Spanish Grand Prix heroics for Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 at a packed and sunny Jerez and the Gran Premio de España as Pedro Acosta’s maiden MotoGP season ‘good times’ continue to roll. The rookie recovered from a fast crash in Warm-Up to grab 10th place in the race at round four of 21 in 2024. Moto3™ star Daniel Holgado rallied from 18th place to grab 7th in front of an expectant crowd and retains the position of world championship leader.
The 4.4km Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto shimmered in spring sunshine and under bright blue skies as round four of the MotoGP series got underway with a more stable track, compared to the damp patches that caused confusion and chaos in the 12-lap Sprint on Saturday. MotoGP faced 25 laps on Sunday afternoon and with Pedro Acosta starting from 10th on the grid and Augusto Fernandez two rows behind.
19-year-old Acosta, who had been vying for Pole Position on Saturday and collected the team’s first ever Sprint success (in the second year of the format), suffered a fast crash at the rapid Turn 7 in the morning but thankfully #31 was unharmed. Acosta was brave and quick enough to recover ground after a conservative start and bagged 10th for his efforts.
Fernandez had extra work after he could not avoid a jump start due to a technical issue and had to take a double Long Lap penalty. Augusto came into the pits to try and rectify his situation but his race momentum was heavily affected and he could not classify.
Once the checkered flag had fallen, the points were tallied and placed Acosta 4th in the standings, 23 from P1 and six ahead of Maverick Viñales. Fernandez sits 17th. Jerez is one of the most revered and historic circuits on the MotoGP slate but the championship moves to another mammoth fixture of popularity and prestige in two weeks with the Grand Prix de France around the famous La Sarthe circuit of Le Mans.
Pedro Acosta, 10th: “Well, a good Sunday in the end considering the crash we had in the morning, which was not the best way to start the day. The race was quite good for the pace but difficult with the start: it was hard to overtake fast and not lose time. We took more experience today and we need to be happy.”
Augusto Fernandez, DNF: “A bit of a disaster. I had a technical problem at the start and I could not stop the bike rolling. I wasn’t feeling great and then missed the Long Lap penalties: one to forget! Anyway, we have a test tomorrow where we really need to work to improve and to be more competitive and build the base we are missing.”
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Not the end to the weekend that we expected in Andalucia. The day started with a high-speed crash for Pedro when he hit a damp patch on the track. He wasn’t injured but in the race itself he couldn’t make the best start and was 18th on the first lap. After that he made a decent pace to finish in the top ten which is a solid result considering all that had happened. On Augusto’s side he is missing some good luck. He moved out of his position on the grid for a small problem and that meant the jump start. Finally, he had to pull in at the end of the race. A tough conclusion to the weekend. We need to keep working and we have an important test tomorrow. I hope we can start to perform again in Le Mans.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Spain
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 40:58.053
2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.372
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +3.903
6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +7.801
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +20.762
DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
DNF. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
DNF. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 92 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 75
3. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati, 70
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 69
7. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 59
14. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 22
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 10
Moto3
The first race of the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix unleashed the power and pace of the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 Moto3 bikes and in thankfully easier conditions compared to Saturday’s unstable climate. Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone had the speed in practice to indicate that they could be competitive and try to carve through the field to find slots in the groups going for maximum points through the 19 laps but were both recovering from crashes in Q2.
The Spaniard fared better and edged into the second pack, just adrift of the top six. From there he was kept busy with a close multi-rider dice and eventually grabbed 7th position at the flag. The Australian was further back in the third group and secured 12th for his fourth consecutive points-score. Holgado has a 6-point cushion as leader of Moto3.
Daniel Holgado, 7th: “A very difficult race for me because yesterday was a big crash and a big impact to my body. I’m happy anyway. The team were great and now we’ll look towards our test this week to try and improve further.”
Jacob Roulstone, 12th: “Not a bad race today. It was a bit painful for me but I decided to push through. I was feeling OK but with about ten laps to go, when I was at the front of the group, my shoulder and wrist started to hurt a lot more so I settled into my pace. I’m happy to have finished and in the points, which was good. Thanks to the team!”
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Spain
1. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna IntactGP 33:29.725
2. David Muñoz (ESP) KTM +0.045
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM +0.871
7. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +10.400
11. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +19.152
12. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +19.921
16. Vicente Perez (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +22.382
22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +45.326
25. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna IntactGP +1 lap
DNF. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 74 points
2. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 68
3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna IntactGP, 46
10. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 23
11. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna IntactGP, 22
13. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 20
14. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 20
21. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 3