Pramac Yamaha demands answers after Izan Guevara suffers “terrible” Qatar Moto2 title blow

Pramac Yamaha team manager Alex de Angelis is demanding “clear answers” after title contender Izan Guevara's retirement from Sunday's Qatar Moto2 Grand Prix.

Guevara, moving up to MotoGP next season, began the Lusail event just 3.5 points behind World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez.

But he left Qatar 13.5 points adrift after suffering a technical issue with his Triumph-powered Boscoscuro in the closing stages.

"A terrible moment"

"Seeing Izan slowing down at the side of the track was a terrible moment,” de Angelis said.

 “Unfortunately, a technical problem brought his race to an end, and it was the last thing we needed. In a championship fight, it is particularly disappointing to lose points for reasons like this.

“The data showed that he was already losing ground on the straights before the bike eventually stopped, and he was no longer able to change gear.”

"We need clear answers"

De Angelis said the team had already expressed concerns over Guevara's engine performance in previous rounds.

“We had already been experiencing a lack of engine performance since the previous Grand Prix, and I had been discussing this issue with the appropriate parties since Friday,” he said.

“We don't yet know whether it is the same issue that caused today's retirement, but the engine was clearly not performing as expected…

“We are obviously very disappointed, and we now need to establish exactly what caused this retirement and make sure that those responsible take responsibility.

“We are not interested in pointing fingers, but we do need clear answers.”

Guevara was already facing an uphill task in Qatar after being demoted to tenth on the grid by a post-qualifying penalty.

However, he quickly rose to seventh, just two places behind Gonzalez, before fading to tenth and then retiring on lap 14 of 18.

It was Guevara's first non-finish since the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.

"I'm proud of the work we've done this weekend,” Guevara said. “I think the team has done an incredible job, especially considering the difficulties we've been facing with straight-line speed since Malaysia, and even during the previous Grand Prix.

“This has been quite unusual for us, as we have normally been very competitive in that area. The team had already started looking closely at the data after Sepang and continued investigating the situation here in Qatar.

"Unfortunately, the engine itself was not showing any clear signs of a problem, so there was no obvious solution to implement. But the lack of speed has had a huge impact on our races.”

"Extremely frustrating"

Guevara won at the Red Bull Ring, Motegi and Mandalika, but said he has been struggling with engine performance ever since.

“For three consecutive weekends, we have been losing around five kilometres per hour compared with other riders, even when riding in their slipstream,” he said.

“I simply couldn't defend my position or fight with the riders around me because they could all overtake me on the straights. That was extremely frustrating, but I tried to remain calm and focus on doing the best possible job.

"Today, I could feel something was not right. Coming out of Turn 6, when I shifted from first to second gear, the engine would hesitate before responding again.

“Then, with five laps remaining, as I downshifted approaching Turn 1, the gearbox stopped working properly and I had to retire. I'm obviously very disappointed because we deserved a better outcome, but I don‘t want to lose sight of the work we have done.

"We have had a very strong overseas tour, and despite this setback, we are still only 13.5 points away in the championship.

“Nothing is over. We need to stay calm, keep believing in our potential, and give everything in the final two rounds. 

"We're still in the fight, and that‘s what matters now."

Gonzalez was unable to fully capitalise on Guevara's Qatar misfortune, taking the chequered flag in sixth.

Two rounds remain, at Portimao and Valencia, to decide the destination of the Moto2 title.