- Acosta marks the pace for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 under warm sunshine at the TT Circuit Assen and the anticipated return to one of the most famous motorcycle racing venues in the world
- Fernandez improves from 22nd in Quali to 15th in the Sprint
- Holgado slides into Moto3 contention with the 15th best lap-time in Q2. Rookie teammate Jacob Roulstone attempts to learn the demands of Assen and takes 20th
There are few better and most significant tracks to bring MotoGP back to full throttle after a small pause in the current GP campaign. The TT Circuit Assen, one of the original venues in the inaugural FIM World Championship in 1949, gave MotoGP a timely reminder of speed, flow and narrow margins and limits for round eight of twenty.
In MotoGP’s 75th anniversary, Assen was a particularly nostalgic reminder of the road ‘roots’ of motorcycle racing and the windy course (that was also ‘windy’ for the strong breeze on Friday) didn’t stop the field from dipping underneath lap record times from Friday practice. The 18-turn sequence of the layout was the next challenge for Pedro Acosta who missed out on Q2 entry on Friday afternoon after some bad luck with yellow flags. The 20-year-old lunged into Q1 and was repeatedly in contention for the cut. He eventually snagged P2 and went into Q2 where he set the 10th best lap, less than a second from Pole. Augusto Fernandez qualified in 22nd spot just a few tenths from the fastest race lap of 2023.
The Saturday Sprint raged around Assen for 13 laps. Acosta was immediately busy in the cut-and-thrust and reached a best slot of 10th. Fernandez persisted with his pace and application to the job at hand to record a top fifteen result. MotoGP will spin around the flat trajectory for 26 laps on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta, 10th in qualifying, 10th in the Sprint: “A good step overall today but the race was quite tough due to a couple of problems we did not expect…but racing can be like this sometimes. We have a lot of information for tomorrow and, overall, not too bad.”
Augusto Fernandez, 22nd in qualifying, 15th in the Sprint: “A difficult Saturday but in the Sprint we saw some light again. The qualifying was really tough for my feeling but also the gap to the others but the Sprint was a bit better. We’ll take that as a base for tomorrow. We are not starting in the best place but we’ll push for everything we can get.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Pedro had a difficult day on Friday and struggled to get comfortable but we made some changes and it was a bit better for Saturday. Q1 was strong but the small crash at the end meant it was then difficult for him in Q2! Nevertheless, he started inside the top ten and finished that way. It was a shame that he missed the points because he had a good record all season. Anyway, he is feeling stronger on the bike all the time so we are confident for tomorrow. Augusto is exploring different settings directions and he was happy with the feeling from the Sprint. Let’s see if we can get a bit more from the main race on Sunday.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of the Netherlands
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:30.540
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.081
3. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia +0.411
9. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.939
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.942
14. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.903 (Q1)
22. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1.32.669 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of the Netherlands
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 19:58.090
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +2.355
3. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia +4.103
6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +9.727
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +15.972
13. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +18.739
15. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +22.450
Moto3
Moto3 was unforgivingly close and tight for the final qualification lap-times. Although the entire field is still learning the full possibilities of the new Pirelli tires for 2024 and had to make the shrewdest choice for a hot Q1 and Q2 quali on Saturday, Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone were able to roam the limits of their potential fairly quickly on Friday and then into the crucial rundown. Less than one second split the top 16 after Q2. Holgado placed 15th on the distinctive red GASGAS and was 0.7 from the Pole Position time. Roulstone could not emerge from Q1 and will take to the grid in 20th for the 20 laps on Sunday morning and the first race of the day in front of an expected bumper crowd.
Dutch TT MotoGP photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of the Netherlands
1. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda 1:39.746
2. Taiyo Furusato (JPN) Honda +0.074
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.309
7. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.443
9. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +0.538
12. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.646
13. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +0.711
15. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.730
20. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:41.063 (Q1)
21. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:41.152 (Q1)
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