The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider takes a hard-fought first win of the year at Le Mans, as Pedro Acosta crashes out when leading the race.

Augusto Fernandez opened his win account for the 2022 Moto2 World Championship season with victory at the French Grand Prix, on a great day for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider. The Spaniard also took his fourth victory of his career to date. The battle for glory also involved teammate Pedro Acosta, who led through to Lap 12 before crashing out.

Fernandez made a good start from the front row of the grid, going from third position to second at the opening corner. He broke away with Acosta at the front, leaving the rest of the field in their wake. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider maintained his pace, and when Acosta fell on Lap 12, Fernandez was able to ride alone through to the chequered flag. The win was the fourth of his career to date, with all of them having come in Moto2.

Starting from the pole position for the first time in Moto2, Acosta took advantage of the position by taking the holeshot. Pushing to the maximum, only his teammate was able to follow him, as they managed to escape from the rest of the pack. Acosta held his lead firmly until, unfortunately, going through Turn 5 on Lap 12, he crashed out of the race.

Fernandez is fifth in the overall standings with 69 points. Acosta is 17th with 20. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo will be back in action in two weeks’ time, at the Italian Grand Prix from May 27-29th.

Results (Moto2 Race)

1. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 40:31.726
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) +3.746
3. Somkiat Chantra (Kalex) +4.628
4. Cameron Beaubier (Kalex) +4.745
5. Ai Ogura (Kalex) +10.631
DNF. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2022

1. Celestino Vietti (Kalex) 108 points
2. Ai Ogura (Kalex) 92 points
3. Aron Canet (Kalex) 89 points
4. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 70 points
5. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 69 points
17. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 20 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“I am very happy with the improvement made in recent weeks by the whole team, and especially our riders. It has been a tough start to the season, but the team have remained calm and worked hard, whilst the riders have maintained their confidence. This is more important to me than the victories or the podiums. I think this win will be very important for Augusto’s confidence, since it will take away some of the pressure that he has put on himself since the beginning of the year. This shows that he has speed, experience and that he can fight in every race. Pedro continues with his learning process and this weekend he was fast. The mistake in the race is part of the process, and these are necessary moments. I know that he will continue to work well, and with him being so young I am convinced that he will win races in this class as well.”

#37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ

“I am very happy to have won again. It’s incredible. It was a very tough race, with the amount of time in which I was riding alone. At the beginning, when I was with Pedro, both pushing each other, it was somewhat easier, because we were riding at a very fast pace. When he crashed and I saw how far I was from the chasing group, I lost my concentration a little, as I didn’t know if he was pushing too hard for the track conditions. When I saw that those behind me were running 1:37s, I started to match their times. I had to make a great effort not to make a mistake. It was a long race for me but we took things lap-by-lap and we finally made it. I am very satisfied with this result, and it has been a good weekend for us. We will go for more at Mugello.”

#51 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It was a shame to finish the race like this, but it was the first weekend that we were really competitive. We had four tough races before this one, and here we led practice and were always at the front. That is what I will take away from this weekend. We are making progress in our adaptation, and in Italy we will continue to work and make every effort to take further steps forward.”