The rain was pouring down this morning in qualifying, with many riders getting caught by the tricky damp track, and Augusto Fernandez was one of them to go down this morning in Free Practice in the first corner, a few minutes before the qualifying sessions. Nevermind, he refocused completely for the first qualifying session. Appearing confident under these wet conditions, Augusto pulled a lap in 2’16.885 in his last flying lap, one which got him his second ticket of the season for the final qualifying session. Amongst a busy Q2, the rookie did not seem too impressed and took his shot, the track conditions being still quite wet. He rode even faster than the previous session, and his best in 2’16.101 powered him to P5, his first second row start in MotoGP™, and his best qualifying of the season so far. When lights went out at 15:00 LT for the Tissot Sprint, Fernandez took a solid start as he powered himself to third and overtook two riders, a position he had never found himself in so far this season. He lost a few positions after a couple of corners to find himself in seventh after one lap, behind Aleix Espargaro. With many big names to learn from, Augusto Fernandez tried to keep the contact with them. He lost another position to Johann Zarco who was coming back in full force from the middle of the grid, but did not let go his chances for points. He rode his fastest lap in lap 9 out of 10, in 2’11.555, just 0.074 seconds from the fastest lap of Brad Binder. The GASGAS Tech3 rider passed the checkered flag in P8 to score his first Tissot Sprint points. He will for sure be looking for more on Sunday, as he will once again set off from the second row.

Pol Espargaro experienced his first ever Super Saturday today, and it is fair to say that a damp track is never what you hope for on your return, but the experienced Spaniard did very well. He qualified in P15 this morning with a fastest lap in 2’18.118, a rather encouraging result for Espargaro who, let’s remember, had not done a qualifying session since the closing round of 2022, back in November. With a mix of excitement and stress, the number 44 lined up for his first Tissot Sprint this afternoon. When lights went out, he took a great start and overtook a couple of riders to find himself in P11 after one lap, just behind Johann Zarco. As all riders set into their paces, Espargaro lost a couple of positions, but his race pace remained consistent and encouraging. Eventually, he finished in sixteenth, a good achievement. There will be another test on the long hole tomorrow, with the main race scheduled at 13:00 LT, for twenty laps. Let’s get on the gas, Pol!