It is the rider number #18 the last piece of the puzzle for Team QJMOTOR GRESINI MOTO2, who for 2024 decided to gamble on a completely new and 100% Spanish speaking line up. The new arrival is none other than Manuel Gonzalez, a talented rider with a history in the WorldSSP class (and had won the WorldSSP300 back in 2019) and that in less than two seasons was able to show great speed also in Moto2 – as he finished very close to the podium positions on several occasions already. 

Gonzalez now hopes to make another step forward aboard the light-blue-liveried Kalex machine ran by Gresini Racing, in order to compete for top positions in the intermediate class. With Gonzalez and Arenas as standard bearers, Team QJMOTOR GRESINI Moto2 aims at returning to the status of reference team in the category in 2024. 

Here is the rider’s reaction on the move to Gresini Team in the intermediate class: ‘I can’t wait for the next season to begin! After two years with the same team, it will be a big change for me, a new experience. We will try to find a good feeling as soon as possible: it will be crucial to be competitive from the first round, that is my main goal. I will give my all and bring home the best possible result’.

Nadia Padovani Gresini and Luca Gresini:

– For the 2024 season we wanted a strong line-up, to bring the QJMOTOR GRESINI Moto2 back towards the top: this is why we decided to pair an experienced rider like Arenas, with a young athlete who is eager  to grow, and that’s exactly what we chose Manuel Gonzalez, another Spaniard, which was born in 2002. He has already shown his potential in Moto2 and we are sure that in Gresini he will find the right environment to best exploit it.

O conteúdo Manuel Gonzalez joins Gresini in Moto2 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The four riders who will compete in the second qualifying of the Moto2 Indonesian Grand Prix, coming from Q1, have been determined. Jake Dixon was the fastest in this session.

After the initial timed laps, Alex Escrig (Forward Team) led the standings, with Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex), Izan Guevara (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex), and Taiga Hada (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team/Kalex) also in qualifying positions.

Hada improved to take the lead, ahead of Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex). Escrig dropped to third, while Roy Skinner (OnlyFans American Racing/Kalex) moved into fourth.

This situation didn’t last long, as Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) took the top spot, with Ogura close behind. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team/Kalex) and Jeremy Alcoba (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) also entered the top four.

Later, Alonso López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) and Ogura improved to reach the positions that mattered most. However, the Japanese rider couldn’t hold on to his place, as he was overtaken by Alcoba and Bendsneyder in the final moments.

No one could beat Dixon, as he finished 0.202s ahead of López. Alcoba and Bendsneyder also advanced to the Q2, with Ogura missing qualification by 47 thousandths of a second in fifth place.

Results:

O conteúdo The last four participants in the Moto2 Q2 at the Indonesian GP have been found aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.