- Acosta starts from the edge of the second row of the grid but his bid for another Sprint podium is ended by contact
- Fernandez tries his best to rise from a starting slot of 21st and crosses the line in 20th
- Moto3™ Quali honors go to Daniel Holgado with a slot in the middle of the second row and just 0.6 of a second from Pole. Jacob Roulstone was also quick and placed 9th in Q2
The Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona allowed MotoGP to draw curtains on the 2024 season and in tribute to the cancelled Valencian round which should have taken place on the same weekend almost 400km south. The November scheduling meant teams and riders had to be especially sensitive to tire wear and consumption on the notoriously low grip circuit surface and the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 crew still had plenty to race for in Catalunya: Pedro Acosta is 5th in the championship standings and needed a healthy bounty of points to make sure of the top-five ranking for the year. Augusto Fernandez was eager to wrap his two-term tenure with the squad in a strong way and was also motivated.
On Friday Acosta was helping set the pace in FP1. Practice in sunnier and warmer afternoon climes gave the 20-year-old a berth in Q2. Fernandez strived for usable traction and entered Q1. Through Quali on Saturday and under blue skies Pedro was proactive to be just 0.3 from Pole Position and grabbed 6th on the grid: the last spot on the second row. Augusto was 21st.
The Sprint was a 12-lap all-out dispute for the last Saturday points of the year. Acosta started well and was pushing for track space in with the leaders until he had his line closed by another rider into the third corner. Contact ripped away the front fairing and he had to enter the pitlane. Fernandez made ground initially but still could not find the grip he needed and reached the flag 20th.
The team will reset and go again for the final time this season with the MotoGP race lasting for 28 fascinating laps on Sunday afternoon.
Pedro Acosta, 6th in qualifying, DNF in the Sprint: “Not much to say but it was difficult to understand the situation because I was in front! Racing is like this. Maybe it was too early in the race to make these types of movements because I was already in the corner. My pace was quite good today and we have to be happy for that but tomorrow must be better for us.”
Augusto Fernandez, 21st in qualifying, 20th in the Sprint: “It’s been a hard weekend. I’m missing feeling and feedback on the track and we’re struggling to understand why. Tomorrow we’ll make a change to try and find an improvement and gain something. We want to enjoy the last race of the season.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “A race incident ended our Sprint before one lap today. Frustrating because Pedro did a good job to qualify on the second row and we were looking forward to seeing his potential in the race. We are really looking forward to tomorrow because we still have 5th in the standings to fight for. We’ll give everything and we’re quite confident. It was a bit trickier for Augusto. Everyone is suffering for grip but it was a difficult day for him. We still have one more night to fix the situation and finish the season in the best way possible.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:38.641
2. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Aprilia +0.055
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.157
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.308
18. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM 1:39.678 (Q1)
19. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM 1:39.749 (Q1)
21. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:40.166 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ESP) Ducati 20:03.173
2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.942
3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +1.270
9. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +5.573
19. Jack Miller (AUS) KTM +18.533
20. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +20.153
DNF. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Moto3
Moto3 Q2 gave the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 pair Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone another focused session of work on Saturday afternoon and with the whole crew firmly set on a specific performance goal for the weekend. Holgado is tied for P2 in the championship standings and needs to show pace and potential for the final time in 2024 to bag the silver medal for the campaign. Roulstone was also aiming to cap a rookie term in which he has shown keen promise and with possibilities for a top fifteen standing.
The Spaniard and Australian were P1 and P15 on combined times on Friday as Holgado roamed the 14 corners with intent. Q2 lowered the lap-times and they placed 5th and 9th respectively. Dani will set-off from the middle of the second row and Jacob’s third row slot is one of his best in recent Grands Prix.
Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 1:45.905
2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.347
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP), KTM +0.371
5. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.645
9. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.909
10. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.948
17. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM +1.504
19. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), KTM 1:47.713 (Q1)
24. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM 1:48.235 (Q1)
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