Record-breaking performances for Alonso and Almansa’s poles in scorching hot Brno

· Alonso on pole in Moto2™. Spanish rider David Alonso (Kalex) took pole position for the Moto2™ race at the 2026 Grand Prix of Czechia with 1’57.718, and set also the new all-time lap record for the intermediate class, improving by six tenths on the previous record set last year by Barry Baltus (1’58.322). Behind Alonso, local hero Filip Salač and Daniel Holgado completed an all-Kalex front row. In qualifying, all riders used soft SC1 compound tyres at the front, and soft SC0 at the back – solutions best suited to the high temperatures registered over the first two days.

· Third consecutive pole for Almansa. After those achieved at the Italian and Hungarian Grands Prix, David Almansa (KTM) secured pole position at the Brno Moto3™, with 2’04.069, setting the new all-time lap record for the category in the process. This way, the Spanish rider brought the season total to four poles, and improved the previous benchmark, set by Guido Pini in 2025 (2’05.019), by almost one second, making the most of the soft SC1 compound tyres’ performance on both axles. With the same compounds as the poleman, Hakim Danish (KTM) qualified second, while Máximo Quiles (KTM), third on the grid, opted for medium SC2 compound tyres on both front and rear.

· Significantly higher temperatures than in 2025. The 2026 edition has so far been characterised by markedly higher temperatures than the previous year, when the GP was held in July. During qualifying, for example, air temperatures exceeded 30°C and track temperatures reached 50°C, compared with 23°C and 36°C recorded in 2025. Higher temperatures affect the natural grip level on asphalt, requiring the tyre compounds to work even harder to ensure performance and consistency.

New lap-time benchmarks set, despite the high temperatures

“On the first two days at Brno, we have garnered extremely positive feedback in terms of tyre performance in both categories. In Moto3™, lap times improved steadily from FP1 onwards, with the lap record lowered in every session through to qualifying, where Almansa set the new benchmark at 2’04.069, reducing the previous record by almost one second. In Moto2™, Salac broke the record for the first time on Saturday morning’s FP2, before it was further improved in qualifying by Alonso, who lowered last year’s record by six tenths.
This performance evolution is also attributable to the excellent track conditions and to teams and riders increasingly familiarising with our product range. It is particularly significant to note that these results were achieved using the same tyre solutions available in 2025, confirming our products’ solid performance and their ability to adapt to different technical contexts and operating conditions.
Air and track temperatures were significantly higher than last year, making these results even more relevant and underlining how versatile our solutions are, and their ability to deliver consistent performances across a wide range of usage conditions.
As for tomorrow’s races, in Moto2™ we expect all riders to confirm the soft solutions seen in action during qualifying. And in Moto3™, the medium SC2 will almost certainly be the preferred compound for both axles”.