Izan Guevara’s Moto2 title campaign suffered a significant setback in Qatar. The Spaniard retired from the Lusail Grand Prix in the closing stages with a technical problem affecting his Triumph-powered Boscoscuro. He had started the race just 3.5 points behind Manuel Gonzalez, but now trails the championship leader by 13.5 points. Gonzalez finished sixth, gaining ground without fully exploiting his rival’s retirement.

A difficult race from the start

Guevara’s weekend had already become more complicated when a post-qualifying penalty moved him down to tenth on the grid. He recovered quickly to seventh, only to slip back to tenth before his race ended on lap 14 of 18. It was his first non-finish since the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.

Pramac Yamaha team manager Alex de Angelis said the data showed Guevara’s bike losing ground on the straights before it stopped. The rider was also no longer able to change gear. De Angelis confirmed that the team had been dealing with reduced engine performance since the previous Grand Prix, while stressing that it was not yet known whether that issue was responsible for the Qatar retirement. He called for the precise cause to be established and for the team to receive clear answers.

Five kilometres per hour short

Guevara said the straight-line problem had affected three consecutive race weekends. His account put the deficit at around 5 km/h compared with other riders, even when he was following them in the slipstream. That left him vulnerable on the straights and made it difficult to defend or respond to overtakes. The team began examining the data after Sepang and continued the investigation in Qatar, but the engine was not showing an obvious sign that pointed to an immediate fix.

The problem became more specific during the race. After Turn 6, Guevara felt the engine hesitate during the shift from first to second gear. With five laps remaining, the gearbox began malfunctioning as he downshifted for Turn 1, forcing him to retire. The failure came after his victories at the Red Bull Ring, Motegi and Mandalika. Guevara is expected to move up to MotoGP next season.

The championship now moves towards its final two rounds at Portimao and Valencia. Guevara must recover the 13.5-point deficit, but Pramac Yamaha first needs to understand the performance loss and gearbox malfunction so that another technical problem does not decide the next stage of the title fight.