- Acosta, starting from P2 on the grid, racks-up the championship points once more with skill and courage around the long, greasy MotorLand course. The 20-year-old takes his third trophy of 2024
- Fernandez gains more ground and confidence again in race conditions to classify 12th from 19th
- Top ten for Holgado as the Spaniard remains just outside the hunt for his sixth podium of the year and Jacob Roulstone goes through the pain barrier to finish 21st
Thunderstorms and erratic weather had created mixed track conditions and varying degrees of grip and cleanliness, which presented challenges for the MotoGP teams and riders across the weekend of the Aragon Grand Prix. Sunday’s 23-lap race distance was no different after a dark and rainy start to the day.
Pedro Acosta took to the grid with a view from the middle of the first row on his GASGAS RC16 while Augusto Fernandez was further back but with renewed belief in his ability to recover ground and with the 3rd fastest lap in a wet warm-up session.
Traction was like gold across the resurfaced and drying Spanish course but Acosta was able to start well and put the red bike into the podium battle in the early stages. Tire preservation was again paramount to best combat the degradation and the Grand Prix was all about pacing as Acosta dueled for the top five with Brad Binder and Fernandez made himself busy in the search for the top ten.
Through the wheel roost and the hectic back-and-forth of pace and position-swapping, Pedro made it to the line in 3rd for 16 championship points. Fernandez ended the race with four points after being promoted from 13th to 12th. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 packed up quickly post-race as the circus moves east and to the Adriatic coastline for the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli next week.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “A tough race but a good one. The track conditions were difficult but we were managing to stay near the front even if it was hard to recover ground to them. Anyway, I’m happy because we are competitive again and even if we had just a top five today then the feeling was still good.”
Augusto Fernandez, 12th: “In the end I’m happy. Not with the position because this seems to be my average so far this season, but with the pace at the end of the race. My start wasn’t great like Saturday so I had to recover position and lost some positions doing that. We need to be fast on Friday. This was my first weekend with a new Crew Chief so there is a lot of change but I’m happy about it and my riding is coming back again. It’s good to have Misano in a couple of days to keep building.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “An unforgettable weekend with a podium double by Pedro Acosta and the best GP of the season with a front row grid position as well. We are super-happy to be back where we want to be, and it comes from the decision to go back to an older bike setting and it worked well. Pedro rode at a good pace and managed the tire well. Augusto ended up in the points once again and he enjoyed the weekend. Clearly now the focus has to turn to the qualifying if he wants to be where he deserves to be.”
Results MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 41:47.082
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +4.789
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +14.904
4. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +16.459
12. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +42.083
15. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM +39.966
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 299 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 276
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 229
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 148
6. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM, 145
14. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM, 48
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 20
Moto3
The vast, sweeping nature of the MotorLand layout meant a 5km, 16 corner trajectory to negotiate and saw the Moto3 field split by quite large gaps in terms of lap-times during qualification. For the 17-lap race on Sunday morning, Daniel Holgado was hopeful of yet more silverware and latched into the early group going for the top three. Managing grip was difficult and the pack split up. Holgado was in the mid-top ten scrap and crossed the line in 9th to conserve his 4th position in the championship standings.
Rookie Jacob Roulstone nursed a sore hip after a crash in the Saturday Q2 period that left him feeling slightly battered and with 18th position on the grid after the Australian was not able to log an effort during the chrono. Ignoring the discomfort, Jacob pressed his pace as much as possible and only just missed the points by coming home 21st.
Daniel Holgado, 9th: “A very, very difficult race. A bad feeling with the rear tire. We have to think and work now for Misano and to keep focusing on the championship and how we can keep following our goals.”
Jacob Roulstone, 21st: “Very disappointed with today. I couldn’t get to grips with the bike or the track and struggled to get my knee down because of the hip. A tough day and I’m not happy. Apologies to the team.”
Aragon Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Aragon Grand Prix
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 34:51.635
2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +1.985
3. Luca Lunetta (ITA) Honda +3.556
4. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +4.942
8. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +17.029
9. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +17.165
14. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +23.532
15. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +23.594
21. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +51.593
World Championship standings Moto3
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 237 points
2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 162
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM, 157
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 156
6. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 99
14. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 50
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 46
16. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 42
21. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 11
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