Moto2 - Diogo Moreira or Manuel Gonzalez: Who will be Moto2 champion? "We will fight to the death!"

MotoGP and Moto3 were undoubtedly one-man shows in 2025. Marc Marquez dominated the premier class on his way to his ninth world title, while in Moto3, Jose Antonio Rueda lapped his rivals. However, fans of the 2025 Motorcycle World Championship won't have to miss out on a dramatic title fight. In Moto2, everything points to a thrilling finale in Valencia, after the Malaysian GP a week and a half ago brought another dramatic twist to the title race.

What happened? Somewhat overshadowed by the Moto3 collision drama involving Swiss rider Noah Dettwiler, which thankfully had a happy ending, the previous Moto2 World Championship leader, Manuel Gonzalez, made a major blunder in Sepang. With three laps to go, he was in fifth place, directly ahead of title rival Diogo Moreira . He could have slightly extended his two-point lead, but then came the shock: Gonzalez crashed in the final corner, T15, losing not only eleven crucial World Championship points but also the lead in the championship , which he had held since his home victory in Jerez.

A chain of unfortunate circumstances, as it would later turn out. After Joe Roberts crashed, the Moto2 race had to be stopped and restarted over a shortened distance. Intact GP only used the break to fit a fresh rear tire; the front tire remained untouched. In hindsight, perhaps a mistake, because "we had solved our problems with fresh tires during the weekend, but apparently got worse on old tires."

The already unstable front end of the Kalex machine became even more vulnerable in the final laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix. But Gonzalez had been warned, having almost crashed in the final corner of the Sepang International Circuit on Friday. Only a strong save prevented him from going down. "I was particularly careful in the last few laps because I knew I didn't have much [rubber] left. I was cautious entering the corners and adjusted my riding style to prevent exactly that [the crash] from happening," the 23-year-old from Madrid told the Spanish TV station DAZN in an interview. But the crash happened anyway. "That's very annoying," he lamented.

For Gonzalez and Intact GP, an alarming trend continued in Malaysia. Since the end of the summer break, the number 18 car has only finished ahead of championship rival Moreira at the Catalan GP in early September, and has come in second in the last five races. Gonzalez has only managed a better result than fourth place once in the last six Grands Prix, and this second-place finish in the Indonesian GP was subsequently disqualified through no fault of his own . A 60-point lead over Moreira after the Czech GP in mid-July has thus dwindled to a nine-point deficit three and a half months later.

The momentum in the Moto2 title fight is clearly on Moreira's side, who, with his successful MotoGP promotion for next season, also secured a significant points victory off the track against Gonzalez, who will remain in Moto2 with Intact GP . However, the Spaniard is far from giving up. "There are still two races to go, 50 points up for grabs. We'll fight until the very end," is his clear message. Gonzalez refuses to acknowledge any mental slump: "The crash is annoying, but I gave it my all. I'm happy about that, and that's how I'll continue. I'll give 100 percent until the end of the World Championship."

On paper, anything is still possible. With a nine-point deficit, Gonzalez can even clinch the world championship on his own merit with two wins in Portimao and Valencia . The only problem: winning has been a elusive tactic lately; the Intact rider's last victory was at the Italian GP in Mugello. "Our morale is high, Portimao and Valencia are good tracks for me," Gonzalez remains defiant. The fact that he now has nothing left to lose could prove to be the much-needed confidence boost. His challenge to Moreira is unequivocal: "We will fight to the death. Nothing more, nothing less."

Manuel Gonzalez is heading to Portugal highly motivated – just like the Honda factory team in MotoGP. Joan Mir and Luca Marini's crew can secure promotion to Concession Rank C with a good weekend in the Algarve. Find out how they can achieve this here: