- GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 arrive in Thailand for another swing in weather conditions following rain in Japan, heat in Indonesia and gale force winds in Australia during the last four weeks.
- Espargaro starts well but encounters rear traction issues for the Sprint along the 4.5km circuit
- Fernandez qualifies well but crashes on the final turn around the 12-corner course
- GASGAS Aspar Team’s Ryusei Yamanaka places 4th on the Moto3™ grid while Jake Dixon is again the standout racer in Moto2™ with 9th after quali despite a sore right shoulder
The trip north from Australia to Thailand brought MotoGP to the end of an intense triple header and with the end of the 2023 season firmly in sight. Situated over 400km from Bangkok, Buriram (and the Chang International Circuit) is one of the newer locations on the Grand Prix calendar and is a fast and demanding layout for precision, hard acceleration and some key braking points.
After the upheaval in last weekend’s event in Phillip Island, the Thai Grand Prix reverted to a more traditional format with the 13-lap MotoGP Sprint following the Saturday morning quali dash. The climate was steamy and cloudy but GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 duo Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez had got down to business on Friday with Fernandez making the direct cut to Q2 for the first time.
Espargaro rallied through Q1 but could not join his teammate, so lined up with 17th. Q2 ran at a furious pace and Augusto charged at the chrono to make sure of 12th and a third row start for the Sprint.
#37 was pushing for the top ten until he lost grip into the final turn at mid-race distance. While Fernandez’s race was over, Espargaro persisted until the checkered flag for 16th. Pol’s initial strong speed was tempered by a lot of spin and sliding with the rear tire. Overall, the duo banked plenty of data and feeling to hone their race set-up for Sunday. MotoGP will run 26 laps in Buriram from 09.00 CEST tomorrow.
Pol Espargaro, 17th in qualifying, 16th in the Sprint: “A hard race today. Maybe we were expecting a little bit more but we didn’t feel good with the rear grip, especially after 7-8 laps I felt a big drop and struggled to stop the bike. Everything became a bit harder. Anyway let’s see if we can learn from this and improve the feeling for tomorrow and be in a better position.”
Augusto Fernandez, 12th in qualifying, DNF in the Sprint: “I’m disappointed for the crash because the weekend was going good but I was struggling a bit with the pace yesterday and when the tires dropped I don’t ride comfortable. Maybe the conditions and riding with the group and the high temperatures are not helping but I’m a bit on the limit. I need to work a bit on this pace for tomorrow and let’s see.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “A tricky day here in Thailand. Pol couldn’t make Q2 this morning after going slightly wide in the last corner of his flying lap. His situation was a bit more complicated for the Sprint but he made a good start and good rhythm until the initial grip of the tire dropped and he started to feel uncomfortable. It will be important to understand what happened and to try and improve the situation for tomorrow. Augusto knew that qualifying in Q2 directly would make things easier but it was not a perfect session for him. He lost the front during the Sprint while he was trying to find his pace. There is a lot to learn from today. As a rookie Augusto needs to stay steady and we also need to look at the others to analyze and find some solutions for Sunday.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:29.287
2. Luca Marini (ITA) Ducati +0.138
3. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Aprilia +0.174
12. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +0.790
17. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +1.30.124 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Thailand Grand Prix
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:41.593
2. Brad Binder (RSA) KTM +0.933
3. Luca Marini (ITA) Ducati +1.841
16. Pol Espargaro (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +15.644
DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3
Moto3 and Moto2
David Alonso powered around the Buriram sweeps and apexes hunting a reprieve from the slip in Australia that prevented another Moto3 podium appearance. Ryusei Yamanaka was also on the prowl for the best quali position on the grid that would allow the Japanese to rattle names in the leading group.
On Friday the GASGAS Aspar Team duo managed the 2nd and 5th fastest laps with the main protagonists in the class separated by a close 9 tenths of a second from 1st to 16th! Yamanaka was livelier on Saturday and was probing the front row of the grid. He clocked a lap just 0.16 of a second from Pole Position and was charging for another flyer until a crash on the last corner finished his Q2 session. 4th place was still one of his best quali performances of the year. Alonso was only four tenths of a second behind his ‘compañero’ and the time was enough for 12th on the starting grid for 19 laps of more gripping scenes on Sunday.
A very tricky Moto2 race in Australia was problematic for Jake Dixon but rewarding for Izan Guevara, who posted a strong 6th position in the cold and wet conditions. Dixon had crashed out of the Grand Prix before the red flag and that meant he was nursing a sore right shoulder in Thailand that affected his usual level of preparation. Jake gritted his teeth and still managed 9th, only half a second away from Pole Position. Izan was quick on Saturday and made Q2 for the first time this season. He ended up with 17th on the grid for his first Moto2 blast of Buriram and the race will go for 22 intense laps on Sunday.
Thailand Grand Prix MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Thailand Grand Prix
1. Deniz Öncü (TUR), KTM 1:42.061
2. Diogo Moreira (BRA) KTM +0.057
3. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.058
4. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.164
12. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.524
Results Qualifying Moto2 Thailand Grand Prix
1. Fermin Aldeguer (ESP) 1:35.371
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) +0.177
3. Albert Arenas (ESP) +0.319
9. Jake Dixon (GBR) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.594
17. Izan Guevara (ESP) GASGAS Aspar Team +0.858
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