By their usual standards, the Moto2 and Moto3 classes were relatively tame affairs at Motegi.

Moto2: Guevara capitalises on Gonzalez’s misfortune

The big drama of course came before the lights went out in the Moto2 race, as championship leader Manu Gonzalez signalled that there was a problem and was promptly wheeled off the grid.

The obvious assumption was that he had stalled his bike, particularly as he had been speaking about the importance of getting a good start. When we got an on-bike replay it became clear that the bike stalled as soon as he put it into first gear, suggesting that it was a clutch issue rather than a rider mistake and this was confirmed after the race.

Gonzalez must feel cursed. He saw the Moto2 title slip from his fingers last season in part due to two DNFs that were not his fault (a stone through the radiator and then a disqualification due to the wrong software version being installed on his bike). After being overlooked for a MotoGP ride, any issue – such as his howler at Silverstone when he miscounted and thought he had won the race with a lap to go – can be framed as reason for doubt.

That feels unduly harsh on a rider who has shown his class on numerous occasions. He’s not the next Marc Márquez, but he is a quality rider and can be forgiven for feeling a bit hard done by that other Moto2 riders have been promoted above him.

One of those is Izan Guevara. The 2022 Moto3 Champion has been coming on strong of late, as he did back in 2022, and when he looked across the start line at Gonzalez leaving the grid he knew this was a massive opportunity.

He grabbed it with both hands by riding faultlessly to claim his third win of the season and to climb to within 10.5 points of Gonzalez. Guevara may be behind, but it feels like he has the momentum on his side.

Gonzalez needs to strike back at Mandalika this coming weekend to swing things back his way.

Moto3: Almansa At Last!

In Moto3, David Almansa won for the third time in 2026 and did so under all sorts of pressure from champion-elect Max Quiles.

It was a real statement win for the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider. He had crashed out of the lead in Austria in the previous round and was pipped at the line by Quiles in Misano before that.

Quiles had the Jaws music on full blast once again in Motegi, yet Alamansa refused to buckle. He kept his composure, balancing defending at key overtaking spots without compromising his lines too much, and claimed a richly-deserved win.

Quiles’s title celebrations will have to wait, although likely not for long. He leads Almansa by 127 points with five scheduled rounds to go (assuming, as now appears to be the case, that the round in Qatar will go ahead), so realistically it’s a question of when he will mathematically wrap things up.

A victory for Quiles at Mandalika will see him crowned as the champion. Should Almansa win and Quiles come second, the latter would need just three more points from them on to claim the title.