Manuel González once again set a record lap at the Algarve International Circuit and will start from pole position for the Portuguese Moto2 Grand Prix. Three riders lapped below the circuit record, which the Spanish rider himself had set this morning in the second practice session.
In Q1, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) was consistently on top positions and ended up with the fastest time, edging out Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) by 0.195s. Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team/Kalex) finished third, with Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) fourth to secure qualification, just 0.052s ahead of Zonta van der Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP/Kalex). The Dutch rider led for more than seven minutes but couldn’t hold on to a top-four position.
The start of Q2 saw 18 riders vying for pole position in Portimão. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) led after the initial flying laps, followed by Albert Arenas (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) and Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro).
The promising Spaniard led for much of the session, but with less than two minutes remaining, he was beaten by Arón Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex). Shortly after, González (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) did even better by lapping in 1m41.514s. A new lap record in the Portimão circuit that no one else managed to beat.
Aldeguer came closest, trailing by 0.134s, while Canet had to settle for third place. Alonso López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) and Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) completed the top five, sharing the second row of the grid with Arenas, who finished sixth.
Results: