Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s dazzling rookie, Pedro Acosta, has removed all expectation for 2024 MotoGP. The 19-year-old followed up his first podium result three weeks ago in Portugal by showing superb speed around the Circuit of the Americas – one of the most technical and physical tracks in the world championship – to qualify 2nd and finish 4th in the 10-lap Sprint on Saturday.
Go big or go home: the American vibe around the Circuit of the Americas was strong for round three of 2024 MotoGP but Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 welcomed the speed and challenge for the sole American stop on the slate. Proudly bearing the Red Bull colors for one of the signature events of the season, the crew had high hopes for Spanish pairing Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez.
Many expected Acosta to need more time to get his markers around the Texan course but the starlet shone through a hot Friday schedule where he was the only RC16 racer to make the direct cut to Q2. Augusto was also markedly quicker in the third fixture of the year; sitting 15th fastest and just a second away from a new lap record pace.
On Saturday Acosta was able to save time and tires thanks to his Q2 berth and rode underneath the old lap record to seal 2nd place and sit in the middle of the front row of the grid. Augusto was 8th fastest in Q1 and filled 18th on the grid for the 10-lap Sprint and the 20-lap GP distance on Sunday. The Sprint saw Pedro slide into a three-rider tussle for second place. Acosta kept pace for until the final stages, gathering more mileage and experience at the sharp end and banking 6 more points to boot. Augusto did not reach the end of the first lap after a small mistake at Turn 15 proved costly and he crashed out.
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 go again in the main event tomorrow at 21.00 CET.
Pedro Acosta, 2nd in qualifying, 4th in the Sprint: “Overall a very good Saturday, starting from qualifying where we found a lap to be on the first row. It was important because here you can really struggle with overtaking early. I had a super-nice start in the race and had good speed. It’s true that we are learning and we need to work on the tire management and know when is the moment to push in the Sprint, but, we are on the way.”
Augusto Fernandez, 18th in qualifying, DNF in the Sprint: “A shame to finish the Sprint on the first lap! My start was not too bad…but I made a mistake. My feeling with the race pace was pretty good. Our position on the grid is not great but we need to focus on the start again tomorrow and look for a good full race.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Another highlight today for the team. The first front row qualifying for Pedro after quite a strong performance and only his third GP of the season. Every time he goes on track he gives the maximum and we just enjoy the show. It’s an unbelievable level. He also had a strong Sprint. He always wants more! Tomorrow he’ll fine tune his strategy. Augusto lost the front in Turn 15 while he was trying to defend his position. However, he was quite happy with the bike and we are confident tomorrow he can score some strong points.”
- From GasGas Factory Racing Tech3
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