FINALLY! MotoGP™ roars again after three weeks, and this time, in the middle of Tuscan hills at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello for the Gran Premio d’Italia, the sixth round of the 2023 MotoGP™ World Championship. Rookie Augusto Fernandez was more than happy to jump back on his GASGAS RC16 this morning under a bright sun, alongside Jonas Folger who was once again filling in for Pol Espargaro, whose return to racing is getting very close.
Time appeared very long to Spaniard Augusto Fernandez since his brilliant fourth place at the French Grand Prix, so the smile was obviously on his face this morning when it was time to hit the track after three weeks. A new weekend and new challenges were lying ahead for the rookie who was discovering another track on a MotoGP™ machine this morning. Both slow and fast corners, long straights, and much more were awaiting Augusto who dedicated Practice 1 this morning to discovery. It was all about finding his marks, observing the other riders’ trajectories and learning as much as possible. He rode his fastest lap in 1’47.442, 1'321 seconds from this morning’s fastest rider, which is not bad for a first time. In the afternoon, track conditions got warmer so times logically went down for everyone, including Augusto who managed to make some progress, with a personal best in 1’47.014 reached in his last flying lap. The rookie places himself in twenty-first in the timesheets, and will be eager to continue progressing on Saturday on the challenging Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
His teammate Jonas Folger returned to the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team for the fourth time, with the objective to get closer to the rest of the riders. The German rider enjoyed his day in the Tuscan hills with a positive morning session at the end of which he felt quite positive. The aim was to adapt to the track and find his rhythm, while observing the others in order to reduce his gap with them. In the afternoon, he seemed to struggle a bit more to find his mark on a hotter track, and did not manage to improve his time. His fastest lap of the morning in 1’48.482 remained his best of the day. Together with his team, he will analyze data from the day as he hopes to improve a few areas in order to do a good qualifying session tomorrow, before the Sprint in the afternoon. MotoGP™ action will return tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT+2), with Free Practice, followed by the qualifying sessions. In the afternoon, don’t miss the Tissot Sprint at 15:00 GMT+2.
Position: 21st
Time: 1'47.014
Laps: 45
Position: 24th
Time: 1'48.482
Laps: 39
