Pedro Acosta joined MotoGP and Red Bull GasGas Tech3 this year with high expectations, but he was still a rookie – which, theoretically, could have put his teammate Augusto Fernández in a leadership position. However, that didn’t happen, and it’s actually the newcomer who is proving to be the stronger rider in Hervé Poncharal’s team.
The Frenchman told MotoSprint that the current situation with Acosta and Augusto Fernández reminds him of a past situation in the 250cc class: ‘Our current situation with Acosta and Augusto Fernández reminds me of the time with Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano when they battled for the title with me until the last race at Phillip Island. On that occasion, only 0.014s separated a winner from a loser, and I told my team, «I need to spend more time with Nakano than with Jacque because I need to cheer him up». This year, it’s the same with Augusto, who is struggling’.
Poncharal admitted that Fernández’s dashed expectations compared to Acosta’s performance complicate the task for #37: ‘In the winter, he legitimately thought he would be the team leader, considering that Acosta was a rookie this season, but that didn’t happen. In everyday life, one plus one equals two, but in racing, sometimes it doesn’’t. The fact that Acosta is performing so well obviously makes things difficult for Augusto, given that it’s hard to make comparisons, and when there’s an obvious difference in results, it’s not easy’.
And considering Fernández’s situation, the Tech3 owner admitted that the season has not been entirely satisfying: ‘Overall, we can’t be completely satisfied, given that a team is made up of two riders and it’s like a human being, which needs two legs moving at the same pace to function perfectly’.