- Rookie Fernandez slices from best grid position yet to run inside the top five and claim 4th place, 1.5 seconds from the podium with the GASGAS RC16
- Jonas Folger scores three points for 13th and the highest ranking in his third appearance in red
- Ryusei Yamanaka achieves best Moto3™ finish to-date with 5th as Jake Dixon also makes the top five in Moto3™
Augusto Fernandez set the tone for a promising French Grand Prix with solid top ten pace in Practice on Friday and then automatic Q2 ranking for the quali run on Saturday. The rookie parked the GASGAS RC16 12th on the grid in just his fifth appearance in the class and aimed for more points and progress through the Grand Prix distance on a sunny Sunday.
The MotoGP field thundered into life at 14.00 and in front of a noisy and passionate crowd that filled all of the banks and seats around the famous old course and for the World Championship’s 1000th Grand Prix. Fernandez was keen and fiery in the opening laps and slid into the top seven before incidents and accidents started to put fans on the edge of their seat. Augusto was consistent and brave, keeping ahead of Aleix Espargaro to cross the line only six seconds behind the winner and 1.5 seconds from a maiden MotoGP trophy.
Jonas Folger made his way to 13th and pulled his GASGAS RC16 into play even though he was sore after his crash on Saturday. The German avoided the carnage around him and gave the team a double points-score at their home event.
Mugello next! The wonderful sprawl and speed of the Italian circuit in the Tuscan hills will stage round six and the Gran Premio D’Italia Oakley on June 10-11.
Augusto Fernandez, 4th: “I’m so happy. After the quali I had the crash in the Sprint and then also in Warm-up so I was missing some confidence but I knew I had the pace to fight for something in the race nice. I wasn’t expecting this though! I made the right choice with the front tire and I want to thank the team for all their work, not only here but all season, and we are going in the right direction, so let’s keep pushing.”
Jonas Folger, 13th: “Final day of the GP and I’m happy to get some points but I was hoping for better pace. I was struggling again a bit at the start, with the new tires, and by the end I’m improving my lap--time which is a bit strange but I will use the next test to look at this. I’m happy to have raced here and to be with the team. I’d like to thank everybody for taking care of me. It was a pleasure.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “What an emotional conclusion to the weekend. A super-good result from Augusto and we knew he could make a good result here but he’d suffered some crashes and it was going up-and-down. We made a reset after warm-up and made some little changes on the bike. We went for it, and he had an amazing race to reach 4th, just 1.5 seconds from the podium which is a great achievement for a rookie. We’re so happy. Jonas had a difficult race and couldn’t get a good rhythm but stayed up when many others could not. He ended-up with a decent position and that’s what we needed from him. A big thanks to the team and for all the hard work from the mechanics this weekend and from the factory, as always. We are already looking forward to Mugello.”
Results MotoGP SHARK Grand Prix de France
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati 41:37.970
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +4.256
3. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +4.795
4. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +6.281
13. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +49.808
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 94 points
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati, 93
3. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM, 81
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 30
20. Jonas Folger (GER) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 7
Moto3 and Moto2
20 laps of close and unpredictable Moto3 racing warmed the French crowd Sunday morning. GASGAS Aspar Racing’s Ryusei Yamanaka and David Alonso had their own disputes throughout the posse of riders pushing for points and the podium. Yamanaka kept his motorcycle in the chase for the top ten and Alonso started brilliantly from the rear of the grid to cut through the masses and join his teammate.
Ryusei clocked the fastest lap almost halfway through and then went faster again as he remained latched to the tail end of the leading contenders. 2.5 seconds was the only difference between #6 and the winner at the finish line as he made sure of 5th place and his best classification yet for the GASGAS Aspar Racing crew. Alonso worked his way up to 8th. The recovery was particularly impressive considering his grid spot of 25th!
Ryusei Yamanaka, 5th:
“A fast race, and the pace was fast. Two riders crashed in front of me at one point and I was lucky to avoid them. I was too slow in one corner of the track and very strong through another so it was hard to manage the race speed. I found it hard to overtake on the last five laps because people were braking so hard. I need to improve with these aspects. Anyway, I’m happy with the top five and my best result so far. We’ll keep working like this.”
David Alonso, 8th: “I knew last night that I had to give everything to be as far forward as I could. A decent start was key to this and I think it was the best one of my life! I passed a lot of riders. I kept passing and got near the front group. My rhythm was good but then I got to a point where I couldn’t go any further forwards in terms of positions. It was encouraging that I could set my own speed and I’m very happy about that.”
Jake Dixon carried the Moto2 hopes of the team. The Briton was routinely placed in the top ten for pace throughout the practice and quali sessions and secured 8th on the grid for Sunday’s dash. Moto2 had to reset and restart for the second Grand Prix in a row as a multi-rider pile-up on the first lap brought-out the red flags. The GASGAS Aspar Racing crew attacked the following 14 laps as hard as possible and Dixon ended the day with 5th while Izan Guevara made it to the line in 22nd for just his third outing in Moto2.
Jake Dixon, 5th: “Some solid points but we struggled at the beginning of the race again and we need to sort that out. I closed the gap to the leaders but it was not enough. I tried to be smart in that race and tried not to push when it didn’t feel right. I got into my rhythm and came back to 5th from 8th. I’m happy.”
Izan Guevara, 22nd: “Another race run although I’m still missing the feeling I want on the bike. The weekend was complicated because it started quite well but I couldn’t keep improving. Anyway, we made some progress in the race. We have to keep training and looking forwards, and we’ll use this small break now to get better in Mugello.”
SHARK Grand Prix de France photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 SHARK Grand Prix de France
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM 34:07.176
2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.150
3. Jaume Masia (ESP), Honda +0.946
5. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +2.409
8. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +9.372
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM, 84 points
2. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM, 63
3. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda, 63
8. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team, 38
12. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team, 25
Results Moto2 SHARK Grand Prix de France
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA) 22:34.233
2. Filip Salac (CZE) +0.620
3. Alonso Lopez (ESP) +1.537
5. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +3.041
22. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team +25.347
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA), 99 points
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP), 74
3. Alonso Lopez (ESP), 61
6. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team, 47
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