Gonzalez Admits Silverstone Blunder, Moto2 Win Slipped Away

Manuel Gonzalez entered the 2026 Moto2 season as the championship leader, but Silverstone delivered his worst result of the year: P14. Not due to a technical issue, but a costly mistake that dashed his hopes of a fifth win.

The moment came on the final lap. Manuel Gonzalez mistakenly believed the race was over one lap early. He backed off and started celebrating, but Dani Holgado behind him didn’t. As a result, Gonzalez lost momentum and finished outside the points-scoring positions.

“Honestly, I don’t know how to explain it,” he told AS after the race, as reported by FormulaPassion. “I spent several laps looking for the final lap signal and wasn’t sure. On the penultimate lap, I saw L1 on the dashboard and thought it was the last lap.”

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This error echoes similar incidents involving Julian Simon at Barcelona in 2009 and Aleix Espargaro in 2022. But for Gonzalez, it’s not just a personal mistake; he also criticized the lap counter system for being unclear at certain tracks.

“I usually check the board at the start-finish line, but at Silverstone the line is right after a corner, so there’s no time,” he explained. “My engineer said the system is like that, but it’s a misunderstanding that cost me.”

The impact is felt in the standings. Despite still leading, Gonzalez’s advantage has shrunk. He admitted disappointment but vowed to bounce back. “After the incident, I pushed hard, but contact with Holgado closed the door to victory,” he concluded.