20/11/2023 News
More points for Fernandez
Losail, Qatar, November 20th 2023 - Augusto Fernandez confirmed his end of the season progress by taking points in both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix at the penultimate round in Qatar.
MotoGP
For the second time this season, Augusto Fernandez managed to get into the points at the finish of the Sprint race. Twelfth on the grid after one of his best qualifying sessions of the year, the GASGAS Tech 3 rider took the chequered flag in ninth position. He did it again the following day, finishing fifteenth. But he wasn't entirely satisfied with the result. “I felt strong and I was convinced that a top ten finish was possible," he confided. “Unfortunately, the start and the beginning of the race didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I lost places and then found it difficult to overtake. But I've got to stay positive because I'm feeling good and fast and better results will come in the end.” Sixteenth and eighteenth in the weekend's two races, Pol Espargaro found it harder to take advantage of the new surface at Lusail. “I had trouble with the front of the bike from the very first laps," said the Spaniard. “I couldn't turn, it was a difficult race. I've got one last Grand Prix to go and I'm going to do everything I can to finish on a positive note.”
Moto2
As in Malaysia a week earlier, Tony Arbolino finished the Qatar Grand Prix in tenth position. It was a disappointing result for the Elf Marc VDS Racing rider, who nonetheless retained his second place in the overall standings. Eleventh on the grid, the Italian had climbed to sixth place before falling back to his starting position on the eighth lap. “I nearly crashed several times," admitted Arbolino. “On the eighth lap, I recovered from a huge slide without really knowing how. I just managed to get back in front of Roberts on the last lap. We tried all weekend to find solutions to our problems without ever really succeeding.” Sam Lowes finished twelfth, despite having plunged to twentieth place at the start of the race to avoid a rider who had fallen in front of him.
Moto3
After taking his first pole position of the season and completing the first lap of the race in the lead, Dani Holgado had to make do with ninth place at the finish line of the Qatar Grand Prix. Not enough to dampen the KTM Tech 3 rider’s enthusiasm. “We had an incredible race today," enthused the Spaniard. “Our pace was really fast and I was very competitive, so I'm happy for all that. Unfortunately, the last few laps were difficult, as is often the case in Moto3, and I was one of the victims. But we have to stay positive because we did a good job.” For his team-mate Filippo Farioli, the penultimate race of the season came to an end on the fourth lap. “I got off to a good start and did some good laps in a group of very fast drivers," said the Italian. “Unfortunately, one of them hit me and I crashed out.” For the CFMoto Racing team, Joël Kelso took the chequered flag in thirteenth position after setting the seventh fastest time in practice. Xavi Artigas, fifteenth on the grid, was twentieth, just under eight seconds behind the winner.