- MotoGP Sprint progress for Fernandez who finishes 14th after 13 exciting laps under clear skies in the Netherlands
- Jonas Folger makes his sixth MotoGP appearance this season and the German rides to 21st but close to the group ahead of him
- 17th on the Moto3™ grid for GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso as the young Columbian gets in the groove around the former road-based and historic Grand Prix layout
- Jake Dixon turns fast practice pace full of potential to a front row position in Moto2 and maintains status as one of the lead riders in the class
Mugello, Sachsenring and Assen: three of the oldest and most iconic Grand Prix venues in the world championship. For MotoGP - and the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team in particular - the kinks, weaving lines and flat trajectory of the TT Circuit Assen was the compelling third and final chapter to a busy and action-packed mid-season collection of dates.
Augusto was 17th quickest on Friday and entered Q1 for Saturday’s quali dash. He ranked 10th and then lined up for the 13-lap Sprint. Attacking hard and being proactive, Augusto tried to elevate his pace from the first two circulations. Fernandez’ skill in overtaking and winning the most intense of dogfights paid-off by the checkered flag as he took a well-earned 14th; watched by teammate Pol Espargaro, who was visiting his crew for the first time since his injury in Portugal and round one of 2023.
Jonas Folger pinned the GASGAS RC16 around the 18-corner flow of the Assen course. The German worked on finding optimum front tire grip in the sunny conditions, similar to his home Grand Prix last weekend. He was 13th fastest in the Q1 session, which meant 23rd place for the Sprint where he crossed the line 21st.
GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 will reset and go again for the full 26-lap Grand Prix distance on Sunday at 14.00 CEST.
Augusto Fernandez, 21st in qualifying, 14th in the Sprint: “It has been a tough day. We were struggling a bit for the time attack and we’ve been looking for solutions. We decided to go back to our base setting for the Sprint and I felt better but not fantastic. It was nice to get a good feeling back, make some overtakes and get some places. We’ll try for a good start and more of the same tomorrow.”
Jonas Folger, 23rd in qualifying, 21st in the Sprint: “The Sprint race is done and I started well but couldn’t quite put everything together in the race itself. I didn’t have the feeling with the front end that I wanted and had moments when it was ‘closing’ and lost a bit of confidence. We’ll have to analyze this ahead of tomorrow’s race. It will be probably my last race for the team, so we’ll work hard for tomorrow and I hope I can make a decent outing for the guys.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “We conclude this Saturday full of hope for the main race. Augusto achieved another strong performance when it counted on Saturday and equaled his Sprint ‘PB’ with a 14th. He overtook six riders to make that position. I believe it is a strong result and now we need to focus more on qualifying. We know if we can be better placed on the grid then we can push for a Sprint top ten. Jonas struggled a bit with the front tire but ended up tight to the group in front of him. He knows where he needs to improve for a better result tomorrow. On another note, we’re really happy because Pol came to visit us today and really hopes he can be ready for Silverstone. It was great to see him again and see the smile on his face. It was a super-nice moment for the whole GASGAS team.”
Results Qualifying MotoGPMotul TT Assen
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati 1.31.472
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.061
3. Luca Marini (ITA) Ducati +0.158
21. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:33.082 (Q1)
23. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 1:33.300 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Motul TT Assen
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati 20.09.174
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +1.294
3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Yamaha +1.872
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +17.754
21. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +32.056
Moto3 and Moto2
The GASGAS Aspar Team was quietly chipper of their prospects for Moto3 after practice on Friday when rookie David Alonso found the speed and the craft to hassle the top five of the combined standings. The Columbian gathered confidence from the ranking and took the momentum into the Q2 quali where he pushed the limits of the #80 machine. An untimely tumble meant a standing of 17th and he will settle onto the sixth row for the 20-lap Grand Prix charge on Sunday morning. Teammate Ryusei Yamanaka ranked 25th and has his eyes on a rapid start and some deft moves Sunday am.
The crew’s goal for competitiveness spilled into the Moto2 class. Jake Dixon whistled through both practice outings on Friday and sat satisfied in P1 by the end of the afternoon. With a fourth podium trophy in his sights this season, Dixon scorched through Q2 and was only denied Pole by an almost incalculable 9 thousandths of a second! With a host of British fans making the short trip across the channel to cheer on the #96, Dixon will already feel some home GP ‘vibes’ on Sunday. Izan Guevara’s Moto2 rookie education continued on course. The Moto3 world champ was inside the top twenty on Friday and ended the quali program with 24th.
Motul TT Assen MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Motul TT Assen
1. David Muñoz (ESP) KTM 1:41.181
2. Joel Kelso (AUS), CFMOTO +0.291
3. Ricardo Rossi (ITA), Honda +0.329
17. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +1.572
25. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team 1:42.843 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 Motul TT Assen
1. Alonso Lopez (ESP) 1:36.247
2. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.009
3. Ai Ogura (JPN) +0.054
24. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team 1:37.407 (Q1)
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