Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 again sampled the sweet taste of podium Prosecco as MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta took a prize for the third Grand Prix in succession thanks to 2nd position in the Gran Premio de España Sprint. The 19-year-old is now up to 2nd place in the world championship standings after his maiden Sprint spoils in 2024 and in the wake of a breath-taking and unpredictable spectacle at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. Teammate Augusto Fernandez rode well for a hard-earned 8th and a Saturday ‘PB’.
Heat in the air, heat on the track. Pedro throttled the GASGAS RC16 hard on Friday at Jerez to rank 6th and make Q2 directly once more. Acosta has previous winning form at Jerez, but in Moto2, and had to learn the limits of the 13-corner layout at higher speed. The 19-year-old applied his distinctive flowing style and hard-braking skills through quali on a surprisingly wet Saturday Q2 to place 10th for the fourth row; a slide into Turn 13, dismantling what would have been a contender for Pole Position. Augusto rode to 8th place in Q1 for 18th.
The 12-lap Sprint was chaos defined as Acosta put himself into a promising position by roaming the edges of the top five in the first laps. There was contact, mistakes, misjudgment and fierce speed on a dry track that contained a few surprisingly damp patches. Fifteen falls jumbled the order, but Acosta defied his inexperience to remain upright and onboard. He grabbed a comfortable 2nd place to take part in a wild podium celebration by the busy grandstands. Augusto was also resilient. He focused on stability, precision and avoiding trouble to charge to 8th to complete the best Saturday of the year so far for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3.
Pedro Acosta, 10th in qualifying, 2nd in the Sprint: “It was quite tough to judge a mixed track and to see the wet patches, especially in Turn 5 and I was losing some time there. I could not get closer to the riders I wanted to pass, but, anyway we are working on what we are missing from these races, like the Sprints and the time attacks. We were quite fast at the start, this was nice. This is the important thing. I think we have the best fan club here in the whole circuit! It was really nice to celebrate like that.”
Augusto Fernandez, 18th in qualifying, 8th in the Sprint: “A crazy race! I knew in those conditions it would be important not to make mistakes, stay on the bike and to finish. There were some wet patches on the line, in Turn 5 especially, and it was easy to make a mistake and go wide. We’ll take the points but we’re struggling for better rear grip, so let’s see if we can try and improve that tomorrow and have a good race.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Another day to mark for us and the team with Pedro’s first Sprint podium…after an eventful race! This morning, we had a slightly bitter taste after Pedro missed the front row due to a crash, and we knew that a place on the fourth row would be tough but we know Pedro can easily surprise us. It was tricky for all the riders out there and it was a matter of surviving and avoiding the patches and keeping the pace. P2 was a great achievement and puts him in the same place for the championship. Augusto had a small issue at the start but did not give up and fought to keep his position. Those two points were something positive even if he did not have the pace he wanted. Let’s see what we can do in fully dry conditions tomorrow.”
- From GasGas Press Release
