The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders head to Motegi after the double podium acheived in Aragon.

After both riders achieved podium finishes at the Aragon Grand Prix, Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta move on to Japanese Grand Prix, which returns to the calendar after a two-year absence. Fernandez is the Moto2 World Championship leader and aims to increase the gap over his nearest rivals, as well as fighting for victory on raceday. Acosta will face a new circuit for him and try to build on his recent rostrum.

Fernandez now has four wins and three podium finishes in 2022, but has unfinished business at Motegi, where he has yet to place in the Top 3. After a very positive weekend at MotorLand Aragon, where he finished third after leading for part of the race, he faces this second consecutive weekend of action with great motivation and ready to score as many points as possible. With 214 points, he tops the standings in the Moto2 World Championship.

Acosta will compete at Motegi for the first time. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie earned a great victory at the Aragon Grand Prix, just three races after his return from injury. He continues to progress in the class and already has two wins and one pole position to his name. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider will now focus on continuing to improve and being competitive from Friday onwards in Japan, and is sixth overall with 123 points.

At previous Japanese Grands Prix, Red Bull KTM Ajo have achieved good results. In 2019, Jorge Martin was third. Miguel Oliveira was third in 2018 and Johann Zarco second in 2016. The latter also took victory in Japan in 2015.

Circuit information – Mobility Resort Motegi
Length: 4.801 m / 2.983 miles
Width: 15 m / 49.21 ft.
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 762 m / 0.473 miles
Constructed: 1997
Modified: 1997

37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ
“The flyaways are a difficult part of the season, and they come at the end of the campaign. You have to get as many points as possible, as they will be important in the fight for the title. We will try to do our best and work hard from Friday to get the victory. We are entering a part of the year where we cannot make any mistakes, so we will try to fight for the podium at every race.”

51 PEDRO ACOSTA
“It is my first flyaway in the World Championship. Everybody has been away for two or three years due to the pandemic, so I think that could work in our favour. I’m not setting a specific goal for myself, but rather we want to continue improving on Saturdays so that the race goes well. If we continue in this way, I am convinced that we will be able to do good things. The important thing is to work well and continue to achieve good results.”