On a tough Saturday in the Czech Republic, Deniz Öncü qualified 22nd and Aron Canet 23rd for the ninth race of the 2026 Moto2 season.  

Saturday witnessed the ninth qualifying sessions of the 2026 Moto2 season around the spectacular, undulating 4.5km Brno layout.

Much like Friday, conditions were sweltering throughout the day. Ambient temperatures were high for FP2 (26 degrees) and continued to climb to 32 degrees for the afternoon Q1 session.

Both Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders will be back in action on Sunday at 12:15 local time when the Moto2 race is held over 18 laps.

Aron Canet, 23rd – 1’59.319 

FP2 provided a final chance for Aron to fine-tune his set-up ahead of qualifying. Even though he was 23rd, there were four laps in the 1’59s, which was solid rhythm.

Aron immediately got down to a strong time in Q1. Posting his fastest lap on the first run of the session, the 26-year old then pitted for fresh rubber.

But the Spaniard had enough time for just one final flying lap as the clock ticked down. Unfortunately, Aron was unable to improve in the final minutes.

“It’ll be a long race and I’m not giving up”

Aron’s comments:

“Another tough day. Honestly, I’m struggling to explain the results in FP2 and qualifying. I haven’t felt comfortable all day. We’ve tried different settings and changed the bike again before qualifying. But the problem was the same. We’ll have to get together this evening to understand what happened today and work on how to fix it for tomorrow. It’ll be a long race and I’m not giving up. Let’s aim for a strong start and try to gain some places in the early laps. I still believe some points are up for grabs.” 

Deniz Öncü, 22nd – 1’59.227 

Deniz used FP2 to post a mini race simulation. Over 15 laps, the Turkish rider was able to run a consistent pace with eight of those times in the 1’59s. He ended 16th.

Lining up in Q1 like his team-mate, the 22-year old showed decent speed from the off and was immediately able to lap in the low 1’59s.

But Deniz once again found his feeling to be far from ideal in the hot afternoon temperatures. Despite his best efforts over his next two flying laps, he was unable to improve on his earlier time.

“We gave it our all out there but something just isn’t clicking.” 

Deniz’s comments:

“Qualifying day is finished here in the Czech Republic. Today didn’t go to plan and I’m pretty disappointed to be back in 22nd. We gave it our all out there but something just isn’t clicking. We’ll make some changes overnight and give it our best shot tomorrow. For sure the team deserve a good result as they’ve been working so hard lately with not much reward. I’m determined to do that. Let’s see how we start. If the first lap goes well, I think we can launch a solid comeback.”