- Acosta follows-up his top five results from Saturday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with powerful potential but his race ends with 18 laps to go with a fall at Turn 15
- Fernandez continued to suffer with traction but still made the checkered flag
- Holgado again helps set the standards in Moto3 and repeats his formidability from round thirteen to challenge for the front, finishing 4th after marginally touching track limits on the final lap
More Misano mileage for GASGAS as the 2024 MotoGP season accelerates into the final stages. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix brought the series back to the flat, curving venue for the second fixture in a fortnight and before the calendar moves overseas during the month of October. Pedro Acosta recorded two 5th positions on Saturday and upon the championship’s return to Misano: one for qualifying and another in the Sprint. Augusto Fernandez started the race from 18th on the grid.
Acosta’s slot on the second row enabled him to lunge into the front-running group in the opening stages and look for more top five potential. He probed for ways to pass world champion Francesco Bagnaia but lost control tipping into Turn 15 and was out of the race. Fernandez had to make some bold moves to recover ground in the initial stages but then had to cope with the same vibration setback he had in the Saturday Sprint and crossed the finish line in 18th.
Acosta is 6th in the world championship standings. MotoGP now gets jetset. The paddock heads immediately to the island of Lombok and to the Mandalika Street Circuit for the Indonesia Grand Prix next weekend.
Augusto Fernandez, 18th: “I made a good start and I was fighting hard in a position where we could take out our pace, which I thought was better but then the vibration started again and it was difficult to ride. It limited me with my riding. Let’s work and see if we can improve for Indonesia.”
Pedro Acosta, DNF: “We had a problem with front tire temperature but I was doing my best to keep the pace with everyone until the crash. Difficult to say much more. The bike was good and we were competitive and fast. It’s painful to have another crash. So, we have to analyze what happened and improve.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Obviously not the Sunday we were hoping for. We thought Pedro would be in the top five at least. He started well and was following the plan but unfortunately crashed by losing the front. The positive was that he was even faster than the first trip to Misano and we also improved the bike. Augusto made a good start and was in the points but after a few laps had a similar problem as yesterday and could not go any faster. It was a shame, and we need to look in-depth at this because he otherwise had been feeling good on the bike. We have another chance next week.”
Results MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
1. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati 41:14.653
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +5.002
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +7.848
16. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM +40.454
18. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +47.755
19. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +1:25.918
DNF. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 341 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 317
3. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati, 282
5. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM, 165
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 157
15. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM, 58
20. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 20
Moto3
Daniel Holgado led the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 charge in Moto3 and another 20-lap contest at Misano where came second by 0.035 of a second a fortnight ago. The sunny conditions disguised a lower track temperature for round fourteen but the category still formed into a 14-rider group going for trophies in Emilia Romagna. The Spaniard hammered the full speed and agility of his GASGAS at the front of the pack and set the fastest time on his way to P1 by the third circulation. As the laps wound down the battle developed into a 4-way slugfest with Holgado well placed. The last lap fight saw the quartet split by 0.3 second and with Dani in 3rd. A slow-motion replay a few minutes after the checkered flag showed that he had touched the track limits zone by centimeters and was demoted to 4th.
Jacob Roulstone was stiff and sore from a crash on Friday that left the Australian staring at a start slot of 19th on the grid. The rookie maintained his pace and collected 21st by the flag.
Holgado is 2nd in the championship standings, 82 from the top spot and tied with 3rd. Roulstone holds 15th with six rounds and 125 points still remaining.
Daniel Holgado, 4th: “I’m quite happy with the race. I did a good job out there and had a decent feeling all weekend. We have only two days to rest now before Indonesia and I’m really looking forward to Mandalika: I have good memories from last year. A big thank you to the team because they are working really hard.”
Jacob Roulstone, 21st: “A very disappointing race. I didn’t feel smooth from the first lap. I’m a bit down to end the weekend like this after finishing Q1 with a good feeling yesterday. Apologies to the team and everyone who supports us. Thank you to the mechanics after the crashes this weekend. We’ll have a big reflection before we head to Asia.”
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 33:53.212
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda +0.175
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.367
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.295
10. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) KTM +6.012
11. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +6.043
19. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM +30.796
20. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +30.811
21. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +31.213
World Championship standings Moto3
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 271 points
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 189
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 189
7. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 105
13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 63
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 50
16. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 42
22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 11
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