Spanish rider Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) dominated the Moto2 qualifying session for the French Grand Prix, claiming his first pole position in the category. Guevara clocked a lap time of 1:33.910 on the Bugatti circuit, outpacing compatriot Daniel Holgado (Kalex) and Czech rider Filip Salac (Kalex).
World championship leader Manuel González (Kalex) improved from 15th to fifth on the grid with a strong final lap. Colombian-born Spaniard David Alonso (Kalex) initially set the pace in Q1 with a 1:34.434, despite ongoing shoulder issues from a crash in the Spanish round that limited his physical performance.
Alonso’s time came on his second lap, beating Spanish rider Daniel Muñoz (Kalex) by more than two-tenths of a second and improving his best from Friday’s practice (1:35.012) by over half a second. Muñoz closed the gap, while 2025 Moto3 world champion José Antonio Rueda (Kalex) moved up to third before being pushed to fourth by Turkish rider Deniz Öncü (Kalex) by just 0.010 seconds.
In the second and final time attack, many riders pushed for improvements. Alonso set a 1:34.342, followed by American Joe Roberts (Kalex) and Italian Tony Arbolino (Kalex). Muñoz briefly took the lead with a 1:34.307 but saw Rueda miss Q2 by just 0.016 seconds. On his final lap, Muñoz beat Alonso’s time with a 1:34.204, while Rueda couldn’t surpass Arbolino or Roberts to enter Q2.
In Q2, Czech rider Filip Salac (Kalex) led early with a 1:34.145, but Guevara soon responded with a 1:33.910, the fastest lap of the weekend. Behind Guevara, four riders outpaced Salac: Holgado, Barry Baltus (Kalex), Alonso, and Roberts. After the first attack, riders returned to their garages for tire changes and final adjustments, with championship leader González languishing in 12th.
No one could match Guevara’s pace. The Spaniard secured his maiden Moto2 pole ahead of Holgado and Salac. Barry Baltus, who suffered a heavy crash late in the session, took fourth, just ahead of González (who matched the Czech’s time to the thousandth) and Roberts in the second row. The third row will feature Alonso, Alonso López, and Celestino Vietti, while Collin Veijer, Senna Agius, and Sergio García Dols occupy the fourth row.
