ACOSTA AND FERNANDEZ HEAD TO MONTMELO AND ARE READY TO GET ON THE GAS ON GASGAS LANDS

Just enough time to catch our breaths after a record-breaking French Grand Prix in Le Mans, and it is already time to face a new race week, as the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 squad is now heading to Montmeló, in the outskirts of Barcelona, for the Gran Premi de Catalunya. The sixth round of the season is an important stop for the team: In addition to being a home round for Spaniards Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez, the two riders will also defend their colours on GASGAS soil for the second MotoGP™ Grand Prix of the brand, native from Terrassa.

Le Mans did not end as he would have wanted for MotoGP™ rookie Pedro Acosta who saw his dreams to bring the team home glory end early into the main race when he crashed. There was a feeling of un-achievement for the Shark in France, and it is with no doubt that he will head to Barcelona even more hungry, as he hopes to put on a good show on both his home and GASGAS soil. There will be some challenges, such as tyres management, as the track is known to be one with the lowest grip on the calendar, but his five first rounds in the premier class will give the rookie the confidence that he can handle the situation. Acosta finished sixth of the Catalan GP in both 2022 and 2023 when he was in Moto2™, and it will be interesting to see how the #31 evolves through the weekend in Catalunya.

Augusto Fernandez finished in the points in France, in P13, but the Spaniard is still a bit far from his target, which is fighting for the top 10. Although he admitted that Le Mans was the best he has felt since the start of the season, his pace was still not competitive enough to reach his target. Last season in Catalunya, the #37 finished in the top 10, in P9, on a track that he enjoys a lot, and it will surely give him confidence to try improve, in front of Spanish and GASGAS fans, as he hopes to fly the red flag high in Catalunya.

Get ready for another action-packed weekend with Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez starting their Catalan GP campaign on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 10:45 local time (GMT+2), followed by the Practice session in the afternoon at 15:00 LT. Saturday will be busy as usual, with FP2 at 10:10 preceding the qualifying sessions, which will start at 10:50. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 riders will give all they have in the afternoon’s Tissot Sprint, at 3pm. The next day, they can do it all over again, on the long distance, as lights of the Gran Premi de Catalunya will go out at 14:00 LT on Sunday, for twenty-four laps. Let’s make it count, team!

Champinship: 6th

Points: 73

"Le Mans was a somewhat frustrating weekend since, as I said, we had the bike ready to reach the head of the race. I arrive in Montmeló with more enthusiasm and with clear ideas, so I will try to have a good Friday, continue on Saturday and finish it on Sunday. We will see how we manage the tyres throughout the weekend on a circuit with little grip, luckily in these first 5 races I have already learned something more about this topic. That said, I'm really looking forward to the weekend and seeing how the GASGAS audience fills the stands with red!"

Championship: 17th

Points: 13

"I am excited to head to Montmeló this week, a home GP for me. After Le Mans, the results were still not what we wanted, but there were some positives because I am feeling better with the bike and my riding. Barcelona is a track that I like, we had a good result last season, so I can not wait to get the work started on Thursday already. We will also be on GASGAS lands, so I am excited to race there and enjoy the atmosphere of the Grand Prix of Catalunya.”

Team Manager

"We are heading to Barcelona this week for the Gran Premi de Catalunya, round six of the calendar. This event usually generates spectacular races, because the surface grip is one of the lowest of the season, and all riders manage their tyres for the final laps, which are always explosive. Many riders consider this Grand Prix as their home race, and it will be the case for our two Spanish riders, without forgetting that Catalunya is where everything started for the GASGAS brand. Pedro Acosta saw his point-scoring series end in Le Mans. Until his early crash in the main race, he was the only rider on the grid to have scored points in every sprint and race, which was a decent record for the rookie. We know that he was not happy with his crash, but it is part of the learning process in the premier class, and Pedro will be back even hungrier this week. Augusto Fernandez made a step forward in Le Mans in terms of bike setup and confidence, and we hope that he will be able to start strong from Friday, because it is key for him to qualify well in order to fight for the top 10, his main target at the moment. A busy weekend awaits us again in Barcelona, and we are ready for it!”

GALLERY

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