Daniel Holgado set a new Moto2 lap record at the Lusail Circuit on Friday (the 6th), clocking a 1:55.897 during the Qatar Grand Prix practice. The Spaniard for the CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team became the first rider to break the 1:56 barrier on the track and finished the session 0.199 seconds clear of Filip Salač, while Izan Guevara and Manuel Gonzalez, rivals in the title fight, completed the top four in that order.
Holgado’s performance ended Gonzalez’s brief period of supremacy, as the championship leader had shaved his own best time during the activity. He remained among the quickest throughout the session but was overtaken in the final minutes, finishing Friday just behind Guevara, his rival in the 2026 title race.
The gap separating the top five was under three tenths of a second, underscoring the tight contest for the leading positions. Salač, riding for American Racing, secured the second-fastest lap, while Guevara put the Pramac Yamaha Moto2 squad inside the top three after a strong late surge.
The Spaniard even found himself down to 20th during the session, but a decisive improvement in the closing stages allowed him to advance directly to Q2 and, at the same time, finish ahead of Gonzalez, a significant result in the title battle between the two contenders.
Celestino Vietti completed the top five with SpeedUp Racing, also separated by less than three tenths from Holgado’s benchmark. Senna Agius, Gonzalez’s teammate at Intact GP, ended up sixth.
David Alonso, winner of the Malaysia Grand Prix, placed Aspar’s second bike in seventh. The Colombian completed a group of seven riders who have already secured at least one Moto2 victory, highlighting the competitiveness shown as the Qatar action opened.
Collin Veijer, from Red Bull KTM Ajo, finished eighth, followed by Alonso López of Gresini and Barry Baltus of Fantic Racing, who completed the top ten.
With Holgado leading and the two main title contenders separated by only one position, Moto2 heads into Saturday’s classification with an open battle for the front-row positions and the psychological edge in the championship’s closing stretch.
