As all of us wind down right into a quiet winter on the finish of a busy MotoGP season, it presents us an opportunity to replicate on the marketing campaign that unfolded throughout 2024. Maybe not unfairly, few will look again fondly over Augusto Fernandez’s closing season with the Tech3 GASGAS squad.
There have been few highlights for the 27-year-old in a season that noticed him rating factors in grands prix on simply seven events (9 in complete if we take note of sprints too). In the long run, he completed the 12 months with 27 factors in twentieth within the standings, sparing himself the ignominy of coming final by advantage of manufacturing facility Honda duo Luca Marini and Joan Mir’s utter distress on the RC213V.
The 2024 marketing campaign was a marked step backwards for Fernandez, who scored 71 factors in 2023 on the GASGAS-branded KTM at Herve Poncharal’s squad in a much more constant season. Fernandez even cracked the highest 5 on the French GP final 12 months with a positive journey to fourth, whereas there can be three different high 10 visits.
In contrast, he noticed the highest 10 simply as soon as in 2024 when he rode to tenth on the penultimate spherical of the season in Malaysia.
Fernandez’s woes have been put additional into the highlight by the actual fact he was paired with the MotoGP paddock’s new golden boy Pedro Acosta. The 2023 Moto2 world champion was successful immediately when he put in a quick podium problem within the Qatar GP, whereas at spherical two in Portugal he had already breached the rostrum.
Acosta’s tremendous rookie 12 months led him to sixth within the standings, lacking out on high non-Ducati honours by simply two factors to veteran (by KTM requirements in 2024) stablemate Brad Binder. Acosta scored 9 podiums to Binder’s two (taking sprints and grands prix into consideration) and got here the closest any KTM did to difficult for a win.
Fernandez has at all times been in one thing of an unlucky place. From the second he was introduced as stepping as much as MotoGP with Tech3 in 2023, he was seen by many as merely being a seat-warmer for Acosta’s inevitable promotion in 2024. On the time, Pol Espargaro had a two-year deal in his again pocket previous to the intense accidents he suffered in a follow crash in Portugal 2023.
That incident and its aftereffects finally ended Espargaro’s profession, who moved right into a take a look at rider function with KTM because the Austrian model backed Fernandez for one more 12 months.
Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal instructed this author on the 2023 Malaysian GP that Fernandez’s notion by the skin world was harsh as a result of he was having to adapt to an irregular bike with out the steerage of skilled team-mate Espargaro. Beneath the circumstances, Fernandez didn’t do too badly.
It’s additionally simple to neglect that Fernandez is a grand prix world champion at Moto2 stage, one thing Acosta’s crew chief – and Espargaro’s earlier than that – Paul Trevathan was eager to level out when talking with Crash.internet on the Solidarity GP.
“Augusto Fernandez was an exquisite rookie, an exquisite character coming into the field, tremendous humble, as a world champion – let’s not neglect that he is a world champion,” Trevathan famous. “And truthfully it was a pleasure. You noticed the 12 months earlier than with Remy [Gardner] and Raul [Fernandez] coming into the field, I wasn’t there however I used to be on the opposite aspect wanting, and then you definitely noticed this and [you thought] ‘oh, my goodness’.”
The 2024 KTM wasn’t precisely a straightforward bike to get on with. Acosta put in some unbelievable performances on it, however (as you may learn in our unique interview with Trevathan) how he achieved these was one thing of a head-scratcher for the Austrian producer’s technicians.
Fernandez’s greatest concern in 2024 was the KTM’s carbon fibre chassis, which was first raced on the San Marino GP final 12 months by wildcard Dani Pedrosa. Fernandez famous again in October that he was “by no means comfy” on the body, with the Spaniard pointing at a “unusual” feeling on the rear stemming from the flexibleness of the chassis.
His staff labored tirelessly over the 12 months to try to discover a answer, even swapping crew chief Alex Merhand out for Alberto Giribuola (former Andrea Dovizioso’s trackside engineer) later within the season – although this was additionally a method of getting the engineer again on top of things in that function forward of his renewed affiliation with Enea Bastianini, whom he was final with at Gresini in 2022, subsequent 12 months.
