There was plenty of MotoGP™ action going on at the Mobility Resort Motegi on Saturday at the Grand Prix of Japan. Clouds covered the Twin Ring for most of the day, which started in tricky conditions with a drying track in Free Practice 2, until a few drops of rain arrived just in time for the qualifying sessions. Pedro Acosta grabbed his maiden pole position in MotoGP™, and made history as he became the third youngest pole sitter in the premier class. Sadly, hearts were broken into pieces in the Tissot Sprint later on when the rookie crashed on lap 8 while he was on his way to a first sprint victory. Augusto Fernandez finished 15th of the Motegi sprint after qualifying in P18.

Friday was difficult for Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez who did not manage to point out the right bike set up to challenge the Japanese layout. There was one final chance in FP2 to adjust the bike, and after 14 laps, the Spaniard was ready. In Q1, Augusto set an early lap in 1’44.631 to take provisional P5 while he tried to stay with Jack Miller. As the Australian pit in, the Spaniard did so too, and when the #43 excited for run 2, the #37 did so too, aware that the KTM Factory rider's wheel could give him a little boost. There were a few others aware of that too, leaving us with typical Moto3™ games with three riders waiting behind the Australian. Fernandez eventually made a small improvement to 1’44.547, a lap that placed him in P18 on the grid. As lights of the Tissot Sprint went out, the Spaniard progressed to 17th after the opening lap to settle behind Luca Marini, with Takaaki Nakagami behind. Behind Augusto, the Japanese crashed after being involved in an incident with teammate Johann Zarco, leaving more space behind the #37. Zarco was given a long lap penalty, but still he was able to catch back Augusto who moved back to 16th. Then, his teammate’s crash on lap 8 gained him one more position, and the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider saw the checkered flag in P15.

Officially crowned 2024 MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year today, Pedro Acosta had a busy day awaiting him, but qualifying to Q2 was one less worry, especially when the weather makes things trickier. After confirming the bike’s settings and the decisions for the rest of the day in FP2, the rookie headed out on track at 11:15 local time for the fight for the sixteenth pole position. With the sky becoming darker and the rain flag waving, many riders urged out of the pitlane to try setting that fast lap very quickly. Acosta’s first lap was a 1'46.955, 1.211 seconds from the first flying lap set by Marc Marquez. The next lap was a 1'44.418 that powered him to provisional second, and the next one was the one he set a new benchmark with, in 1'43.758, as he took the provisional pole ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi. After a pit box stop, the Shark rejoined the final time attacks. Eventually, there were red sectors all over the place, and we had an on-fire Marc Marquez setting (at that time) a new all-time lap record at Motegi with a 1'42.868, but the young rookie had not said his final word. He continued his efforts to clock in a 1'43.018 to take provisional P2, 0.150 seconds from Marquez. The Gresini rider saw his lap cancelled for exceeding track limits, and that meant Pedro Acosta took his maiden pole position in the premier class, with a new all-time lap record in Motegi. He becomes the third youngest pole sitter in the premier class after Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez. With the thrills of a first MotoGP™ pole position, the young rider lined up on his first place on the grid. As lights went out for twelve laps, Acosta found the third place in the first corner after the rocket starts of the Factory Ducati bikes of Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini, with Brad Binder just behind. The #23 went wide in Turn 5, leaving space for Acosta to go ahead on the inside. He exited lap 1 in second with a 0.5 seconds gap on Bastianini. The rookie was on fire with a hot 1’43.825 on lap 3 that allowed him to close the gap on Bagnaia for battle for 1st. With no fear, he made a brilliant move at that same T5 as earlier, but this time, it was on the two-time world champion to take the provisional lead. After three laps, the front-three was quite clear with Acosta, Bagnaia and Bastianini one second away from Marc Marquez in P4. The rookie continued to hold the pace, leaving Bagnaia with no possibility for a comeback at that time. 5 laps remaining. The #1 made a small mistake that allowed the gap to grow to 0.7 seconds, Acosta pushed but sadly crushed everyone’s dream, including his, when he crashed on lap 8. A mistake he won’t forget for sure, and that he will feed from as a new opportunity from the pole position lies ahead of him on Sunday’s main race, scheduled at 14:00 local time (GMT+9), for 24 laps.