Agius grabs gritty fourth in Germany

Senna Agius dug deep to secure a top 4 finish at the Sachsenring, while Kelso salvaged points after early Moto3 drama

Ivan Ortola made it two wins from the last three races by beating fellow Spaniard Daniel Holgado in a tense Moto2 contest in Germany, while Izan Guevara finished third and championship leader Manuel Gonzalez had to settle for sixth. The race also featured a costly crash for David Alonso, who fell out while running fourth.

Ortola launched well from pole and grabbed the holeshot, while Guevara held second by going around the outside of Gonzalez at Turn 1. Gonzalez then lost ground on the opening lap, dropping to fifth behind Holgado and his teammate Senna Agius. On Lap 2, Alonso also found a way through at Turn 1 to move into P5.

By the beginning of Lap 8, the front order had largely settled. Ortola led Holgado, who had already moved past Guevara, with Agius and Alonso sitting fourth and fifth. Gonzalez was 0.9s behind Alonso in sixth, and the top six were covered by only a couple of seconds.

Agius remained in touch with the leading group until Alonso outbraked him into Turn 1 on Lap 17. Then, at Turn 3 on the very next lap, Alonso’s charge ended in the gravel with a highside. The Colombian lit up the rear and was thrown from the bike, bringing an end to his podium bid and dealing a major blow to the #80’s title hopes, although he was able to get back to his feet and was OK.

Up front, the race eventually became a straight fight between Ortola and Holgado. Guevara slipped into a lonely third, 1.3s behind Holgado with four laps to go, while Agius and Gonzalez were unable to force their way into podium contention. Instead, Taiyo Furusato began charging forward in the closing stages.

In the final five laps, Agius started to feel the effects of fading grip in the brutal heat, but he still produced a mature, measured points scoring performance. Furusato swept past Gonzalez and closed rapidly on Agius, yet Agius just held him off at the flag by 0.059s to secure fourth place. Furusato’s fifth was his best Moto2 finish so far, while Gonzalez crossed the line sixth for his worst result of the season.

At the front, Holgado piled on the pressure in the final laps, but Ortola kept him behind to take the win after the Aspar rider could not make a move stick at the final corner. Guevara collected 16 valuable championship points in third.

Filip Salač finished seventh, only 0.2s behind Gonzalez, followed by Red Bull KTM Ajo pair Jose Antonio Rueda and Collin Veijer in eighth and ninth. Rookie Luca Lunetta completed the top 10 with his second top-10 finish of the season.

In the championship, Manuel Gonzalez continues to lead the way despite finishing sixth at Sachsenring, with Izan Guevara strengthening his position in second after taking third in the race. Senna Agius remains third in the standings with another strong points haul, while Ivan Ortola’s victory boosts his position in fourth. Daniel Holgado’s second place also keeps him firmly in the top five as the title fight heads on to the next round.

With Agius fourth, he strengthened his hold on third place in the Moto2 World Championship and remains in range of the top two. Gonzalez, meanwhile, continues to lead the standings and heads to Silverstone with a 51.5-point advantage over Guevara. The LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP team also increased its lead at the top of the team standings.

With Gonzalez starting from second on the grid and Agius on the second row, the team had every reason to target a strong result at Sachsenring. The 25-lap distance and track temperatures above 40 degrees created a severe test, and the harder rear tyre choice became less effective as the race wore on. Even so, both riders stayed competitive to the finish and delivered a pair of top results.

