- Acosta’s bright revival of form and results continues with immediate adaptation and quick pace around the grippy Misano layout to grab four world championship points on Saturday
- Fernandez rides to P16 after launch from 17th on the start grid and sustaining a Long Lap penalty for track limits
- Decent Moto3™ speed shown by Daniel Holgado with the Spaniard logging the 7th quickest time in Q2 quali and teammate Jacob Roulstone in 17th
Flat, fast and flush with fans; the coastal-set Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli offered 16 inviting corners of varying speed for the riders of all three classes at the San Marino Grand Prix. Warm and hot weather from Friday practice intensified for Saturday and the quali and Sprint program for what is the second of three races in Italy this year.
Pedro Acosta got to work from the first laps of FP1 and was regularly troubling the leaders at the top of the time sheets. The rookie, who has only raced four times in his career at Misano, pursued the top five and made the direct cut to Q2. During the 15-minute chrono on Saturday afternoon Acosta was lively again, and his best lap was good enough for 5th place and the middle of the second row: only 0.3 of a second from the new all-time lap record. Augusto took 17th after the close of quali and after trying to push out of Q1.
For the Sprint Pedro followed and passed Brad Binder and then established his own rhythm just inside the top five. He was denied a top five classification on the final lap but carried home plenty of data and information to prepare for the longer distance on Sunday. Fernandez fought hard in the second half of the pack. Augusto hit track limits twice and had to do a Long Lap deviation, which he couldn’t quite execute correctly and was then given a three-second penalty, ranking 16th.
Double the laps and add another one for Sunday. MotoGP will scorch Misano at 14.00 on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta, 5th in qualifying, 6th in the Sprint: “Not bad but it was tough to follow the pace of the bikes ahead. We need to be more consistently in these positions near the front to be competitive again. We knew it would not be an easy race and with the Sprint mentality but let’s see where we can arrive for the long distance tomorrow.”
Augusto Fernandez, 17th in qualifying, 16th in the Sprint: “Not that bad until the Long Lap! I had a good start. I was still missing a little bit with the pace but was OK until the tire drop, when I also had some vibration. I’m still missing some tenths but that’s my limitation right now. I think we are progressing though. I was closer. We are making steps. The paper [results] still don’t look that good but we are coming.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “A decent result today for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team. We knew from this morning that Pedro had good pace and he also qualified well on the second row. We know we had some possibilities for the top five. Pedro started decently and then rode a strong pace. It was a dramatic last lap! Anyway P6, a good result but we all want more. Augusto didn’t manage to put it all together for a fast lap and P17 made it tricky for a good race. Just a mistake at the end with the Long Lap ruined things. Anyway, the main focus for him is tomorrow’s race and I think both riders will be going for improvements on Sunday.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:30.304
2. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +0.285
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.305
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.352
6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.444
12. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.898
15. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.471 (Q1)
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:31.538 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint San Marino Grand Prix
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:56.502
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +1.495
3. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +1.832
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +6.796
7. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +9.979
8. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM +10.726
14. Pol Espargaro (ESP) KTM +21.542
16. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +23.442
Moto3
Moto3 was tight and tricky and more demanding in the chase for the final fractions of a second compared to the long, drawn-out challenge of MotorLand last weekend. Misano drew 17 riders together within one second after Q2. Best placed for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 squad was Dani Holgado in P7. The Spaniard, who made his Grand Prix debut at Misano in 2021, will take to the grid tomorrow on the third row. Holgado was 10 positions ahead of teammate Jacob Roulstone. The Australian was still limping after his heavy crash in Spain seven days previously but was able to clock a 1min 41.390 to rest only 0.8 from the Pole effort.
San Marino Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 1:40.505
2. Luca Lunetta (ITA) Honda +0.417
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP), KTM +0.435
5. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.454
7. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.523
12. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM +0.788
17. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.885
22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM 1:42.243 (Q1)
23. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna 1:42.274 (Q1)
24. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +1:42.692 (Q1)
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