Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team‘s Manuel Gonzalez equalled his 2022 season best result, taking a superb fifth place in today‘s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Moto2 race. Keminth Kubo showed solid race pace, but a crash on lap 11 halted his progress.
Gonzalez started from seventh on the grid and slotted into eighth after the first sector. He held the position as he completed the first lap. He tried to find solid pace without going over the limit and making sure to preserve some tyre for the final stages. Over the course of the first half of the race he lost some positions, but he kept his head down and kept his focus. Many other riders were getting caught out by the cold wind, but the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp talent soldiered on and started his charge in the second half of the race.
With 12 laps to go, the Spaniard was in seventh place. He overtook Somkiat Chantra and found himself circulating in fifth after Augusto Fernandez crashed. But the top-5 finish wasn‘t just handed to him. He soon found himself in a group with Fermín Aldeguer, Jeremy Alcoba, and Chantra. The four started to battle amongst themselves, and Manugasss dropped to seventh place with five laps to go, but he still had something left in the tank. The group overtook Cameron Beaubier, and Gonzalez seized the opportunity to overtake Alcoba again for fifth. The fight for fourth between the number 18 rider and Aldeguer went down to the chequered flag. In the end Gonzalez finished fifth, just 0.030s behind Aldeguer.
Kubo began his Australian GP campaign from P26 on the grid. Though he lost a position on the opening lap, he was soon climbing up the rankings. The cooler conditions at the Phillip Island track caused many crashes in the Moto2 class and the Thai rider went up as high as 21st. But with 14 laps remaining, his fortunes changed. He crashed in Turn 4. Kubo was quickly back onto his feet but was unable to rejoin the race.
Today‘s race results keep Gonzalez in 19th place in the championship standings, now with 55 points. Keminth Kubo stays in 25th with 7.5 points. The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team climb up to 11th position with 71.5 points.
The team will enjoy one week off before travelling to Malaysia for Round 19, the penultimate round of the season, held at the Sepang International Circuit from 21-23 October.
