Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 returned to the sweet haze of podium Prosecco after a stunning performance by Pedro Acosta in wet conditions at Buriram delivered the crew’s fifth trophy of 2024. The Spaniard moved up from 7th on the grid to seize 3rd with two laps to go and bagged his first rostrum appearance since the round 15 in Indonesia. Augusto Fernandez ran top eight at the overcast venue northeast of Bangkok but a late fall meant a DNF.
The fifth Grand Prix of Thailand had enjoyed heat and sunshine across Friday and Saturday but the teams arrived at the circuit in Buriram on Sunday morning to be greeted by wet asphalt and overcast skies. By the time of the 26-lap MotoGP race in the afternoon the track was still shimmering and soaking and was tricky for judging grip and visibility.
Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez began the Grand Prix from the third and sixth rows of the grid. Acosta took some time to feel his limits and potential but then passed three riders to move into podium contention and P3 by the flag. Augusto was busy scrapping inside the top ten and was demonstrating strong speed and potential. His fall came three laps before the end of the race.
The last phase of the final triple header will take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia next weekend and the 2024 season will close with the Valencian Grand Prix in three weeks’ time.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “Super-nice! It was a race where I was trying to stay calm and do everything in the right way and, after a few races where we did not finish, I wanted to be strong. We need to be happy. I want to thank the team for an amazing job because every time that we try something we are improving. I think we are making a good job in arriving where we want to go.”
Augusto Fernandez, DNF “A shame to finish like this but I was trying to save the front end and just crashed. I made a mistake and trying to recover the position I perhaps pushed a bit too much. After all race being in the group and seeing the result possible…a shame. The top eight was there. We’ll move onto Malaysia now.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “An unbelievable end to the Thai Grand Prix and the end to a few tricky races we’ve had. We knew we could perform well here and clearly the target today was to see the checkered flag in the best way. When we saw the rain we also thought we could hope for a bit more. This was Pedro’s first MotoGP race in the wet and he avoided any mistakes to make the podium and be where he wants to be. We are still in the fight for the top five of the championship as well. Augusto’s potential is very high in the wet and he wanted to show good form but unfortunately he crashed while he was in P8. It could have been a top ten finish. This is racing! Now onto Sepang for the last race of this triple header.”
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