Press release issued by: GASGAS Factory Racing MotoGP Press Office – April 2, 2023
GASGAS Factory Racing’s MotoGP story wrapped another chapter today as Augusto Fernandez swallowed more experience of this highly demanding and technical series with a decent 11th place finish at a wet Termas de Rio Hondo. The Spaniard, and the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 crew, pushed through 25 sodden laps of the Gran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina to rack-up world championship points for the second weekend in a row.
- Top 11 for GASGAS in their second ever MotoGP Grand Prix and first appearance on South American soil in the series
- Fernandez shows maturity and fast development once more to fight on the fringe of the top ten after starting from 17th position on the grid
- The reigning Moto2 world champion is the sole runner for the team and the brand in Argentina as Pol Espargaro continues his recovery from the crash in Portugal nine days ago
- Jake Dixon makes the podium breakthrough in Moto2™ with 3rd place as Ryusei Yamanaka charges to the top ten in Moto3™
Stormy conditions around Termas de Rio Hondo made for a rainy and grim race day. The second round of 21 in 2023 MotoGP represented the eighth visit by the series to the fast and flowing layout in northern Argentina and the teams and riders negotiated the second ever MotoGP Sprint on Saturday before starting to think about the 25-laps that would run on Sunday.
Fernandez made decent progress during the weekend and had his first taste of MotoGP class action in tricky mixed conditions as well as dealing with the low grip nature of the track. The GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team worked up to the Grand Prix chase on Sunday afternoon and Fernandez made a positive start from the sixth row. He then gained positions and fought off far more experienced racers. 11th place meant 5 points, his personal best and a time less than 20 seconds from the winner.
After two action-packed weekends in Portugal and Argentina, the GASGAS crew can now breathe and get back to Europe for a few days before flying across the Atlantic again to COTA in Texas for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas.
Augusto Fernandez, 19th: “I’m happy. It was a fun race and I had some good battles in the group. Step-by-step I was getting into my pace, making good laps and moving forwards. I enjoyed myself and it was a good experience to have that first wet race in MotoGP. Happy!”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Another strong race from our super-rookie who managed to score points in his first MotoGP race in fully wet conditions. It was a great result and he was less than twenty seconds from the leader, which is a decent accomplishment. His learning process is still ongoing and in just two races he has encountered a lot of conditions and challenges that will make him an even better rider in the future. Congratulations to him. He improved session after session and was fighting with MotoGP winners and world champions. He was not far away. So, let’s keep working like this.”
Results MotoGPGran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati 44:28.518
2. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +4.085
3. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +4.681
11. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 +19.380
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati, 50 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 41
3. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati, 35
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 8
