Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 experienced a decent uptick in form, speed and confidence in Spain for round 12 of 20 in 2024 MotoGP as Pedro Acosta sealed 3rd position in Sunday’s race to complement his fourth Sprint podium finish of the season on Saturday. Teammate Augusto Fernandez was competitive and probing for opportunities around the hot and slick MotorLand asphalt as the Majorcan took 13th, and altered to 12th post-race after penalties for other riders.
Thunderstorms and erratic weather had created mixed track conditions and varying degrees of grip and cleanliness, which presented challenges for the MotoGP teams and riders across the weekend of the Aragon Grand Prix. Sunday’s 23-lap race distance was no different after a dark and rainy start to the day.
Pedro Acosta took to the grid with a view from the middle of the first row on his GASGAS RC16 while Augusto Fernandez was further back but with renewed belief in his ability to recover ground and with the 3rd fastest lap in a wet warm-up session.
Traction was like gold across the resurfaced and drying Spanish course but Acosta was able to start well and put the red bike into the podium battle in the early stages. Tire preservation was again paramount to best combat the degradation and the Grand Prix was all about pacing as Acosta dueled for the top five with Brad Binder and Fernandez made himself busy in the search for the top ten.
Through the wheel roost and the hectic back-and-forth of pace and position-swapping, Pedro made it to the line in 3rd for 16 championship points. Fernandez ended the race with four points after being promoted from 13th to 12th. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 packed up quickly post-race as the circus moves east and to the Adriatic coastline for the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli next week.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “A tough race but a good one. The track conditions were difficult but we were managing to stay near the front even if it was hard to recover ground to them. Anyway, I’m happy because we are competitive again and even if we had just a top five today then the feeling was still good.”
Augusto Fernandez, 12th: “In the end I’m happy. Not with the position because this seems to be my average so far this season, but with the pace at the end of the race. My start wasn’t great like Saturday so I had to recover position and lost some positions doing that. We need to be fast on Friday. This was my first weekend with a new Crew Chief so there is a lot of change but I’m happy about it and my riding is coming back again. It’s good to have Misano in a couple of days to keep building.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “An unforgettable weekend with a podium double by Pedro Acosta and the best GP of the season with a front row grid position as well. We are super-happy to be back where we want to be, and it comes from the decision to go back to an older bike setting and it worked well. Pedro rode at a good pace and managed the tire well. Augusto ended up in the points once again and he enjoyed the weekend. Clearly now the focus has to turn to the qualifying if he wants to be where he deserves to be.”
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