Moto2 Mandalika: Guevara Takes Pole, Escrig Surprises, and Gonzalez Falters

Izan Guevara confirms he is the man to beat at Mandalika and claims pole position for Moto2, while World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez endures a Saturday to forget and will start only from tenth on the grid. Alongside the Spaniard on the front row is the day’s genuine surprise: Alex Escrig on the Forward. David Alonso completes the front trio, 0.210 seconds adrift.

Guevara arrived at qualifying as the favourite, albeit quietly so. Gonzalez’s closest challenger in the standings had topped Friday’s pre-qualifying session and came to Indonesia on the back of victories in the last two rounds of the World Championship. One question hung over the paddock: would the club of pole-sitters grow even further? Across 16 rounds, no fewer than eleven different riders had already started from pole.

Q1 was a showcase for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. After an up-and-down Friday, Collin Veijer and Jose-Antonio Rueda finished the session first and second. There was also great satisfaction at Honda-Asia, with Taiyo Furusato third and therefore promoted to Q2.

The way the final ticket to the decisive session was awarded was intriguing. Joe Roberts (Kalex) and Luca Lunetta (Boscoscuro) set exactly the same time: the difference was made by the second-fastest lap, which was quicker for the American, sending him through at the expense of the Italian rider.

When the 18 riders took to the track for Q2 shortly after 2 p.m., the Mandalika Circuit asphalt was scorching: over 55 degrees, even higher than last year. After the first attack on the times, Escrig was on top, just ahead of Ivan Ortola and Filip Salac. Guevara and Senna Agius followed, while Gonzalez was only ninth after his first attempt, having a major slide to deal with just as he was improving.

Everyone returned to the pits, then headed back out with around six minutes remaining. Guevara, already well placed in fourth, became the first Moto2 rider to lap in the 1:31s, dislodging Escrig from the top spot. It was a position he would not relinquish.

The Intact rider seemed to have found the perfect lap: a clear track and promising sector times, until number 18 ran beyond the track limits. Lap cancelled. On the next pass, Gonzalez moved up to seventh, with Escrig, Daniel Munoz, Ortola, Veijer and Arbolino separating him from his rival. Alonso and Lopez then moved ahead as well, and the championship leader’s final slight improvement was enough for only tenth place.

Holgado, Munoz and Ortola will start from the second row, while Veijer, the fastest rider in Q1, finished eighth. It was a difficult day for Senna Agius, only 14th after the brief battle in the heat. On Sunday, Guevara will start at the front with the chance to claw back valuable points from a Gonzalez forced to fight his way through the field.

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