GUEVARA’S QATAR RETIREMENT LEAVES PRAMAC SEEKING ENGINE ANSWERS

Izan Guevara’s Moto2 title challenge took a major hit in Qatar when a technical failure forced him to retire with four laps remaining. The Pramac Yamaha rider had arrived at Lusail just 3.5 points behind championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, but left 13.5 points adrift after Gonzalez finished sixth. Two rounds, at Portimao and Valencia, remain.

Guevara had already been moved back to 10th on the grid by a post-qualifying penalty. He climbed to seventh early in the race, two places behind Gonzalez, before slipping to 10th and stopping on lap 14 of 18. It was his first retirement since the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.

Team manager Alex de Angelis said watching Guevara pull over was “a terrible moment”. Data showed the bike losing ground on the straights before it stopped, and Guevara could no longer change gear. De Angelis said the team had raised concerns about engine performance since the previous Grand Prix and had been discussing the matter with the relevant parties from Friday in Qatar. The team did not yet know whether the earlier performance issue caused the retirement, but wanted to establish exactly what happened. “We are not interested in pointing fingers, but we do need clear answers,” he said.

Guevara said the team had been investigating a lack of straight-line speed since Sepang, despite the bike usually being competitive in that area. He reported losing about five kilometres per hour to rivals for three consecutive weekends, even when riding in their slipstream. “I simply couldn't defend my position or fight with the riders around me because they could all overtake me on the straights,” he said, describing the situation as “extremely frustrating”.

The Spaniard also felt something was wrong during the race. He said the engine hesitated when he shifted from first to second gear after Turn 6. With five laps to go, the gearbox stopped working properly as he downshifted approaching Turn 1, leaving him no choice but to retire. Guevara said the engine had shown no clear signs of a fault, so there had been no obvious fix to make.

Despite the setback, Guevara praised the team’s work and said he was proud of the weekend’s effort. He has won at the Red Bull Ring, Motegi and Mandalika this season, and said the performance problems had affected his races since the overseas rounds began. “We deserved a better outcome,” he said, while stressing that the team’s progress should not be overlooked.

Guevara remains determined to fight for the championship. “Nothing is over,” he said. “We need to stay calm, keep believing in our potential, and give everything in the final two rounds.”