Spanish Grand Prix heroics for Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 at a packed and sunny Jerez and the Gran Premio de España as Pedro Acosta’s maiden MotoGP season ‘good times’ continue to roll. The rookie recovered from a fast crash in Warm-Up to grab 10th place in the race at round four of 21 in 2024. Moto3™ star Daniel Holgado rallied from 18th place to grab 7th in front of an expectant crowd and retains the position of world championship leader.
The 4.4km Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto shimmered in spring sunshine and under bright blue skies as round four of the MotoGP series got underway with a more stable track, compared to the damp patches that caused confusion and chaos in the 12-lap Sprint on Saturday. MotoGP faced 25 laps on Sunday afternoon and with Pedro Acosta starting from 10th on the grid and Augusto Fernandez two rows behind.
19-year-old Acosta, who had been vying for Pole Position on Saturday and collected the team’s first ever Sprint success (in the second year of the format), suffered a fast crash at the rapid Turn 7 in the morning but thankfully #31 was unharmed. Acosta was brave and quick enough to recover ground after a conservative start and bagged 10th for his efforts.
Fernandez had extra work after he could not avoid a jump start due to a technical issue and had to take a double Long Lap penalty. Augusto came into the pits to try and rectify his situation but his race momentum was heavily affected and he could not classify.
Once the checkered flag had fallen, the points were tallied and placed Acosta 4th in the standings, 23 from and six ahead of Maverick Viñales. Fernandez sits 17th. Jerez is one of the most revered and historic circuits on the MotoGP slate but the championship moves to another mammoth fixture of popularity and prestige in two weeks with the Grand Prix de France around the famous La Sarthe circuit of Le Mans.
Pedro Acosta, 10th: “Well, a good Sunday in the end considering the crash we had in the morning, which was not the best way to start the day. The race was quite good for the pace but difficult with the start: it was hard to overtake fast and not lose time. We took more experience today and we need to be happy.”
Augusto Fernandez, DNF: “A bit of a disaster. I had a technical problem at the start and I could not stop the bike rolling. I wasn’t feeling great and then missed the Long Lap penalties: one to forget! Anyway, we have a test tomorrow where we really need to work to improve and to be more competitive and build the base we are missing.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Not the end to the weekend that we expected in Andalucia. The day started with a high-speed crash for Pedro when he hit a damp patch on the track. He wasn’t injured but in the race itself he couldn’t make the best start and was 18th on the first lap. After that he made a decent pace to finish in the top ten which is a solid result considering all that had happened. On Augusto’s side he is missing some good luck. He moved out of his position on the grid for a small problem and that meant the jump start. Finally, he had to pull in at the end of the race. A tough conclusion to the weekend. We need to keep working and we have an important test tomorrow. I hope we can start to perform again in Le Mans.”
- From GasGas Factory Racing Press Release
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