A refreshed and replenished GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 attacked the British Grand Prix at a wet and slick Silverstone circuit today and Augusto Fernandez continued to demonstrate his formidable talent in his rookie MotoGP season. The Moto2 world champion qualified a brilliant 5th for round nine of twenty and then rode to 8th in the Saturday Sprint: his best Saturday performance and first Sprint points.
Augusto Fernández rebounds superbly from a Free Practice crash Saturday morning to cut through Q1 and post the 5th fastest lap in qualification. He starts from the second row with his personal best ranking.
Augusto found the gravel in Turn 1 of the revised layout Saturday morning but the Spaniard regrouped and rode excellently to make his way through Q1 and occupy the second row of the grid after his efforts in Q2. Pol Espargaro endured an exhilarating first day back in MotoGP action since March on Friday and was swiftly back to competitiveness on Saturday. His 15th position through the rain showed his experience and class.
The weather cleared up by the time of the Sprint but the track was still damp and treacherous. 10 laps of measured aggression saw Fernández in the mix as he ran close to the top four. #37 controlled his pace, grip and potential to score points with 8th and register his best Saturday of 2023 to-date.
Augusto Fernandez, 5th in qualifying, 8th in the Sprint:
“A good day and I felt decent in the wet. We adapted quickly. Qualifying went well and then I tried everything on the first laps of the Sprint. We were quite close to the KTM guys, so, good. A positive day. I’m hopeful for a better rhythm in the dry tomorrow than we had on Friday. The top five might be a step too far but we’ll aim for the top ten and see where we can arrive.”
