Van den Goorbergh secures fourth row start in Portimão, Sasaki 23rd

Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified 13th on Saturday afternoon for the Moto2 race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. The Dutch rider progressed from Q1 to Q2 and managed to secure a spot on the fourth row of the grid. His teammate, Ayumu Sasaki, will start from 23rd position for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The 21st Grand Prix of 2025 got off to a difficult start for RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP at the Portimão circuit, with Sasaki and Van den Goorbergh setting the 19th and 23rd fastest times respectively on Friday afternoon. Due in part to the changeable weather conditions, both riders had to go through Q1 on Saturday, where Van den Goorbergh succeeded in advancing to Q2. Sasaki recorded the ninth-fastest time in Q1, earning him 23rd place on the grid for Sunday’s Moto2 race.

Van den Goorbergh started Q2 strongly and ultimately set a lap time of 1’41.718, just 0.550 seconds off pole position. This placed him 13th on the timesheets, but due to a penalty for another rider, the Dutchman moves up to 12th on the starting grid.

Zonta van den Goorbergh (P13 – 1’41,718 / +0,550):
“Today has been a positive day. First of all because of signing the contract for next year and the announcement, and secondly because we managed to have a good qualifying. We managed to go through Q1 which was the first target, but then in Q2 it didn’t quite all come together. We are in 13th position but the gaps are extremely small. Anyway, in general it has been a good day so now let’s see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”

Ayumu Sasaki (P23 – 1’42,397 / +1,219):
“It was a very difficult day. We struggled to improve from yesterday but we know where we have to improve. We’ll continue working and there’s another day tomorrow, so we try to go forward from here. Our target is to score some points in the race tomorrow.”

Javi Martínez – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP Team Principal:
In general, it’s been a good Saturday. With Zonta, we managed to get through to Q2, and he delivered a strong performance during Q2 that puts us in 12th position. With Sasaki, we had a small issue that prevented us from setting a good lap. Tomorrow we’ll try to give our best, have a solid race, and gain as much experience as possible.”

Due to a revised schedule, the Moto2 race will be the first to take place on Sunday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. The 21-lap race is set to begin at 11:15 local time (12:15 Central European Time).