- Acosta pockets 16 points for a rocket display in the Thai drizzle and his first MotoGP wet-weather podium score
- Fernandez motors hard from a grid spot of 16th to fight for top ten places but crashes out
- Daniel Holgado takes 12th in Moto3™ as teammate Jacob Roulstone snares the last point in 15th
The fifth Grand Prix of Thailand had enjoyed heat and sunshine across Friday and Saturday but the teams arrived at the circuit in Buriram on Sunday morning to be greeted by wet asphalt and overcast skies. By the time of the 26-lap MotoGP race in the afternoon the track was still shimmering and soaking and was tricky for judging grip and visibility.
Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez began the Grand Prix from the third and sixth rows of the grid. Acosta took some time to feel his limits and potential but then passed three riders to move into podium contention and P3 by the flag. Augusto was busy scrapping inside the top ten and was demonstrating strong speed and potential. His fall came three laps before the end of the race.
The last phase of the final triple header will take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia next weekend and the 2024 season will close with the Valencian Grand Prix in three weeks’ time.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “Super-nice! It was a race where I was trying to stay calm and do everything in the right way and, after a few races where we did not finish, I wanted to be strong. We need to be happy. I want to thank the team for an amazing job because every time that we try something we are improving. I think we are making a good job in arriving where we want to go.”
Augusto Fernandez, DNF “A shame to finish like this but I was trying to save the front end and just crashed. I made a mistake and trying to recover the position I perhaps pushed a bit too much. After all race being in the group and seeing the result possible…a shame. The top eight was there. We’ll move onto Malaysia now.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “An unbelievable end to the Thai Grand Prix and the end to a few tricky races we’ve had. We knew we could perform well here and clearly the target today was to see the checkered flag in the best way. When we saw the rain we also thought we could hope for a bit more. This was Pedro’s first MotoGP race in the wet and he avoided any mistakes to make the podium and be where he wants to be. We are still in the fight for the top five of the championship as well. Augusto’s potential is very high in the wet and he wanted to show good form but unfortunately he crashed while he was in P8. It could have been a top ten finish. This is racing! Now onto Sepang for the last race of this triple header.”
Results MotoGP Thai Grand Prix
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 43:38.108
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +2.905
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +3.800
5. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM +5.532
6. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +5.898
DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 453 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 436
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 356
5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 203
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 197
14. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 82
21. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 21
Moto3
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 fired into action at Buriram with Moto3. The grey skies and humidity contained high air temperatures and the track began to dry but not quite enough for the Moto3 hordes and the race was declared wet and reduced in duration from 19 to 12 laps. Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone lined-up in 7th and 19th positions. The Spaniard filtered into the second group of six riders and the Australian was a little further back. The dry line widened, and the pace increased but Daniel was too far adrift of the top ten and took 12th. Jacob managed 15th and the final point after recovering from outside the top twenty.
Two Grands Prix to go means just 50 points left to win and Holgado is 2nd in the championship standings with a gap of 11 ahead of 3rd place. Roulstone is 15th.
Daniel Holgado, 12th: “Tough race. I didn’t have a good feeling today. I did my best…even though I am not happy with the result. We have another opportunity next week in Malaysia.”
Jacob Roulstone, 15th: “Mixed emotions. I was a bit unsure on the grid what to do. I should have done some extra sighting laps because I did not have that much confidence on the track in the beginning of the race but then built up my feeling and speed and was able to climb back up to the top fifteen. I could have gone with the front bunch at the start. A learning experience and some positive things from this weekend to take into the next rounds.”
Thai Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Thai Grand Prix
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 20:29.345
2. Luca Lunetta (ITA) Honda +0.353
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +522
10. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +8.308
12. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +11.640
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +17.090
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) KTM +16.945
18. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM +19.439
DNF. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO
World Championship standings Moto3
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 371 points (Champion)
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 236
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 225
8. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 128
13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 88
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 54
17. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 45
22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 11
PRESS CONTACT
EVANGELIA SISSIS