Manuel Gonzalez led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Le Mans Bugatti Circuit, in France. Riding his LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard lapped the 2.6-mile (4.19 km) road course in 1:34.744, topping the field of 26 riders and breaking his own All-Time Lap Record of 1:34.868 from 2024.
Diogo Moreira was second-best with a time of 1:35.079 on his Italtrans Racing Kalex.
Filip Salac did a third-fastest 1:35.127 on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished Friday afternoon’s practice session 23th with a best time of 1:35.990 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Moto2™ sees Gonzalez complete Friday clean sweep. Le Mans may have a new master in Moto2™ – Manuel Gonzalez was in a class of his own.
Despite a red flag towards the end of the session intensifying the need for a lap time further, nobody was able to land a blow on Manuel Gonzalez’s (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) Le Mans charge as the Spaniard went unbeaten on Friday in France. Diogo Moreira’s (Italtrans Racing Team) late lap saw the Brazilian grab P2 ahead of third place Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team).
It was an eventful afternoon affair in Moto2, with some notable crashes and gremlins. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was an early faller at Turn 7 but was thankfully OK, whilst Salac suffered a mechanical problem around the halfway point. Then, with just over five minutes to go, a red flag for a fall involving Alex Escrig (KLINT Forward Factory Team) at Turn 14 brought out at the red flag due to gravel on track.
On the restart of the session, more yellow flags and a flurry of crashes. The first was Jorge Navarro (KLINT Forward Factory Team) at Turn 3, whilst Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team), David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) were all fallers too. With so many yellow, it was hard to find improvements but in any case, like in the morning, honours went to Manuel Gonzalez, with Brazilian ace Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) second and Czech star Salac keeping third. Teammate Dixon and Celestino Vietti (Folladore Speed RS Team) completed the top five ahead of Navarro, whilst one late improver was Sergio Garcia (QJMotor – FRINSA – MSI).
Vietti’s teammate Alonso Lopez took eighth ahead of Albert Arenas (Italjet Gresini Moto2), with Tony Arbolino (bLU cRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) rounding out the top ten. Deniz Öncü’s crash wasn’t enough to undo his hard work for a position in Q2 as he clinched 11th, ahead of Aron Canet, Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Izan Guevara (bLU cRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2). Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (RW Idrofoglia Racing GP), Dani Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and David Alonso will be heavyweight names going via Q1.