Senna Agius
“It’s a bittersweet fourth-place finish, because I thought I had a lot more to offer in this race this weekend. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find a setup in practice that would have worked for us today. We opted for the harder tire compound, assuming it would be significantly better in the later stages of the race. I did my best to stay in the mix and give myself the best chance to take control of the race. But on the left-hand turns, when leaning over at full angle, I didn’t have the same pace as the riders in front of me. That was a bit disappointing, because there was nothing, I could do about it, and in the end, the tire was completely shot, so I finished in fourth place. Still, it’s a fourth-place finish, and I feel that with a different tire choice today, I might actually have been able to win. We’ve once again finished in the top 5 for five races in a row and are in third place in the championship heading into the summer break. That’s a huge step forward compared to last year. A huge thank you to my crew. My guys have given 100 percent for me this year, and I can’t thank them enough for that. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job done it in front of the German fans and at the team’s home Grand Prix. But I think I made everyone proud because I gave it my all, and that sets us up well for the second half of the season. I don’t really feel like I need a summer break, because I’d love to keep going, I’m having so much fun. Still, I’m heading back to Andorra now, treating myself to a little time off, and getting ready there for the second half of the year.”

2026 MOTO2 STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 11

MOTO3

Moto3 produced another frantic contest at the Sachsenring on Sunday morning, with Brian Uriarte converting pole position into his second win of 2026 after coming out on top in a tense late duel with Maximo Quiles. Quiles had to settle for second after an error on the final lap, although the result still extended his advantage in the championship. Matteo Bertelle completed the podium for his second top-three finish of the season.

Uriarte made a superb start and claimed the holeshot from pole, initially leading Hakim Danish before Marco Morelli charged up the inside at Turn 7. The race was then hit by major early drama at Turn 1 on Lap 2 when Valentin Perrone and Marcos Uriarte crashed, while Nicola Carraro and Joel Kelso were also forced into the gravel. Uriarte and Carraro were able to continue, but Perrone’s race was over.

After five laps, five riders had broken clear at the front. Uriarte led the way from Quiles and Carpe, with Rico Salmela enjoying an excellent ride in fourth and Morelli tucked in behind in fifth. Elsewhere, Casey O’Gorman crashed at Turn 3, and Scott Ogden went down a lap later. Both riders were able to rejoin.

There was more trouble in the fight for seventh when Adrian Cruces suffered a highside, leaving Joel Esteban with nowhere to go. Both riders went through the gravel but were thankfully unhurt. At the front, the shape of the race continued to change, with a gap opening between Uriarte and Quiles in first and second and the chasing trio of Salmela, Carpe and Morelli.

Carpe then had a huge scare at Turn 7 on Lap 12 and somehow saved the bike, but the moment dropped him out of podium contention and down to 11th. Three laps later, Uriarte made his own mistake when he ran wide at Turn 2, allowing Quiles through into the lead. That advantage lasted only a few corners, however, as the championship leader appeared to hand the place back at Turn 5.

While the front two traded blows, Bertelle made his way onto the back of Morelli and Salmela. On Lap 18 he moved into fourth, putting himself in position to challenge for the podium in the closing laps. With four to go, Quiles attacked again and briefly took over at the front, but Uriarte remained right on him as the pair pushed at full commitment in a classic Moto3 showdown.

The decisive moment came at Turn 3 on the final lap when Quiles had a front-end scare, opening the door for Uriarte to strike. That set up a final charge to the flag, but Quiles could not find a way back through. Uriarte held firm to secure the second Grand Prix victory of his career and climbed to second in the overall standings.

Behind them, Bertelle snatched third from Morelli in the run to the line for his second podium of 2026. Salmela took fifth, matching the best result of his rookie season. Adrian Fernandez was the leading Honda rider in sixth, followed by Jesus Rios, Veda Pratama, Ryusei Yamanaka, who claimed his first top 10 of 2026, and Eddie O’Shea.

Quiles now heads into the summer break with a 104-point championship lead before the season resumes at Silverstone from the 7th – 9th of August. The second half of the year will decide whether anyone can close the gap to the current championship leader.

Joel Kelso
“P14 today after dropping all the way back to last on lap two after getting collected by a rider behind me. I was just happy to stay on the bike, as it got pretty sketchy for a moment. Once we got going again, our pace was actually really strong, which makes the result even more frustrating. I genuinely feel like we had the speed to fight for a solid finish today. That’s racing sometimes. Now it’s time for the summer break to reset, recharge, and put in the work before we come back ready to attack the second half of the season.”

2026 MOTO3 STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 11