That said, David Almansa delivered a masterclass at Lusail, putting on his most comfortable and dominant win yet for Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP. Grabbing the holeshot from second on the grid at Turn 1, the #22 machine simply vanished up the road. He led every single lap from start to finish, completely unchallenged, taking victory number four of the 2026 season and finishing 2.5 seconds clear of the chasing pack.
Behind the runaway leader, the race was absolute chaos. Polesitter Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) bogged down at the start, dropping to third initially and then tumbling down to seventh by the end of the opening lap as Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and Rico Salmela (Red Bull Tech3) all swarmed past. Quiles fought back into the top five by the start of Lap 2, but the drama escalated immediately when contact at Turn 1 between Muñoz and Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) dumped Uriarte onto the floor. That early crash proved costly for Muñoz, who collected a Long Lap Penalty for causing the incident.
While Almansa stretched his legs out front—holding a one-second lead by Lap 3—Quiles began hunting down the leader, dragging Fernandez and Carpe with him. By Lap 6, the gap stabilized at 1.2s, but Muñoz found himself in hot water once more. Taking out Eddie O’Shea at Turn 14 earned the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider a double Long Lap Penalty. At half-distance, Almansa and Quiles were trading matching lap times while Fernandez clung tenaciously to them, though Carpe slipped back into the clutches of Joel Kelso (Gryd Racing) and Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia).
Into the closing stages, the battle for second ignited. Fernandez piled relentless pressure on Quiles, forcing a rare mistake from the World Champion at Turn 6 with two and a half laps remaining. The Leopard Racing rider grabbed second place, and despite a fierce counter-charge, Quiles could not find a way back through. Fernandez successfully resisted the World Champion all the way to the line, beating him to the flag by just 0.069s. While third place left Quiles wanting more, it was enough to secure the Teams' Championship for the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team.
Further down the order, Pratama got the better of Carpe, while Kelso, Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), Muñoz, Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), and Scott Ogden (CIP GreenPower) rounded out the top ten. Despite his disastrous early crash, Uriarte fought his way back to 14th place, scoring two crucial points that officially wrapped up the 2026 Rookie of the Year title for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider.
With only two rounds remaining, Almansa looks firmly set on securing the silver medal in the overall standings, needing just a top four finish at Portimao next time out.
Moto3
