- Pedro Acosta rides the wave of fresh fan adoration as the rookie’s 2024 MotoGP campaign reaches new heights. #31 stays strong and consistent for 10th in qualifying and P2 in the Spanish GP Sprint
- Top ten and first Sprint points for Augusto Fernandez who weathers mid-pack crash chaos around him to mark a season personal best
- Moto3™ sees Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone tackle damp and difficult track conditions during qualification and take 17th and 18th on the grid for the 19 laps on Sunday
Heat in the air, heat on the track. Pedro throttled the GASGAS RC16 hard on Friday at Jerez to rank 6th and make Q2 directly once more. Acosta has previous winning form at Jerez, but in Moto2, and had to learn the limits of the 13-corner layout at higher speed. The 19-year-old applied his distinctive flowing style and hard-braking skills through quali on a surprisingly wet Saturday Q2 to place 10th for the fourth row; a slide into Turn 13, dismantling what would have been a contender for Pole Position. Augusto rode to 8th place in Q1 for 18th.
The 12-lap Sprint was chaos defined as Acosta put himself into a promising position by roaming the edges of the top five in the first laps. There was contact, mistakes, misjudgment and fierce speed on a dry track that contained a few surprisingly damp patches. Fifteen falls jumbled the order, but Acosta defied his inexperience to remain upright and onboard. He grabbed a comfortable 2nd place to take part in a wild podium celebration by the busy grandstands. Augusto was also resilient. He focused on stability, precision and avoiding trouble to charge to 8th to complete the best Saturday of the year so far for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3.
Take a breath. 25-laps revs into life at 14.00 local time on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta, 10th in qualifying, 2nd in the Sprint: “It was quite tough to judge a mixed track and to see the wet patches, especially in Turn 5 and I was losing some time there. I could not get closer to the riders I wanted to pass, but, anyway we are working on what we are missing from these races, like the Sprints and the time attacks. We were quite fast at the start, this was nice. This is the important thing. I think we have the best fan club here in the whole circuit! It was really nice to celebrate like that.”
Augusto Fernandez, 18th in qualifying, 8th in the Sprint: “A crazy race! I knew in those conditions it would be important not to make mistakes, stay on the bike and to finish. There were some wet patches on the line, in Turn 5 especially, and it was easy to make a mistake and go wide. We’ll take the points but we’re struggling for better rear grip, so let’s see if we can try and improve that tomorrow and have a good race.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Another day to mark for us and the team with Pedro’s first Sprint podium…after an eventful race! This morning, we had a slightly bitter taste after Pedro missed the front row due to a crash, and we knew that a place on the fourth row would be tough but we know Pedro can easily surprise us. It was tricky for all the riders out there and it was a matter of surviving and avoiding the patches and keeping the pace. P2 was a great achievement and puts him in the same place for the championship. Augusto had a small issue at the start but did not give up and fought to keep his position. Those two points were something positive even if he did not have the pace he wanted. Let’s see what we can do in fully dry conditions tomorrow.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Spain
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:46.773
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.271
3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.608
4. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.957
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +1.755
15. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1.48.672 (Q1)
16. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:48.699 (Q1)
18. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +1.49.229 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Spain
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:52.682
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +2.970
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +7.102
8. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +18.278
14. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +37.901
DNF. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Moto3
Moto3 began at lap-record speed on Friday and with both Daniel Holgado and rookie Jacob Roulstone on the pace: the Australian, in particular, enjoying a career/season-best classification of 3rd after Practice 2 in the afternoon. Saturday got off to a cool, damp start at Jerez and Moto3 had the wettest conditions of the weekend for the morning outing. Holgado and Roulstone made it through to Q2 but mistakes for both youngsters meant they could not register a sufficient lap-time and will take to the grid in 17th and 18th, with the Australian just ahead of the Spaniard.
Grand Prix of Spain MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Spain
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 1:44.954
2. David Muñoz (ESP) KTM +0.220
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +1.059
8. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +1.646
9. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +1.843
17. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:44.679 (Q1)
18. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:44.892 (Q1)
24. Vincente Perez (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:49.523 (Q1)
26. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:51.460 (Q1)
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