- The final championship point for the reigning Moto2 World Champ in his sixth MotoGP outing and his first taste of the pace and pressure of Mugello
- Fernandez is 14th in the championship standings and made a decent recovery to form on Sunday
- Jonas Folger rides the GASGAS RC16 to 19th as the German again takes references from the current demands of MotoGP ahead of his testing duties this summer
- David Alonso stars in a five-rider scrap for the Moto3™ win and classifies 4th while Jake Dixon’s late lunge delivers 3rd in Moto2™
A red blur! Mugello’s snaking main straight was again the scene for record-busting top speed in Grand Prix racing – marked by the RC16 – but the section of the awesome Italian layout was also a key point for overtaking and risk throughout the Italian Grand Prix. Augusto Fernandez was one of the MotoGP pack trying to judge the best braking points and lines into Turn 1 and around the rest of the 14 curves that constitute one of the toughest and best-loved course on the calendar.
Fernandez and Jonas Folger launched immediately into the hunt for the top fifteen. By the halfway stage of the 23-lap distance Fernandez was improving his feeling and pace in the classification. A solid move at the finale of the GP enabled #AF37 to burst through and seize 15th, less than half a second behind Fabio Di Giannantonio. Folger ended the day with 19th after losing substantial ground due to running off-track at Turn 15.
In contrast to the length and spread of Mugello, the Sachsenring is a more compact and twisty prospect. The old course will again host the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland next weekend and with another capacity crowd expected. GASGAS will get on the GAS for their debut on the spiralling German asphalt.
Augusto Fernandez, 15th: “A hard race and a tough weekend but to get one point; I was happy about that. I learned a lot here and to reach the finish and make improvements was very important for me. Hard conditions, but the end of race was not so bad and I was competitive. We just need to work on being faster at the start.”
Jonas Folger, 19th: “A difficult race! I was hoping to make improvements for today but still had a few of the same issues as Saturday. However I learned a lot and have a lot to check with our engineers. In my next test we’ll have some things to try. Once again, I want to thank the team and the factory for this opportunity. I really hope we can see Pol back on the bike again now!”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Augusto’s one point is a positive conclusion to a difficult weekend. He struggled with the setup and to understand the track - which is one of the most difficult of the year - but I’d like to congratulate him for his attitude. He never gave up and pushed all the way to the end. He worked to increase his understanding and finish strong. Congratulations to Augusto: this way to improve is something he has brought from the very beginning of the season. Jonas ran wide on the final corner and lost contact with the rest of the group and from that point it was a case of bringing the bike back home. This was the first of the three races and now we’ll pack up and move straight to Germany.”
Results MotoGP Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 41:16.863
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +1.067
3. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +1.977
15. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +26.500
19. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +1:18.912
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 131 points
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati, 110
3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 107
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 31
21. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 7
Moto3 and Moto2
GASGAS Aspar Team had all fingers crossed for the exploits and results of both David Alonso and Ryusei Yamanaka in the opening race of the Mugello GP program. The 17-lap Moto3 showdown featured a focused pack of riders chasing podium trophies and sharing the slimmest of track spaces as tows and slipstreams were key to contention. The Colombian was part of the quintet of protagonists as he again showed his grit for the Sunday fight.
The decisive moments came on the charge through the last lap and the drag to the line. When the flag waved Alonso was a mere 0.172 away from the win and 0.116 of a second from his second podium appearance. Yamanaka had his hands full in the second posse with more than ten riders aiming for the top six. The Japanese had to deal with a tire issue and was then plagued by pursuers out of the final turn. He obtained the final point of the race in 15th.
David Alonso, 4th: “I’m very happy…and also pretty tired! It was a hard race and a fast one. I know I need to keep working but we achieved our goal today which was a good start and to be part of the lead group. From there I just tried to learn because I was with the four fastest riders of the class, more-or-less, and I was looking for strong points and weak points. I did not want to finish last in that group! We still need to work on a few details but we’re getting there!”
Ryusei Yamanaka, 15th: “The race was so hard. In the beginning it was difficult to stay in the first group because I was suffering with some chatter. I could not ride like I want. I was trying to manage it…but I lost the leaders and then it was a difficult fight with the slipstream. On the last lap I lost a few places in my group and it was not the best way to finish this GP. We have to keep working to improve our position.”
Moto2 allowed Jake Dixon to rally through 19-laps while feverishly searching for podium possibilities. The Brit was a slender 2 tenths of a second from the fastest Moto2 lap on Saturday and was optimistic of adding to his expectant trophy cache for 2023. He had to push hard in the final two laps to overtake Aron Canet but eventually sealed his second rostrum appearance of the year. Teammate Izan Guevara sampled the superior Mugello speed in the class for the first time. The Majorcan worked from the back of the grid to score 18th and get close to championship points in the class.
Jake Dixon, 3rd: “Good! I’m always fast at the end of races and struggle so much at the beginning. I cannot explain why I’m unable to extract the lap-time early on. I’m happy to be up here but also frustrated. It was a good comeback against the best riders in the world. This is one of my worst tracks, so, I’m happy.”
Izan Guevara, 18th: “Not a bad start and we were in the third or fourth group but in the last laps we were suffering a lot with both the front and rear tires. I was 17th until the last corner but almost crashed and had to save it so I lost a place. It was a complicated race but I improved my setting and my feeling on the bike and we’ll see what we can do in Germany.”
Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM 33:27.315
2. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM +0.051
3. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.056
4. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.172
15. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +15.744
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM, 109 points
2. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda, 74
3. Ivan Ortola, (ESP) KTM, 68
7. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team, 51
13. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team, 26
Results Moto2 Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley
1. Pedro Acosta (ESP) 35:38.328
2. Tony Arbolino (ITA) +6.194
3. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +8.582
18. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team +29.642
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA), 119 points
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP), 99
3. Alonso Lopez (ESP), 71
6. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team, 63
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