Tech3 Team Principal Herve Poncharal is concerned about Augusto Fernandez’s lack of results – he believes Acosta’s performance also plays a role
Augusto Fernandez has clearly been overshadowed by his Tech3 teammate Pedro Acosta in the 2024 MotoGP season so far. An eleventh, a 14th and a 13th place are the only countable Fernandez results. It is now clear that he will lose his place in the KTM line-up next year. The chances of him getting an opportunity with another team are slim
Why has Fernandez found it so difficult since the first winter test? “What Pedro does is magical. I can’t explain it. Let’s call it positive magic.”
“I can’t explain what Augusto does either. It’s negative magic. On paper, Augusto thought to himself in the winter: ‘I have a year’s experience. My rookie season wasn’t exceptional, but it was okay’.”
“‘Next year I’m going to take a step and the rookie has to learn.’ I think he also thought to himself in the winter: ‘I beat Pedro in Moto2 when he came as a rookie. I became world champion’.”
But then everything was different from the first winter test. While Acosta impressed with top times, Fernandez couldn’t get a feel for the current RC16 and was lost. He was well off Acosta’s lap times from day 1.
“It was a shock for everyone, but probably even more so for Augusto when we saw Pedro,” estimates Poncharal. “When Augusto came to Sepang, he said that Pedro had already had three extra days of testing. “
“He had more time with the bike, while Augusto struggled to adapt from the 2023 bike to the 2024. He said it would come. But unfortunately, from session to session, from Grand Prix to Grand Prix, the gap is still there.”
“We never see Augusto closing this gap,” sighs Poncharal. While everything seems to happen playfully easily for Acosta, Fernandez has been caught up in this downward spiral from the first Sepang test day.
“When a rider does what Pedro does, it’s always easy,” compares his team boss. “He never complains about anything and is always happy. He says that everything is perfect and we don’t need to change anything. You hardly have any work then. You are a spectator of bliss”
“When things aren’t going well, like with Augusto, you question yourself. What should we do? How should we behave as a team? Are we too distant, should we hug him more? Should we change something technically?”
“I can say that the Pierer Mobility employees spend a lot of time with him. Everyone is worried, but we are trying very hard. We are here to help Augusto,” emphasizes Poncharal, who openly admits: “Of course I can’t be happy.”
“I always say that you need two legs to walk. At the moment, my team is only walking on one leg. That’s Pedro, because the other leg is not working well at the moment. That worries me. My mission is to get him back on track.”
“We haven’t been successful so far, but I can say that he’s giving it his all. He is fully motivated and in top physical condition, but the results are not coming.” Poncharal therefore believes that it is more of a mental thing.
“This is just my opinion and not a complete explanation, but Pedro’s performance has an influence – on all three, not just Augusto,” the Frenchman also thinks about the results of Brad Binder and Jack Miller. Binder is also placed behind Acosta in the World Championship.
“Sometimes you wonder how it’s all possible,” says Poncharal philosophically and puts Acosta in his place: “When I was at Yamaha, I can remember that only Valentino won. Everyone else wondered how that was possible. When Marc was at Honda, the other riders were nowhere and wondered how what he was doing was possible. “