth.

Joel Kelso
“A frustrating one today. A mistake in the final corner during the opening laps of the race, cost us what could have been a really strong result. We’ll take the positives from the weekend though. We’re getting closer to the podium, I’m feeling more comfortable on the bike, and we’re making progress every time we head out. There are still a few small areas I need to improve, but it’s all coming together. It was a really positive weekend. Unfortunately, today’s race just slipped away from us. We received a three-second penalty for cutting the chicane, which dropped us from P6 to P8. But that’s racing. It’s great to be back as one of the strongest riders on the grid. We’ll keep working hard, and I’m sure we’ll be able to show even more potential at the next race in Germany.”

2026 MOTO3 STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10