Solid 5th for GASGAS and Acosta at Mugello MotoGP™

More Mugello memories for Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta! The 2024 MotoGP rookie sensation rides his GASGAS RC16 to the top five for the Italian Grand Prix and round seven of the current season in front of busy spectator areas and in sunny conditions in Tuscany.

• In the wake of his third Sprint podium on Saturday, Acosta completes a mature and impressive performance in his maiden MotoGP outing at Mugello and obtains 11 points after the 23 laps
• Augusto Fernandez has to pull out of the race after just four laps
• A close and thrilling Moto3™ dash sees both Jacob Roulstone and Daniel Holgado vie for maximum points in the group and score 9th and 14th respectively

The red light disappeared and red GASGAS race machinery thundered into life as the Italian Grand Prix staged another scorching and strategic show at Mugello. Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez both had their personal goals for the seventh round of MotoGP and following the Saturday Sprint where Pedro was able to polish his third podium medal of the season.

Acosta started swiftly and moved into the top five but didn’t have the final tenths of a second per lap to close to the podium fight. The rookie conserved rubber and maintained his pace to bag points and take the maximum plunder from the day. He has moved up to 5th in the championship standings as a result. Augusto Fernandez’s race lasted for five laps before he had to pull into the pitlane with a technical issue.

After back-to-back events, MotoGP now has an official one-day test at Mugello on Monday and then enters a three-weekend hiatus before charging into another ‘double’. The action starts again with the Dutch Grand Prix at TT Circuit Assen in late June.

Pedro Acosta, 5th: “Well, a tough race because we were missing a bit from the beginning but this was also the maximum we could take today. It was important to take points after two crashes recently and also information for the test tomorrow, as well as more learning in warm conditions for the summer races to come. For all this we have to say we are happy….but we are not! We’ll keep on trying to work like this because it feels like we are getting closer.”

Augusto Fernandez, DNF: “A shame to finish the race so early but we broke the rear fender and these things can happen. We couldn’t try the things we wanted to in the race. My start was good but the end came too quick. We have the test to try again tomorrow. It’s a tough moment but we need to keep working and fighting. There are still a lot of races ahead.”

Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “Today feels a bit like mission accomplished for the team. Pedro gave his maximum, and we feel it was the best we could achieve. We have to be proud of our weekend: it was quite strong with a podium in the Sprint and top five on Sunday at a difficult racetrack and we’re also up to 5th in the championship now. On Augusto’s side he was really unlucky. We need to understand why he had this issue because we’ve never seen it before! The positive point was that he was happy with his pace up until then and it was the first time this weekend he felt some improvement. So, we need to continue in this way.”

Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 40:51.385

2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.799

3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.924

5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +7.501

10. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +15.901

16. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +28.417

17. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +28.778

DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3

World Championship standings MotoGP

1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 171 points

2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 153

3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 136

5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 101

7. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 85

16. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 27

17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 13

Moto3

Rapid pace and unmissable position-swapping should have constituted a full Moto3 thriller at Mugello but the race was red-flagged due to a crash and was reset for 11 laps. Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone were firmly in the fray after lurching into battle from 5th and 7th positions on the start grid and then restarted from P7 and P9. Holgado’s hot line into the opening corner (at the second time of asking) led to a double Long Lap penalty. Roulstone topped the second group, and the pursuit of 7th, and the Australian eventually took 9th. Holgado made it home in 14th for 2 points.

After starting the day 14 points away from the championship leader, Holgado is now 37 adrift but a solid P2 in the standings. Roulstone has improved to 10th and the team are ranked 2nd.

Jacob Roulstone, 9th: “I’m quite happy with another top ten but I am also annoyed at myself for making the decision to run the medium tire. We’re learning! Pleased to be able to get my elbows out a bit more in the first laps but it was a shame that I was struggling with the grip when I opened the gas and lost the front group. A lot of positives though and more education here. The team did an awesome job and I’m already excited for Assen which is a track I’ve ridden before.”

Daniel Holgado, 14th: “A difficult day after the double Long Lap but we were able to save a few points. We have a few weeks now before Assen, so hard training for the next race. Thanks to the team for their amazing work.”

Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Italy

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 21:17.796

2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.142

3. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) KTM +1.253

9. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +14.099

14. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +22.031

15. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) KTM +22.091

18. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +22.259

DNF. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna

DNF. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM

World Championship standings Moto3

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 143 points

2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 106

3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 95

8. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 45

10. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 42

12. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 35

14. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 31

22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 3