The first Moto2 race weekend of the Hungarian GP had us on the edge of our seats as David Alonso became the first Colombian rider to win in Moto2. The #80 charged ahead from eighth to catch and pass Manuel González and Diogo Moreira. Alonso almost lost it in the final chicane as the three crossed the line within four-tenths of a second of each other. With a new track levelling the field, Balaton Park Circuit provided a premium venue for history to be made. Read on to find out who surprised us over the weekend, as well as all the action from the front-runners.
González Fastest With a Point to Prove
At the top of the weekend, we had some notable rider replacements in Moto2. After Senna Agius crashed last weekend with neck and head trauma, Sergia Garcia was back with a second chance. Daniel Muñoz continued to act in the place of Deniz Öncü, as the Turkish rider recovers from a successful left fibula surgery. The last rider replacement was Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, covering for Mario Suryo Aji, who is healing from a right shoulder surgery.
Forty minutes began with a bit of drama as Jorge Navarro stalled before even reaching the pit lane exit. An engineer from another team ran out with a starter motor to assist him. González had his lap time deleted after cutting through one of the chicanes. He made up for it as the session went on, topping the timesheet with a best lap time of 1:41.362.
Ayumu Sasaki was not so lucky as he crashed in Turn 5 as the rear of his bike came out from under the Japanese rider. A few minutes later, Celestino Vietti became unsettled in Sector 2 and had a fast crash off into the gravel. The rest of the session almost looked like it would finish without another incident until Jake Dixon slid off at Turn 13, and Alonso crashed in Turn 1. Garcia also got the left-hand hairpin at Turn 11 all wrong, ending the session off the bike.
Moreira Leads the Way in Practice Despite Midway Crash
Despite the previously predicted rain, the skies remained clear as the Moto2 Practice session got underway. However, the wind speed had picked up a lot, buffeting riders around as they tried to get top speed on the track. It was an uneventful first run out for the majority of the grid, with Moreira at the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:41.617.
However, Alonso López ran into the rear tyre of Albert Arenas in the final corner, both staying upright. Just on the halfway mark, Moreira lost the front of his Italtrans Racing machine in Turn 11. The Brazilian came out with five minutes to spare, improving his personal best time and remaining on top for the session. Any chances of anyone beating that time were dashed when Vietti crashed at Turn 1 in the final thirty seconds of the session.
Canet Bounces Back After Dismal Friday Performance
The thirty-minute morning session began with bright blue skies after the blistering winds had blown all clouds away. Izan Guevara was late out of the Blue Cru Pramac Yamaha garage, still suffering with discomfort in his right hand from a previous injury. The #28 opted to have a quiet morning, putting all his energy and efforts toward the later Q2 session. Dixon found himself unlucky again, crashing for the second time this weekend in Turn 1.
Alonso had two massive moments in Turn 8 and later in Turn 5. The #80 rider recovered both times, finishing third overall in FP2. Arón Canet seemed to have worked out some of his bike and health issues from the day before, pushing through pressure and pain to deliver a top time of 1:40.57 in the final minute.
Moreira Fastest Again on Saturday to Take Pole
Fourteen riders had already advanced through to Q2, leaving only four spots available for those left in Q1 to battle out. One of the more notable riders who found themselves competing for them was Canet. All eyes were on the #44 after his impressive times in the earlier FP2 session. He did not disappoint, coming second-fastest just behind Zonta van den Goorbergh by six hundredths of a second.
The fifteen-minute Q1 session was incredibly close in lap times, with Navarro, Arenas, and Muñoz jumping into the top four spots at one point. However, shortcut mistakes and braking control issues cost them the chance to progress forward into Q2.
Canet, van den Goorbergh, Barry Baltus and Joe Roberts joined Moreira, Filip Salač, González, Adrián Huertas, David Alonso, Collin Veijer, Iván Ortolá, Guevara, Sasaki, Holgado, Dixon, Marcos Ramírez, and Álex Escrig in the second portion of qualifying. Roberts waited in the OnlyFans American Racing garage until the session was halfway done. The risk did not pay off, qualifying thirteenth for Sunday’s race. In the final minutes, van den Goorbergh and Dixon pushed it to the limit, with the former winning out to jump into second position between Moreira and González.
Alonso Scores His First Victory
It was a perfect day for a race as all riders were out on the grid with soft front and rear tyres before the warm-up lap. On the front row of the grid, it was two championship contenders, split by van den Goorbergh in his best qualifying position in Moto2. But as lights went out, the bottleneck at the end of the straight in Turn 1, four riders came down at the back.
It appeared that Darryn Binder lost the front, taking out Vietti, Yuki Kunii, and Unai Orradre in the process. Dixon took a risk in Turn 2 to take first place, van den Goorbergh tumbled down out of podium contention, and Guevara was handed a double long lap penalty for a jump start.
At the front, Dixon went wide as Moreira took back the lead. Not long after, González took an overtaking opportunity to also move past the British rider. Alonso López took a massive tumble in Turn 8, ending his Sunday at the halfway mark of the race.
With five laps to go, González and Moreira were in a heated battle with bikes bucking under the pressure. Dixon had his own battle for third with Alonso. The Colombian won out, storming ahead to catch the front two. Alonso made the same move on Moreira, with a lap and a half to catch González. The #80 managed to pull it off in a jaw-dropping final lap.
Top 15
Even though riders have a week to catch their breath, the rumours around the paddock will continue. Over the weekend, it was all but confirmed that Moreira is set to sign with Honda for a 2026 MotoGP seat. We also don’t have a clear championship winner yet, with eight more rounds to go before the 2025 season. Can a gap break in the points be made in Catalonia? We’ll be hoping for the next week to go by quickly so we can find out.