The Moto2 world champion put in an impressive performance at Le Mans. He beat the home champion, Fabio Quartararo, and landed at the highest rank in his main level career.
Of course, Poncharal was very happy when Pol Espargaro was injured and unable to gain points.
For young Spaniards, being the backbone of the team is a burden in itself. Moreover, he has no experience in MotoGP.
“Pol’s absence has definitely affected me,” said Fernandez, who rides a KTM in a GasGas jersey. “We have to go our own way because we have no other choice. During the winter test, I said that Pol would be my reference.
“Every time I got off the bike I would look at the data – usually before mine. It was all new to me and Pol helped a lot. But we have to do it ourselves.
“We have faith from Brad Binder and Jack Miller, but it is different because they are in different teams, in different boxes. But we are working with that.”
This approach impressed his boss at the Tech3 team, Herve Poncharal, impressed. “You need ambition and you have to set high targets. But, you can also achieve them if you are humble,” said the Frenchman.
“Augusto has that desire and desire in him, but he does it in a humble way. He is very polite and respectful of everyone. He has the right attitude on and off the track. He understands that you won’t succeed if you don’t work with him. good with the crew.
“This is teamwork. The fact that this happened in such a good atmosphere makes me very proud and happy. I want to thank Augusto for that.”
Fernandez used his KTM colleagues, Binder and Miller, as references. Even so, he also tried to focus on himself and the crew.
“Brad and Jack were in front, while I was behind. That’s what I saw – and not whether I was better than Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner,” Fernandez said of the difficult season of his two predecessors.
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The big question concerns his future. Fernandez is contracted for this season only and should be in contention for a place in 2024 based on form and results. Since the winter, he has been linked with Pedro Acosta who is also looking to move up to the premier class.
“The saddest thing is,” Poncharal told MotoGP.com, “when the media sometimes asks him the question. ‘Are you not afraid that you will lose your place to Pedro next year? It bothers me because he has shown great form since the start of the season which has often ignored.
“Some say, ‘Of course, he’s in the top 10 because someone fell. That’s true, but that’s not all.’
Fernandez was only 19 seconds behind at Jerez in 13th place and at Le Mans he qualified for Q2 straight for the first time. “Her appearance is very clear to see,” said Poncharal.
“He impressed us on Saturday by getting away from Q1. We haven’t done that for a long time. He beat Fabio Quartararo in front of his own home crowd. When we saw his lap times we couldn’t believe it. It was such a great moment.
“I think that performance was also a boost for him. People started to see him as a rider and not just a temporary solution. Unfortunately, he crashed during the Sprint Race and warm-up, so he had to ride the second bike.”
August Fernandez, Tech3 GASES Factory Racing
Foto oleh: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Due to the two crashes, Fernandez started the Le Mans race on the soft front tire to find an even better feeling. He was in the top 10 from the start, avoided all incidents and made it to fourth place.
“He was only 1.5 seconds behind Johann Zarco and was able to keep the Aprilia factory racer, Aleix Espargaro, behind him,” said Poncharal. “Yes, it’s not a podium or a win, but for us it’s a win. Don’t forget that this is his fifth MotoGP race. Not many rookies can achieve that level of performance under the same conditions.”