Van den Goorbergh qualifies on the seventh row for the final Grand Prix of 2025, Sasaki ruled out early in Valencia
Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified 21st on Saturday afternoon for the Moto2 race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. The Dutchman wasn’t able to get through Q1 and will start the final race of 2025 from the seventh row of the grid.
The 22nd and final Grand Prix weekend of 2025 began in a disappointing way for RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP. In the first free practice on Friday morning, Ayumu Sasaki suffered a heavy crash, resulting in a broken ankle. It meant an early end to the Valencia race weekend for the Japanese rider and a disappointing conclusion to his first season with the Dutch team.
Van den Goorbergh was unable to secure a direct place in Q2 during Friday afternoon’s session, which meant he had to take part in Q1 on Saturday. There, the Dutchman set a time of 1’32.645, the seventh fastest lap of the session, placing him 21st on the grid for Sunday afternoon’s final race of 2025.
Zonta van den Goorbergh (P21 – 1’32,645 / +0,930):
“The pace was extremely high in Q1 today, although of course we already knew beforehand that this would be the case. This morning didn’t go very well and we were dealing with the same problems as yesterday, so for qualifying we decided to go in a different direction. That immediately gave us more speed, but it’s difficult because you only have fifteen minutes and you also have to come in once for a pit stop. In any case, we went in the right direction because in the end we were only a tenth and a half away from a place in Q2. If we can find a bit more improvement for tomorrow, then hopefully we can have a good race.”
The Moto2 race over 22 laps at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia will start at 12:15 on Sunday.