Espargaro steps it up with fresh MotoGP™ Quali speed & Sprint blitz in Austria

MotoGP 2023 - Round 10 of 20, Red Bull Ring, Austria – Qualifying and Sprint


Ten corners, high speed and hard braking are the main ingredients for a full-throttled blast in Austria for round ten of the 2023 series. Hot conditions greeted the Sprint and Qualification in Styria.
Pol Espargaro charges strongly throughout Q1 and is close to the cut for Q2. The Spaniard grabs 13th on the grid for a promising slot and then races to an emotional 6th.
Augusto Fernandez qualifies 22nd but finishes 17th to maintain his premier class education momentum.
David Alonso carries momentum from his maiden Grand Prix win in the UK to Austria as the GASGAS Aspar Team rides to 7th in the Moto3™ Quali. Jake Dixon manages 4th fastest in Moto2™.

 
The tenth Grand Prix of 2023 celebrates the many merits of MotoGP: speed, close competition, history and passionate fans. The stands were busy for the first day of the Austrian Grand Prix around the scenic and time-honored Red Bull Ring. For only the second Grand Prix ‘Saturday’ in 2023 GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 wheeled both #37 and #44 GASGAS RC16 motorcycles out of the pitbox and into summer sunshine.
 
In hot and bright conditions at the Spielberg venue and with the grandstands already bustling, Pol Espargaro danced on the edge of track limits to aim for Q2 contention. He almost made it as the 12-rider pack were separated by less than one second. The gap was a meagre 0.175 of a second for Pol and he ranked 13th. Augusto Fernandez was further back – 22nd – but the lap-time was incredibly close, hinting at his chances for race action.


 
The Sprint began in the highest temperatures of the Grand Prix so far and the GASGAS crew attempted to inject more ‘heat’ into proceedings. Espargaro lunged into contention after a first corner pile-up created chaos. He then defended his P6 slot with gusto from a raft of pursuers. Pol banked 4 points for the first time on a Saturday and boosted his confidence and the team’s energy with the ride. Augusto had a few more issues maximizing the RC16 package in the braking zones but tried a different configuration to search for gains. He took 17th by the flag and logged some data.
 
The exhaust heat will build for the full 28-lap blast on Sunday at 14.00 CEST.
 
Pol Espargaro, 13th in qualifying, 6th in the Sprint: “In general it has been a good weekend. The bike reacts very well around this circuit and I’m normally pretty fast here. It means it’s positive to be at Red Bull Ring right now with how I feel. I can catch back some good feelings. I’m not ‘back’ because I still need to adapt more to the bike but we are getting there. I got close to Jack [Miller] despite starting further away on the grid and that was great to see. Tomorrow will be tricky for me. I knew the half-distance would be my time right now. But we’ll give it a go.”
 
Augusto Fernandez, 22nd in qualifying, 17th in the Sprint: “A hard weekend so far. We’re struggling a bit on this track. Braking has been my weak point so far this season and this place is all about braking! I took the Sprint as a test to try a few things to see if we can improve and we need to analyze the positives and negatives. We’ll keep working and see if we can have a better race tomorrow.”
 
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “An emotional Saturday for the team. Pol did a super-strong qualifying with a very good pace but was just cut short at the door of Q2. In the Sprint this afternoon he gave the crew our best result so far on a Saturday. He had a good start, consistent pace and kept the gap. He was very tired but he had a good reward! Congratulations to him; it was great for the whole team to see him coming home in that position. On the other side of the box Augusto suffered a lot today and is still looking for the right rhythm. He understands his weak points and hopefully we can help him be stronger for tomorrow; he is usually producing his best performances in the race so let’s see.” 
 
Results Qualifying MotoGP CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
 
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1.28.539
2. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia +0.037
3. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +0.114
13. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:29.295 (Q1)
22. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:29.769 (Q1)
 
Results MotoGP Sprint CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
 
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 21:01.844
2. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +2.056
3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +5.045
6. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +11.816
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +25.789
 
Moto3 and Moto2
 
GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso has an extra spring in his step at the Red Bull Ring with his very first Grand Prix win still fresh in the air. The rookie came to the Austrian curves hoping to carry the momentum and posted the P1 lap-time after both Practice sessions on Friday. Entering Q2 directly on Saturday the teenager was unlucky to have a slow speed crash in the last two minutes but had already sliced to a lap good enough for 7th on the grid and was less than half a second from Pole Position. Ryusei Yamanaka came through Q1 to Q2 and occupied 13th place for the 20-lap race on Sunday.


 
In Moto2 Jake Dixon carried the red and white flag for the GASGAS Aspar crew and his fastest lap in Q2 was under half a second from Pole Position! The Brit only missed out on four-tenths to earn P1 but was satisfied with 4th and the top slot of the second row. Izan Guevara made an improvement with his speed and the rookie attacked the Red Bull Ring layout with gusto on Friday to hover in Q2 contention. The Spaniard then made 19th on Saturday.
 
CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
 
Results Qualifying Moto3 CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
 
1. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna 1:41.486
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM +0.057
3. Deniz Öncü (TUR), KTM +0.105
7. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.463
13. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.973
 
Results Qualifying Moto2 CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
 
1. Pedro Acosta (ESP) 1:34.040
2. Ai Ogura (JPN) +0.271
3. Celestino Vietti (ITA) +0.405
4. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.492
19. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team 1:35.222 (Q1)
 
PRESS CONTACT
 
EVANGELIA SISSIS
GASGAS BRAND & PR MANAGER ROAD RACING
 M: +43 676 6652 742
 E: Evangelia.sissis@gasgas.com