#JapaneseGP - October 6, 2024

Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 leaves Motegi with a bitter taste after both Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez crashed on Sunday’s race of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, making it a point-less weekend, a result far from our hopes and potential.

Pole Sitter for the first time in MotoGP™, the disappointment could not have been bigger after rookie Pedro Acosta made a mistake in the sprint, while he was at the lead with just four laps remaining. Today was a new day with a new opportunity to try getting that first win from the pole position for Pedro Acosta. Under an uncertain sky, lights went out at 14:00 local time for twenty-four laps. Acosta took a really good start to exit lap 1 in P2 behind Francesco Bagnaia who had also made a rocket start. Brad Binder was just behind, coming from his 5th place on the grid. As the battle for third behind went on, Acosta took some air as a small gap grew, while he tried to hold on to the world champion who was clearly on a mission to win the trophy at stake. Unfortunately, history repeated itself again today, when Pedro made a mistake in T14 on lap 3 and crashed out of second place. Heartbreak, chapter 2. With the uncertainty of the weather, the rookie chose to rejoin the race in prevention of a potential flag-to-flag race. He found himself at the back of the grid, one lap late, behind Remy Gardner. As the chances of rain narrowed down, the rookie decided to retire from the race. Disappointing end to our Japanese adventure, but we dared to dream. We will learn from our mistakes, and come back stronger in Australia.

From 18th on the grid, Augusto Fernandez took a good start today, progressing by three positions behind Raul Fernandez, and ahead of the usual Takaaki Nakagami. He started to get up to pace, but unfortunately crashed on lap 6 in T5. It is another DNF for Augusto Fernandez, who will be looking forward to a week of rest to recharge the batteries, before the Australian leg, the first round of the next tripleheader, on October 18-19-20, 2024.


Position: DNF
Championship: 6th
Points: 181
"It is tough to explain, but it was one of the best weekends of the season, but also one of the saddest. In the race, I was closing on Bagnaia, and saw an opportunity to pass him, but I made a mistake, and I can only blame myself. However, we were more competitive all weekend, we had the best feeling of all year, and we were closer to the top guys and the Ducatis, so for this, we need to be positive, because we have made big steps, and all we can do is look forward to Phillip Island."


Position: DNF
Championship: 21st
Points: 20
"We did quite a lot of changes on the bike to try getting a better feeling and solving the vibrations. The start was not bad, we were feeling good, but unfortunately I crashed, which is a great shame, because we could not confirm if there were good changes. We’ll be looking forward to Phillip Island to continue with that set up, and hopefully finish the season stronger."


Team Manager
"It is really difficult to hide our disappointment because we really felt that we had everything in our hands to probably experience a great weekend. It all started really well with Pedro Acosta’s pole position, he was happy with the bike, so from this point we understood that there was something to play for. To finish with two crashes is really painful, especially when you are fighting at the front. It is what it is, and we have to learn from our mistakes. I am sure that it will make him a stronger rider, although right now, it is painful to accept. On Augusto Fernandez’ side, the team decided to make a big set up change to try solving that vibration issue. It looks like it worked, but unfortunately he crashed after a few laps. We are repeating ourselves, but we need to finish races to be able to improve, and once again, we have not been able to do so. We have one week of break to reflect on this intense first tripleheader, and I am sure that we will come back stronger in two weeks in Phillip Island."

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