Moto2: Manuel Gonzalez, under pressure as championship leader, refuses to give in: “I can’t wait”

Manuel Gonzalez bounced back at the most crucial moment of the Moto2 season. After the disaster at Motegi, the championship leader finished second in Indonesia after fighting his way up from tenth on the grid, limiting the damage against an Izan Guevara who continues to win and close in on him in the standings.

The Pramac team rider had already claimed victories in Austria and Japan, making up points race after race. In Japan, however, Gonzalez ran into technical problems at the start and managed only a twenty-second-place finish. It was a major setback, which the Spaniard tried to put behind him: "I hit the reset button completely. Of course, we lost a lot of points in Japan, at a track where we could have even made the podium or fought for the win," he explained.

The weekend in Mandalika had not got off to the best start either: in qualifying, the Intact GP rider could do no better than tenth on his Kalex. The race was stopped at the first corner after a pile-up involving Daniel Holgado, David Alonso, Joe Roberts and Collin Veijer, with Holgado himself later accepting responsibility for the crash.

After the restart, Gonzalez immediately began his charge, gaining places lap after lap until he reached third. The retirement of Alex Escrig on the penultimate lap, which shattered Forward Racing's dream, handed him second place: he crossed the finish line 3.5 seconds behind race winner Guevara.

"I'm absolutely delighted, especially after such a poor qualifying session. That makes the result even more fantastic," said the championship leader. "It wasn't easy, though, because the setup wasn't optimal. But I was confident because I know the bike well and can just focus on doing my thing. The conditions were also brutal because of the extremely high temperatures. It was incredibly difficult to ride, almost like riding on ice. Everyone had to battle those conditions."

Their expectations had been more modest beforehand. "Before the race, I spoke with the team and we agreed that we would give it our all. If we finished fifth or fourth, we would take it. In the end, we pushed a little harder and finished second. Considering I started from tenth, it's a fantastic result."

It was a display of mental strength: Gonzalez stayed calm and made no mistakes. "It was a race full of passion, and lap after lap I tried to pass the others without making any mistakes," the Spaniard confirmed.

With five races still to go, Gonzalez holds a 5.5-point lead over Guevara. The 24-year-old does not hide the fact that his rivals are in better form: "Compared with the last few races, our situation hasn't changed. We're still very fast, although it's true that our rivals are in better form. In the last few races, we simply haven't had the luck we needed."

The next round is in Australia, where the championship leader expects to feel more at ease: "Many thanks to the team and to everyone who supports me. Now I can't wait to go to Australia, where the track should suit our bike and setup a little better."

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