IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR: RED BULL GASGAS TECH3 THRILLED TO RETURN IN LOMBOK ISLAND FOR INDONESIAN GP

Let's go to Asia! The Gran Premio dell’Emilia-Romagna barely done, and the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 squad was already on a plane flying to beautiful and paradisiac Lombok island for the third edition of the Indonesian Grand Prix, hosted at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit, surrounded by beaches and eye-catching natural scenery. As the final part of the season begins, Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez will both be looking forward to enjoying this tour and meeting fans from all over the world.

Fresh from a frustrating end to his Emilia-Romagna campaign after crashing while he was in 4th in the race, Pedro Acosta will be eager to get back on his RC16 on Friday in Lombok island. Misano 2 was a strong weekend for the rookie, after he qualified again on the second row before finishing 5th of the sprint, but hopes of big points were reduced to dust in the main race, leaving Acosta with a bittersweet feeling while jumping on his flight to Indonesia. The Mandalika circuit will be a first on the MotoGP™ machine for the rookie who has often shown quick adaptation, but an extra factor always adds itself up in the overseas rounds: the weather! He also won the Moto2™ edition in 2023, so it is a layout that he seems to enjoy. Let’s see what Indonesia has in store.

Augusto Fernandez struggled all weekend at Misano World Circuit, as he encountered diverse issues that prevented him from making progress, but the Spaniard is already looking forward to getting back in the saddle in the middle of the palm trees for the Indonesian round. The layout was not Augusto’s best in his rookie season, but he will be eager to try improving, and who knows, if it comes, maybe the rain could help him to gain back a much needed boost of confidence.

While European motorcycling addicts will need to set their alarms from now on, it is finally that time of the year for Asian fans to be able to watch the world’s most exciting sport on a more suitable schedule. Lombok island will be 6 hours ahead of European time, so be careful! The action of the Grand Prix of Indonesia will start on Friday morning at 10:45 local time (GMT+8) with Free Practice 1, followed later on by the hot-Practice session at 15:00. On Saturday, Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez will return to their RC16s at 10:10 for Free Practice 2, before qualifying starts at 10:50. In the afternoon, the Tissot Sprint will see the best riders of the world fight for the gold medal on the 4.2 km layout, at 15:00 for 13 laps. Finally, the big show will be on Sunday with the main race, scheduled at 15:00 (GMT+8), for 27 laps!

Championship: 6^th

Points: 157

"We will be back to a new track again this week after two rounds in a row in Misano, but looking at last year's results, Indonesia was rather good to Binder and Miller, so I think that the layout will suit our bike. Of course, as always, we will need to learn first, and try a few things, but hopefully we can adapt well and be competitive from Friday."

Championship: 20^th

Points: 20

"After a rather difficult Misano 2 round, I am glad to be already looking at a new race week, and jump back on the bike on Friday to see if we can erase the bad feeling on the bike we had last weekend. The Mandalika circuit was not my best track last season, but everything is different this year, so let’s see what we can do. I am super excited to travel to Lombok, the support there is incredible!"

Team Manager

"We are now heading to Indonesia for the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, the first event of the traditional end-of-season Asian tour. This incredible layout, located in surf paradise Lombok island, is surrounded by the equatorial forest and the Indian ocean. It is a great opportunity to share our passion for motorcycling with Indonesian fans in a typical Asian atmosphere. The last couple of races did not really go to plan, and Pedro Acosta left Misano disappointed. His speed from the weekend was a positive point though. On a layout where all MotoGP riders don't have that much experience, I am sure that Pedro can fight at the front on a track where he won last season in Moto2, and finally score the points needed for the championship. Augusto Fernandez has partially shown good speed lately, but has failed to demonstrate it in the races. Nevertheless, we are behind him, pushing him, and we want to start overseas with a strong result."

GALLERY

< BACK TO NEWS GP 2024