ACOSTA AND FERNANDEZ COMPLETE KEY JEREZ TEST WITH POSITIVE IMPROVEMENTS AHEAD OF UPCOMING ROUNDS

After a record-breaking Gran Premio de España which saw 296 741 fans come watch MotoGP™ at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez were not quite over yet with their Andalusian adventure, as a busy day of testing was awaiting them on Monday morning.

The Jerez MotoGP™ Official Test came just after the first four rounds of the season, and was the opportunity for rookie Pedro Acosta to work on the areas of improvements following a first assessment of the rookie’s beginnings in the premier class. On the shark’s menu today, there was an aero evolution brought by Pierer Mobility, a focus on the ride-height device and some ground work on the bike’s setting. The sun was out setting the stage for a testing day with decent track conditions, so the number 31 did not wait long to get on with the work as he kicked off his day at 10:15 this morning. With positives and negatives to feedback to the engineers, Acosta had done 33 laps at lunch time with a best lap in 1’37.224, 0.819 seconds from the top. A quick lunch break while keeping his leather on, Acosta’s style, a few changes on the bike and the Spaniard was back at it again in no time. He completed another 42 laps to bring his total of laps to 75, with a best in 1’36.893 which placed him eleventh of the Jerez Test. A great day of work accomplished by the rookie! Some much deserved rest now awaits him after an extremely demanding Spanish Grand Prix, before he heads to another busy one, the team’s home race, in Le Mans.

Augusto Fernandez was looking forward to this important day of testing with the team after a tough start to his second campaign in MotoGP™, in addition to a disappointing Spanish Grand Prix. The number 37 tried many different settings as he continued to look out for solutions to be more competitive on the 2024 RC16. Amongst the areas worked on, there was also a focus on the ride-height device, the shock, and some extra work on the clutch following yesterday’s race. At lunch time, Augusto had done 43 laps with a best in 1'37.904, and he managed to grab a few thousandths in the afternoon with a 1'37.850, as he completed a total of 65 laps today. A late crash just before the end called it a day. It is now time to process all the data gathered during these eight hours on track, and get back to work as Fernandez hopes to be heading to Le Mans with a new base of work.

Position: 11th

Time: 1'36.893

Laps: 75

"We made many laps, tried many things, including a new fairing and some details in the setting. In MotoGP, with some very tiny changes, you can gain some tenths, so every improvement is a positive. It was also important to do more laps here in Jerez as we struggled a bit more in some areas this weekend, and today allowed us to address the small issues we had. Anyway, we end this day with many positives, and we are ready for the next round in le Mans."

Position: 22nd

Time: 1'37.850

Laps: 65

"Hard day of testing, but very important for us. We are still on the lookout for a set up that will help us improve our feeling in general, to be faster and more competitive. I am still not fast enough, but I am not unhappy about our day. We were able to narrow down our options, we pointed out the things that are not working, and this is a positive for us, because it is going to guide us to a solution that will work, we are getting closer to our target, and it is what helps me keep the motivation.The process is slow, we are going through a hard time at the moment, but we are not giving up. I want to say sorry to my team for the late crash today, and thank them for the work. We will rest a bit and get ready for Le Mans, a track that I like a lot, and it was a good GP for us last season.”

Team Manager

"Traditionally, the Jerez Test is always very important as it is the first one after the season’s launch, so we work on the current package, we try to find different options and develop some parts for the season, and this is just what we did today. On Pedro Acosta’s side, we had different parts from our to-do-list to try, and we found some positives in the aero configuration which gave him extra confidence, in addition to a different shock setting. We did not get faster than the weekend, but it was not the target, our goal was to develop the bike for the next rounds. Pedro feels more comfortable with the bike, which is positive for us. On Augusto Fernandez’ side, we focused on trying to find different configurations to give him the confidence he has desperately been looking for since the start of the season. We tried many things, pushed a bit more as we had more time than on a race weekend, and we are happy because we found something that he liked. We will keep this base for Le Mans, and start from there. Time to pack, and head to the next round in France!”

GALLERY

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