Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 left their mark on the seventh MotoGP Sprint of the season after Pedro Acosta sizzled around the amazing Mugello layout to enter the top three on Saturday. The rookie again showed his blossoming mastery of the GASGAS RC16 to take 3rd position after emerging through Quali with 7th place on the grid under sunny Italian skies. Augusto Fernandez crossed the finish line in 17th.
For almost four decades the Autodromo del Mugello has been the reference for beauty, grace and mind-boggling motorcycle racing pace. For many the natural valley setting and high-speed ‘flip-flop’ flow of 15 turns at Mugello sets the standard for MotoGP at its brave best.
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 came into this ‘arena’ with Pedro Acosta again showing phenomenal adaptation to the demands of the premier class. The youngster was immediately setting lap-times near the top of the practice sessions on Friday and pushed the limits to find the most effective lines and braking markers. He earned a direct Q2 entry for his efforts. Augusto Fernandez continued his quest for speed and went into Q1
The slightly unstable climate on Friday gave way to relentless sunshine and decent Spring conditions on Saturday, after FP3 the crew dipped straight into quali. Augusto was 10th in Q1, meaning 20th on the grid for the afternoon Sprint and the 23-lap distance on Sunday. Pedro had 15 minutes to abuse his throttle in Q2 and was 7th with just 0.9 separating the twelve riders in the session.
From the outset of the 11 laps in the Sprint Acosta was roving around the top five. He made passes and glided up to 4th and was then able to maintain his pace in the top three and bring the GASGAS RC16 home for 7 points. Fernandez made it to the flag in 17th.
Pedro Acosta, 7th in qualifying, 3rd in the Sprint: “Super-nice…but we know it could be better because we feel the improvement in our Saturdays and our qualifying. Our starts are also improving. We are coming closer to the top. We are closer than people think. We are on our way. More tomorrow!”
Augusto Fernandez, 20th in qualifying, 17th in the Sprint: “Tough day. The feeling was a bit better in practice and the quali but we tried something to improve it for the Sprint and it went the other way. We’ll keep working to try and get some more competitiveness for tomorrow.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Another shiny day for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team here. Pedro showed all his talent this morning and managed to secure a third row. In the Sprint he rode a good race, stayed calm and finally ended on the podium, which was one of his targets. It’s a good sign for tomorrow because he likes to put everything together and learn as much as he can from the Sprint. On Augusto’s side of the box it’s been difficult. We are trying things and looking for results…but I firmly believe that this is not Augusto’s level. Let’s go back to work and aim for more tomorrow.”
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