Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 will focus on a decent forthcoming overseas section of the 2024 world championship calendar after promising speed and potential at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Pedro Acosta’s pace for podium contention was stopped by an early crash at the Emilia Romagna event as Augusto Fernandez weathered a vibration issue to 18th. The team were able to cheer on Daniel Holgado who grabbed a 4th in Moto3™.
More Misano mileage for GASGAS as the 2024 MotoGP season accelerates into the final stages. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix brought the series back to the flat, curving venue for the second fixture in a fortnight and before the calendar moves overseas during the month of October. Pedro Acosta recorded two 5th positions on Saturday and upon the championship’s return to Misano: one for qualifying and another in the Sprint. Augusto Fernandez started the race from 18th on the grid.
Acosta’s slot on the second row enabled him to lunge into the front-running group in the opening stages and look for more top five potential. He probed for ways to pass world champion Francesco Bagnaia but lost control tipping into Turn 15 and was out of the race. Fernandez had to make some bold moves to recover ground in the initial stages but then had to cope with the same vibration setback he had in the Saturday Sprint and crossed the finish line in 18th.
Acosta is 6th in the world championship standings. MotoGP now gets jetset. The paddock heads immediately to the island of Lombok and to the Mandalika Street Circuit for the Indonesia Grand Prix next weekend.
Augusto Fernandez, 18th: “I made a good start and I was fighting hard in a position where we could take out our pace, which I thought was better but then the vibration started again and it was difficult to ride. It limited me with my riding. Let’s work and see if we can improve for Indonesia.”
Pedro Acosta, DNF: “We had a problem with front tire temperature but I was doing my best to keep the pace with everyone until the crash. Difficult to say much more. The bike was good and we were competitive and fast. It’s painful to have another crash. So, we have to analyze what happened and improve.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Obviously not the Sunday we were hoping for. We thought Pedro would be in the top five at least. He started well and was following the plan but unfortunately crashed by losing the front. The positive was that he was even faster than the first trip to Misano and we also improved the bike. Augusto made a good start and was in the points but after a few laps had a similar problem as yesterday and could not go any faster. It was a shame, and we need to look in-depth at this because he otherwise had been feeling good on the bike. We have another chance next week.”
<
Discussion about this post