Izan Guevara led from lights to flag to claim victory in the Japanese Moto2 race and dramatically cut Manuel Gonzalez’s championship lead.
Championship Gonzalez was forced to pull into the pitlane just before the race start due to stalling, which gave Guevara a clear run down to the first corner – where he led from start to finish to cut the gap in the standings to just 10.5 points.
Without Gonzalez on the grid, Guevara easily converted pole position into the race lead at Turn 1, with Filip Salac and Tony Arbolino just behind in second and third.
Arbolino made a typical fast start from fifth on the grid, and passed Salac to take second place on the first lap of the race, with the top three remaining static for a large majority of the race.
Further behind, the top seven also remained with the same riders, with Celestino Vietti passing Dani Holgado in the first 10 laps for the only real change to the order.
However, in the final quarter of the race, the tension started to build as Vietti closed on Ortola and Alonso for fourth, while Arbolino and Salac both got closer to Guevara in the lead.
Arbolino looked to be capable of challenging Guevara and tried an ambitious lunge at Turn 11 on Lap 17, which saw him run well wide and almost cost him a position to Salac.
However, despite the pressure in the final few laps, Guevara held his nerve to claim an important victory in the championship battle.
Arbolino held on to second place to claim his first podium since the 2025 US Grand Prix, as Salac completed the rostrum in third.
Despite closing in on the final lap, Ortola had to take fourth ahead of Alonso in fifth, while Vietti was unable to find a way through despite a flurry of fastest laps in sixth.
Deniz Oncu was seventh at the flag over Holgado in eighth, with Alonso Lopez and Jose Antonio Rueda completing the top 10.
Adrian Huertas crossed the line in 11th ahead of team-mate Daniel Munoz, while Senna Agius was 13th. The RW Racing duo of Ayumu Sasaki and Zonta van den Goorbergh completed the points finishers.
Gonzalez did take the chequered flag, finishing 22nd out of 24 runners.
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