Moto2 Spain Jerez Race: Gonzalez wins, Baltus back on the podium!

Moto2 returns to Europe after four overseas rounds. To kick off this long tour of the Old Continent, the Jerez circuit hosts the world championship for the Spanish Grand Prix. After a hard-fought round in Qatar, Aron Canet took advantage of his superb victory to take the lead in the championship. Jake Dixon and Manuel Gonzalez, however, remain a few points behind the Spaniard, ready to reclaim the lead in a standings they have both already led this season.

At the end of qualifying, Manuel Gonzalez secured his fourth pole position of the season, ahead of Albert Arenas and Senna Agius. Belgian driver Barry Baltus started the race from the second row, in fourth place. His teammate, Aron Canet, started seventh after a difficult qualifying session. 

Moto2™ Jerez, Spain	2024	2025
FP1	1'40.797 Alonso Lopez	1'39.836 Deniz Oncu
Practice	1'40.664 Joe Roberts	1'40.142 Manuel Gonzalez
FP2	1'54.051 Sergio Garcia	1'39.564 Deniz Oncu
Q1	1'41.961 Tony Arbolino	1'40.322 Izan Guevara
Q2	1'40.673 Fermin Aldeguer	1'39.858 Manuel Gonzalez
Course	Aldeguer, Roberts, Gonzalez (See here)	Gonzalez, Baltus, Agius
All time lap record	1'40.640 Aron Canet (2023)	1'39.564 Deniz Oncu

To start this Moto2 Spanish Grand Prix, all the riders on the grid chose to start with the softest tires, also used in Qualifying.

As the lights went out, Manuel Gonzalez made no mistakes and maintained his lead. He crossed the first corner ahead of Diogo Moreira and Senna Agius. Barry Baltus made a slight mistake at the start. While he remained in the leading group, he lost three positions. He regained them before the end of the first lap.

The first lap was marked by Alonso Lopez's crash in the opening corners of the race. Later, rookie Daniel Holgado suffered his first major mishap in his perfect start to the season. In a duel with his teammate, David Alonso, the two men collided, and the Spaniard lost his balance and control of his machine.

Barry Baltus is definitely the strong man at the start of the race. After catching up with the top three, he easily overtook Senna Agius for third place. The #3 driver then quickly widened the gap, closing in on the leading duo. Behind him, his teammate, Aron Canet, had a difficult start to the race. Starting seventh, he fell to ninth place, behind Izan Guevara, after four laps.

David Alonso experienced a disastrous start to the race. After sending his teammate to the ground, he crashed into the rear wheel of Izan Guevara. He dragged the Pramac Yamaha rider down with him, and after violent contact, both men were forced to retire. The Colombian's punishment is under investigation and will be announced after the race.

At the front, Barry Baltus continued his furious comeback. A few laps after taking third place, the Fantic driver continued to advance at a breakneck pace, soon snatching second place from Diogo Moreira after a fierce duel. Only Manuel Gonzalez then separated him from the lead. However, he was 1,6 seconds behind the latter.

At the halfway point, Manuel Gonzalez is managing his lead. He now has a two-second advantage over Barry Baltus, who is starting to find his rhythm. Senna Agius's comeback on Diogo Moreira allows him to breathe a little, after a few laps under pressure, with the Brazilian on his tail.

Moreira and Agius weren't done yet, however, and a three-way battle for second place began, enlivening most of the second half of the race. This situation benefited the race leader, who extended his lead to nearly four seconds by the 16th of 21 laps to complete.

The Belgian's two rivals eventually got in each other's way, and Baltus pulled away, comfortably sitting in second place. When Senna Agius finally overtook Diogo Moreira, he was more than a second behind the Belgian.

Barry Baltus managed to defend his position until the finish, securing his second Moto2 podium finish. This equaled his best result, achieved in Qatar at the opening round of the 2024 season.

After leading the race from start to finish, Manuel Gonzalez easily won. He had a great run in the championship, as his main rivals, Jake Dixon and Aron Canet, finished 9th and 8th respectively.

Moto2 Spanish Grand Prix Race Result in Jerez:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com