David Alonso and Dani Holgado finished first and second in a gruelling race in Malaysia
The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team put in a flawless performance at the Sepang circuit. David Alonso secured his second win of the year after overtaking his team-mate Dani Holgado, who had started from pole position. The riders in the intermediate class overcame the difficult conditions and managed every lap to secure the team’s best result of the season. This is also the team’s first one-two finish in a race since the 2013 Valencia GP, when the current Aspar Team sporting director, Nico Terol, secured his last World Championship victory and Jordi Torres finished second.
Following the excellent work put in by David Alonso and Dani Holgado throughout the weekend, the CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team went into Sunday’s race feeling optimistic. The biggest challenge for all the riders was managing their tyres and coping with the intense heat on the track, where temperatures exceeded fifty degrees. Dani Holgado, the category’s pole-sitter, held the lead during the opening laps until he was overtaken by his team-mate. The two of them were the fastest riders on the track this Sunday. The Spaniard tried to keep up with Alonso but, at the same time, had to ensure he held onto second place and wasn’t overtaken by those chasing him. Holgado gave it his all to finish the race in second place. David Alonso also had to overcome numerous difficulties throughout the race. The Colombian seized the opportunity to fight his way up from fourth place and take the lead. In a slightly more comfortable position than Holgado, the Colombian only had to worry about maintaining his own pace, although a minor scare nearly caused him to crash, which would have ended all his chances. The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team rider put in one of his best races of the season and secured his third victory in the category, his second in 2026. With these results, David Alonso is fourth in the Moto2 overall standings with 191 points, one more than Holgado, who is fifth. The CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team has closed the gap by 33 points in the team standings and now trails the leader by 61.5 points.
Win David Alonso: “I’m not used to this sort of race, but in the end we managed to keep the pressure on and secure the win. All sorts of things happened to me today. Even on the starting grid, my nose started bleeding – it’s something that usually happens to me when there are changes in temperature – but I didn’t know when it would stop. In this race, it was very important to change the power maps, but the change button wasn’t working, so I had to adapt and ride like that. What’s more, I nearly had the same crash as in Germany. I stayed on the bike and the airbag deployed; when it deflated, I tried to get going again. I hope this race has helped everyone affected by the Toledo crash to take their minds off things a bit.”
2nd Dani Holgado (+1.932): “I’m really happy with the podium. It was a hard-fought race, the toughest of the season. We knew managing the race wouldn’t be easy: it was very hot and the tyres started to wear out a lot, first the rear and then the front, but I gave it my all right up to the finish line. It was tricky to ride comfortably, but it’s in races like these that you learn the most. I’m very pleased with the work of the whole team; both riders have been in the top three in practically every session. That means we’re in great form. We need to keep working along the same lines for these three remaining races.”