However nothing ever fairly labored for Fernandez, who – displaying the character that Trevathan highlighted – refused after the ultimate spherical of 2024 to absolve himself of blame.
“This 12 months simply was a mixture of plenty of issues,” he instructed the media, together with Crash.internet, at Barcelona after a disappointing run to nineteenth within the Solidarity GP. “After all, perhaps the bike was not executed for my fashion. However I’m not this sort of rider. I attempted to adapt myself… I can change my fashion. So, I’m not the form of rider [to say] ‘this isn’t my fashion’ and all these sorts of issues. So, I work loads. That is my job and that is my life. So, at dwelling, I simply work to be quick on no matter bike I’ve. I attempt to adapt my fashion to each bike I’m driving however we didn’t do it right here. I attempted, however we didn’t get to a aggressive base at any level.”
Fernandez’s reflection on his time within the premier class up to now was magnanimous but additionally hopeful.
Augusto Fernandez
Whereas it was not formally introduced, Fernandez’s transfer to Yamaha as an official take a look at rider for 2025 was confirmed on the post-Solidarity GP take a look at when he appeared within the Japanese producer’s storage decked out in full staff gear.
He didn’t journey the M1 on the take a look at attributable to Yamaha needing to get its new undertaking with Yamaha off the bottom. Fernandez thinks there can be an outing in December at a personal take a look at: with KTM additionally set to check at Jerez this month, it’s seemingly Fernandez’s Yamaha monitor debut could come then. Crucially for Fernandez, he’ll get all six wildcard outing on the M1 subsequent 12 months.
Even with Yamaha gaining two full-time manufacturing facility bikes on the 2025 grid with Pramac, the actual fact Fernandez will race six occasions exhibits simply how a lot worth the model is already putting on him. He’ll seemingly be the primary one to race Yamaha’s V4 (an engine configuration he has solely skilled in MotoGP) in 2025, if that individual undertaking will get to that stage.
In addition, he has lengthy been Fabio Quartararo’s choose for the function: “It is already a couple of months that I am pushing to have a take a look at rider that has been [racing] a MotoGP bike actually lately, a rider that’s actually hungry,” he mentioned at August’s Austrian GP. “For me, Augusto is clearly a rider that I pushed [for] since a couple of months in the past.”
Usually, a rider steps right into a take a look at function on the finish of their racing profession. At 27, Fernandez is certainly not outdated, however the wealth of younger expertise on the ascendency in MotoGP places him on the unfavourable aspect of age on this world.
However that’s not how he sees it.
“It wasn’t meant to be, so my profession retains going differently than anticipated,” Fernandez mentioned at Barcelona. “But it surely retains going. I’m nonetheless alive. I’ll be again, I’m 100% certain. So [I need to] preserve working, preserve working onerous. In all of the testing, keep the extent of a MotoGP bike that we all know is totally different. Yeah, I’m not executed. So, wanting ahead to this subsequent chapter. I’m certain I’ll be again.
“It’s a special path, however in the long run profitable is simply one other form of profession however being final is identical as simply not being. So, I’m taking this chapter as one other means of arriving to the place we need to be. So, I’m wanting ahead to start out the brand new chapter.
“After all, I’m indignant due to this season, however as I mentioned: life goes on, my profession just isn’t over and I’m very wanting ahead to what’s coming. It’s simply totally different, as a result of we by no means see a take a look at rider come again competitively, as a result of it’s not normal. However I’ll do it…”
Fernandez’s six wildcards in 2025 will act as a superb area for him to solid his internet out once more, not least with Pramac’s Jack Miller solely on a one-year deal. That seat is extra more likely to go to a youthful rider for 2026 if Miller doesn’t earn it once more, however Fernandez might make himself the best candidate if his take a look at work proves beneficial for Yamaha – not least with the looming change to a V4 he can be logging plenty of miles on.
No matter occurs, Yamaha clearly features a rider with a grounded mentality as it really works its means again up the grid. And it is going to be that, simply as a lot as tangible outcomes, which retains the door open on Fernandez’s MotoGP dream…
