Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta claim ninth and thirteenth on Misano grid

Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta had an intense Saturday at the San Marino Grand Prix. After going straight into Q2, both riders fought for a good position on the grid. Fernandez will start from the third row, in ninth position, with Acosta, in thirteenth position.

FP3 was used by the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to make final adjustments before qualifying. Fernandez had set the fastest time in the early stages, but late on suffered a crash that brought his session to an early conclusion. Thanks to his 1:36.383, achieved on his eleventh lap, he finished in sixth place. Acosta progressively improved his times and reached the Top10 after the first part of the last Free Practice of the weekend. After putting in 19 laps, he concluded in seventh with a time of 1:36.473.

Both riders made their way directly into Q2, where they had the threat of rain to take into account. Fernandez did not find the best feeling, despite the fact that he maintained a good pace. His best lap -taking him into the Top 5- was cancelled, and his final attempt gave him a 1:36.527 that puts him ninth on the grid. Acosta looked to run a good pace, and it was on his fourth lap that he put in a 1:36.658 that put him thirteenth for the San Marino GP.

The 25-lap Moto2 race will start at 12:20 PM local time on Sunday, 4th September. 

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Celestino Vietti (Kalex) 1:35.996
2. Albert Arenas (Kalex) 1:36.097 +0.101
3. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 1:36.186 +0.190
4. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:36.373 +0.377
5. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 1:36.397 +0.401
9. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.527 +0.531
13. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.658 +0.662

#37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ

“It’s been a complete day. I’m not very happy because this morning in FP3, before the crash, we had worked well and I felt very comfortable. We had a good pace but I crashed when we were going to do a time attack. In the afternoon I found it a little more difficult and we will start rom the third row. I’m confident for tomorrow because I know that we have the pace and I hope to get a good result.”

#51 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It has been a day in which we have had to work a lot. We have to fine-tune details after today’s qualifying session. I think that tomorrow we can go one step further and fight for a good position in the race. We knew that at Misano it was going to be hard to set a fast lap, but tomorrow we have a new opportunity to improve.”