- Persistence from Pedro and a decent comeback after two falls during Friday’s practice schedule and 14th after quali
- Augusto Fernandez was forced into the pitlane in the Sprint after landing the 16th spot on the grid
- Moto3™ speed is provided by Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Dani Holgado with the 4th best lap and only 0.2 from Pole Position
MotoGP arrived back on the European mainland and weaved through the center of the continent to the splendor of Spielberg and the scenic Red Bull Ring circuit: the Austrian home for the world championship each year since 2016. Pedro Acosta came to the 10-corner layout with positive feelings and results at the site with two podiums (one win) and two 4th positions in four appearances in Austria. Augusto Fernandez claimed points in 2023 and was hoping to maximize the advantages of the GASGAS RC16 with the hard-braking and accelerating demands of the course.
On a hot Friday Acosta charged into FP1 and suffered three small falls as he rushed up to pace. The Spaniard roamed the top ten in afternoon Practice and then pushed hard in Q1. Fernandez was also lively in the same session and both riders were half a second away from making the cut: Pedro ranking P4 and Augusto P5, meaning 14th and 16th on the final grid rundown. The Saturday Sprint lasted for 14 laps. Acosta had his hands full with a six-rider scrap for the last berth in the top ten. He made it, but just missed out on points and remains 6th in the championship standings. Augusto had a tough start and then suffered with a lack of rear traction. He sustained a Long Lap penalty for exceeding track limits and was obliged to retire late into the chase.
The show gets fast again and for the full 28-lap distance at 14.00 tomorrow.
Pedro Acosta, 14th in qualifying, 10th in the Sprint: “A challenging day. We were quite fast but for a few problems we could not do much better in the race. We were really close to Q2 but we had to turn the page and focus again. Tomorrow might be a bit easier with the longer race in terms of managing the tire. Let’s see where we can arrive.”
Augusto Fernandez, 16th in qualifying, DNF in the Sprint: “I had problems with the rear tire and it was spinning a lot from the start of the race. I then had a Long Lap because I was running wide and in the end I had to stop. It was a shame because we lost some information for tomorrow…but we’ll analyze everything and try again.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “It’s been a bit tougher here than we expected. Pedro missed out on Friday by such a small gap so we knew we had chances today but again the difference was almost nothing. He tried hard to recover positions and had a decent gap although we couldn’t get points. A top ten was positive in the end and he feels OK with the bike so it’s a matter of gathering everything together to go again tomorrow. Augusto had the second best qualifying of the season and we hoped that he could ride at a good pace and prepare for the race tomorrow but he struggled with rear grip. We need to understand what happened and solve the issue for Sunday. MotoGP is so competitive but we’ll do our best to get some points from the race.”
Results Qualifying MotoGPAustrian Grand Prix
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:27.748
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.141
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.544
5. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.798
10. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1.015
12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1.162
14. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:28.659 (Q1)
16. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:29.104 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Austrian Grand Prix
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 20:59.768
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +4.673
3. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Aprilia +7.584
5. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +10.421
7. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +10.941
9. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +15.101
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +16.611
DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Moto3
Close times, precision (to avoid the crucial track limit infringements!) and full commitment were the dividing factors in Moto3 Q2 and where Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 duo Dani Holgado and Jacob Roulstone searched for the best grid slots. Holgado, who finished as runner-up at Red Bull Ring in 2023, was fast again when the chrono counted and the Spaniard ranked 4th; 0.2 of a second from Pole Position. Rookie Roulstone maneuvered his tall frame around the red machine to obtain 15th, just seven tenths of a second from his teammate. After some classic and tense racing scenes in previous editions of the Moto3 Grands Prix at the Red Bull Ring, more excitement is expected for the 20-lap contest starting at 11.00 CEST on Sunday.
Austrian Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix
1. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM 1:40.057
2. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM +0.143
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.159
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +0.202
5. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM +0.230
6. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +0.281
11. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM +0.724
13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.870
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +0.905
18. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +1.694
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