Brazilian Diogo Moreira will step up to MotoGP in 2026 with the Moto2 world championship to his name.
The 21-year-old confirmed his title victory over Manuel Gonzalez with a cautious ride to 11th place in the final round at Valencia.
The newly-crowned Moto2 champion will graduate to the premier world championship class with the independent LCR Honda team next season – a move that was an open secret for several weeks before finally being confirmed by the Japanese manufacturer last month.
Gonzalez was only ever a long shot to snatch the Moto2 title from Moreira at Valencia, given that he arrived at the finale 24 points behind the Italtrans Kalex rider. The challenger would not only have to win the race but also have to hope for Moreira to finish outside the top 14 spots.
It was advantage Gonzalez after qualifying, with the 23-year-old claiming fifth spot on the grid. One row behind him, Moreira lined up ninth. Despite the lowly grid slot, Moreira knew that just staying out of trouble would almost certainly be enough to seal the title.
Moreira did exactly that, keeping well clear of any danger as the pack jockeyed through the first two corners. He settled into an early 10th place, then ran most of the race in ninth before dropping back to 11th at the flag.
By that stage, he already knew that Gonzalez had no chance of pulling off the victory he needed. The Intact GP Kalex had spent most of the race in fifth and sixth spots – close to the leaders but never able to seriously challenge them.
Gonzalez had given it everything, however, appearing to have asked too much of the bike or the tyres as the race progressed into its final third. He dropped rapidly through the field at that point, with Moreira passing him as he plummeted out of the top 10. He pitted in evident despair with four laps to go, but rejoined to register a disappointing 22nd place.
The race was won by Izan Guevara, who led the whole way and survived a last-lap challenge from Daniel Holgado. Ivan Ortola trailed the pair home to claim third place.
Moto2 Valencia GP - results
RACE
| Cla | Rider | # | Bike | Laps | Time | Interval | km/h | Retirement | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  I. Guevara BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 |
28 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
34'19.229 |
25 | |||||||
| 2 | D. Holgado CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team |
27 | Kalex | 22 |
+0.717 34'19.946 |
0.717 | 20 | ||||||
| 3 | I. Ortola QJMOTOR - FRINSA - MSI |
4 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+2.327 34'21.556 |
1.610 | 16 | ||||||
| 4 |  C. Veijer Ajo Motorsport |
95 | Kalex | 22 |
+2.888 34'22.117 |
0.561 | 13 | ||||||
| 5 |  F. Salač Elf Marc VDS Racing Team |
12 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+5.714 34'24.943 |
2.826 | 11 | ||||||
| 6 | A. Arenas ITALJET Gresini Moto2 |
75 | Kalex | 22 |
+7.867 34'27.096 |
2.153 | 10 | ||||||
| 7 |  J. Dixon Elf Marc VDS Racing Team |
96 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+8.595 34'27.824 |
0.728 | 9 | ||||||
| 8 |  S. Agius Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP |
81 | Kalex | 22 |
+8.944 34'28.173 |
0.349 | 8 | ||||||
| 9 |  C. Vietti Ramus Sync SpeedRS Team |
13 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+11.075 34'30.304 |
2.131 | 7 | ||||||
| 10 | T. Arbolino BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 |
14 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+11.520 34'30.749 |
0.445 | 6 | ||||||
| 11 |  D. Moreira Italtrans Racing Team |
10 | Kalex | 22 |
+12.019 34'31.248 |
0.499 | 5 | ||||||
| 12 | A. López Sync SpeedRS Team |
21 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 22 |
+14.100 34'33.329 |
2.081 | 4 | ||||||
| 13 | M. Ramirez OnlyFans American Racing Team |
24 | Kalex | 22 |
+15.715 34'34.944 |
1.615 | 3 | ||||||
| 14 | A. Escrig KLINT Forward Factory Team |
11 | Forward F2 | 22 |
+15.985 34'35.214 |
0.270 | 2 | ||||||
| 15 | A. Canet Fantic Racing |
44 | Kalex | 22 |
+21.975 34'41.204 |
5.990 | 1 | ||||||
| 16 | Z. van den Goorbergh RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP |
84 | Kalex | 22 |
+22.099 34'41.328 |
0.124 | |||||||
| 17 |  M. Aji Honda Team Asia |
64 | Kalex | 22 |
+22.800 34'42.029 |
0.701 | |||||||
| 18 | D. Alonso CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team |
80 | Kalex | 22 |
+23.925 34'43.154 |
1.125 | |||||||
| 19 | J. Navarro KLINT Forward Factory Team |
9 | Forward F2 | 22 |
+31.723 34'50.952 |
7.798 | |||||||
| 20 |  Y. Kunii Honda Team Asia |
92 | Kalex | 22 |
+31.778 34'51.007 |
0.055 | |||||||
| 21 |
X. Zurutuza OnlyFans American Racing Team
|
85 | Kalex | 22 |
+33.805 34'53.034 |
2.027 | |||||||
| 22 | M. Gonzalez Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP |
18 | Kalex | 21 |
+1 Lap 35'01.505 |
1 Lap | |||||||
| 23 |
D. Muñoz Ajo Motorsport
|
17 | Kalex | 21 |
+1 Lap 35'37.014 |
35.509 | |||||||
| dnf |
E. Fernández QJMOTOR - FRINSA - MSI
|
61 | Boscoscuro B-21 | 8 |
+14 Laps 13'46.659 |
13 Laps | Retirement | ||||||
| dnf | H. Garzo RW NTS Idrofoglia |
22 | NTS | 7 |
+15 Laps 11'45.798 |
1 Lap | Retirement | ||||||
| dnf | S. García ITALJET Gresini Moto2 |
3 | Kalex | 5 |
+17 Laps 8'07.190 |
2 Laps | Retirement | ||||||
| dnf |  B. Baltus Fantic Racing |
7 | Kalex | 0 |
+22 Laps 18.164 |
5 Laps | Retirement | ||||||
| View full results | |||||||||||||
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