Hat-trick hero: Guevara wins dramatic Mandalika battle as gap tightens to Gonzalez

How about that for a drama-drenched Moto2 race at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia? Coming out on top, for the third time in a row, was red-hot Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) as the title race gap between the Spaniard and Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) reduces further – but not by much. Gonzalez limited the damage done with a fine ride to P2, while after late heartbreak arrives for race leader Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) on the penultimate lap, Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) – who was involved in a four-rider, red-flagged Turn 1 crash – ends his weekend with a return to podium ways.

As we went racing in Moto2, there was immediate drama at Turn 1. Four riders were down, including both CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team riders in David Alonso and Holgado, with the latter tagging the back of his teammate into the opening corner to send the duo down. Alonso was brutally launched into the air, while Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) had nowhere to go on the outside line and collected the stricken bike of Holgado’s, sending the American sliding down the road too. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was then left with no option but to run into the barrel-rolling, out-of-control Kalex-Triumph of Alonso, which caused Veijer to crash at Turn 1 too.

Thankfully, all four riders were able to return to the pit lane and were relatively unscathed after the red flags were shown. Unfortunately for Alonso, with the fuel tank being ripped out in the crash, amongst other significant bike damage, his Sunday in Indonesia wouldn’t be restarted. Rotten luck for the Colombian. There were better fortunes for Holgado, Roberts, and Veijer though – all three left pit lane in time to take up their spots on the restart grid, but Roberts then peeled back into the box before lights out. Clearly something wasn’t quite right on the American’s machine, and we subsequently learned it was a rear brake problem. Just like Alonso, a slice of terrible luck for Roberts.

There were no such issues for Escrig, though. The Spaniard grabbed the holeshot to dip his wheels ahead of Guevara at the start, with Holgado third before Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – JP Financial – MSI) battled past the #96. That changed hands again on Lap 2 with Gonzalez pouncing up to P6, then P5, as we clicked onto Lap 3.

By Lap 6, a clear top five had formed. Escrig led Guevara by 0.8s, Holgado held P3 and sat 0.8s behind Guevara’s rear tyre, with fourth place Ortola being caught by Gonzalez. And soon enough, P4 was now in the hands of the championship leader on Lap 7.

P4 became P3 for Gonzalez not too long after. Holgado didn’t have the pace to remain in the podium-paying positions, and with five laps to go, the title race frontrunner sat in the bronze medal position. Three seconds up the road, Guevara was making moves too. No passes yet, but the #28 was beginning to reel in race leader Escrig.

But Escrig did then pick up the pace on Lap 12 of 14. We were about to strap in for a proper fight for the win in Indonesia between Escrig and Guevara for the win, before a technical issue halted Escrig’s Lombok stormer. Cruel in the extreme. Escrig’s wonderful weekend ended with a woeful bit of luck, and that allowed Guevara to take over the P1 baton.

And he didn’t flinch. A hat-trick of wins for Guevara, as the gap to Gonzalez comes down again – but only by five points as the #18 bounces back from a disappointing Saturday to earn 20 crucial points in this compelling title chase. 6.5 points now the margin.

Third went to Holgado after Escrig’s technical problem, and after his Turn 1 crash, his rollercoaster Sunday ends on a high. Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) was another rider, like his teammate, who delivered a classy comeback ride on Sunday. The Australian clinched P4 from P13 on the grid, with Daniel Muñoz (Italtrans Racing Team) closing out the top five ahead of Ortola.

Filip Salač (OnlyFans American Racing Team) crossed the line in P7, 1.6s clear of Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2), Tony Arbolino (REDS Fantic Racing), and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – those were the riders closing out the top 10 in Indonesia.

A weekend off arrives before this compelling Moto2 title race revs back into life at Phillip Island. See you there. 

Moto2 race results from Indonesia!