- Augusto Fernandez again learns fast, makes progress from Friday to Saturday and to Sunday and shows his intelligence and adaptation by racing from 21st on the grid to 10th
- The reigning Moto2 world champ is now 14 in the world championship standings after scoring points in all of his first eight Grands Prix in the MotoGP class.
- Jonas Folger completes another admirable outing with the GASGAS RC16, his sixth so far this season, by finishing 14th.
- Points for the GASGAS Aspar Team after a fast fight in Moto3™ while Jake Dixon makes good on his Moto2™ pace all weekend long to bag his maiden Grand Prix victory!
A sunny and inviting TT Circuit Assen, flanked with another capacity crowd on the MotoGP slate, meant a full-speed round eight of the championship and Augusto Fernandez played his part in the show with another fine performance. The technical challenge of Assen meant that his MotoGP rookie experience was always going to be tough but AF37 survived an early miscalculation at the Geert Timmer chicane to continue to plough a course through the pack. At the flag, Augusto had trailblazed to 10th: his third top ten classification of the year and ensuring he remains one of only two riders in the championship to have scored points in every single Grand Prix.
Proving his competitiveness, Jonas Folger rode to 14th for his third grasp of world championship points bounty since coming into the team to replace Pol Espargaro. The German was happy with the front end feel of the GASGAS RC16 and made it count on Sunday.
The British Grand Prix on the first weekend of August means the team, paddock and the championship can now enjoy a small break from the intensity of MotoGP and the exciting fresh format that has given 2023 such a strong identity. However, the race will take place around Silverstone in England, another long, complex and throttle-heavy racetrack that should guarantee another hefty bout of gripping action.
Augusto Fernandez, 10th: “It felt a bit like a survival race today. I had a good start but then some issues in the first few laps and a moment at the final chicane. It was hot and difficult out there and I didn’t feel great on the bike. I tried to recover positions and wanted to get some points. It’s been a solid first half of the season but I want to make a step in the second half because I think I have the potential and will try to improve.”
Jonas Folger, 14th: “I’m happy with the race and happy with the step I have made and how the guys have worked with me in the last six races. I want to thank the team for their understanding of my situation and for always keeping calm, no matter where we were and how we were doing. I enjoyed working a lot with these guys. It was a pleasure to come back and live some old memories. I think we did a great job today and now I’m looking forward to taking everything I have learned into my testing program.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “We can finally conclude this first half of the season with a strong result for the GASGAS team. Both of our riders are in the points, which is a good achievement. The race conditions were tricky and it was quite easy to make a mistake: we saw a lot of riders on the ground. Even though Augusto struggled to find his pace he fought to stay on the wheels of the others and made another top ten. Jonas battled as well and that was positive. Congratulations to both of them. Augusto has scored points in every single round and this is strong. I hope everyone will enjoy some free-time now in this summer break and I’m sure we have everything in our hands to come back even stronger from Silverstone.”
Results MotoGP Motul TT Assen
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 40:37.640
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +1.223
3. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Aprilia +1.925
10. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +33.736
14. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +45.609
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 194 points
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 159
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati, 158
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 42
22. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 9
Moto3 and Moto2
David Alonso and Ryusei Yamanaka pushed their GASGAS Aspar Team motorcycles into a hotly fought battle among the second group. The Moto3 Grand Prix put spectators on the edges of their seats through 20 laps and although the Spaniard and Japanese could not latch onto the ten-rider breakaway, they had their hands full trying to obtain maximum points. At the flag David was just ahead of his teammate in 13th as Ryusei’s brave bid to gain track space couldn’t quite work and he ended the day in 15th.
David Alonso, 13th: “Not a good race today. I couldn’t find the speed or the overtaking points or a rhythm. Just difficult for me. All the decent feeling I had through the weekend just wasn’t there this morning. A so-so race and not much more to say right now.”
Ryusei Yamanaka, 15th:
“I had a good feeling with the bike in the race and I could ride fast. I am a bit disappointed because I lost the front end at one point and ran off the track. This cost me three-four seconds just when I was catching the lead group. So, I was in the fight for the second group but the pace was not so fast. I wanted to breakaway but a few people overtook me and I couldn’t make it happen. I was also starting to struggle with some pain in my neck and arm after a crash in FP1 on Friday so I tried my best to fight for the top of the group. I made good places on the last lap but an outside line did not work and I lost two positions. Overall, I’m quite happy even if the result was not good because yesterday we were lost and today we had the bike working well. We have to improve our process for the next GP and we’ll be much more competitive.”
The GASGAS Aspar Team were jumping around the pitbox at the conclusion of the Moto2 Grand Prix as Jake Dixon extended his excellent speed through practice, qualification and across the 22 laps to emerge victorious for the first time in his career. The Brit was emotional and ecstatic to have made the top step and after increasing the potency of his recent form that had seen him score two back-to-back podium results in Italy and Germany. He earned the lead with a late move on Japanese rival Ai Ogura and then only had eyes for the checkered flag. As a result of his achievement, #96 is now also up to 3rd place in the Moto2 championship standings. Teammate Izan Guevara crashed at the Geert Timmer chicane with six laps to go.
Jake Dixon, 1st: “I cannot even put into words how I feel. I had a dream to be here on the top step and I cannot believe it. It’s taken me a while to get here but I have a great team behind me and a great family supporting me. An amazing result. I’m struggling for words. When I got into the lead I believed I could win. It was all chips-in; it was crash or win and today I won.”
Izan Guevara, DNF “I had a great feeling here and started well from the grid with the goal to get as many positions as I could. My rhythm was decent; it could be better but compared to the other rookies around me it was quite OK and I was looking at points until the crash. I was trying to keep with the group ahead who were just pulling away. Anyway, we have five weeks to really work and come back in good shape for Silverstone.”
Motul TT Assen photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Motul TT Assen
1. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda 34:14.619
2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.081
3. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM +0.276
13. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +12.317
15. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +12.594
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM, 125 points
2. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda, 109
3. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna, 99
7. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team, 65
14. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team, 35
Results Moto2 Motul TT Assen
1. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team 35:43.411
2. Ai Ogura (JPN) +1.334
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) +4.448
DNF. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA), 148 points
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP), 140
3. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team, 104
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