Many Moto2 and Moto3 riders have only had one or two seasons in their category, or even started completely this year. Some progress very quickly and see their name appear more and more often at the top of the rankings. Others take their first steps and discover the World Championship. Although they are discreet, these young drivers work hard and at Paddock-GP, we noticed them.
We therefore went to meet them to learn more about them, their journey and their objectives in order to present them to you.
For this seventh episode, we met the Spaniard Augusto Fernández who plays for the Pons HP40 team in Moto2.
Augusto, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Augusto Fernández, I was born in Madrid on September 23, 1997 but I have lived in Mallorca almost always. I have a little brother who started riding at the same time as me but eventually decided to stop to concentrate on his studies.
Does your passion come from your family?
My father was always passionate about motorcycles but was never a pilot. We just watched the races at home and I really liked it, so I started racing at six years old, when I was given my first motorbike.
What championships did you participate in before arriving at the World Cup?
I took part in my very first competition in 2007, in the Cuna de Campeones Bancaja, an important mini motorcycle championship in Spain. I won the first race, made two podiums and finished sixth. Then, I continued on mini bikes before participating in 2010 in the Liga Ínter-Escuelas of Chicho Lorenzo, Jorge's father. I stayed there in 2011 and 2012 and won quite a few races.
In 2013 I participated in the European Junior Cup in Superbike, which can be compared to the Red Bull Rookies Cup in MotoGP. I finished Vice-Champion the first year then Champion the second, in 2014. I then moved to Superstock600, to Superbike, in 2015. I won a race, took two or three podiums and finished fourth in the championship and best rookie.
In 2016 I moved to the CEV Superstock 600 where I won a lot of races then, in the middle of the season, I joined the CEV Moto2. I once again finished as the best rookie, finishing in fifth position in the general classification.
In 2017 I continued in CEV Moto2, but in the middle of the year, Speed Up called me to come and replace Axel Bassani in Mondial Moto2. I entered the points twice, in Malaysia and in Valencia, but the team did not renew my contract for 2018. So I returned this year to CEV Moto2, and there it was the Pons HP40 team which called me in the middle of the season to replace Héctor Barberá in the Moto2 World Cup. So I've been evolving in the team ever since and will continue next year.
Your arrival in the World Championship was a bit special since on two occasions you were contacted in the middle of the season to come and replace a rider within a Moto2 team. It's far from being a classic route, how did you experience it?
Difficult! It's very complicated to arrive directly in Moto2 and score points from the start. In the end I succeeded, but the team didn't give me the opportunity to continue. All hope is then taken away from you while you were trying to make a projection to progress. Then, finding a team in CEV was not easy, especially from an economic point of view. My family had to participate. In the end I was able to participate but I didn't ride much, only three or four races, because then Sito Pons called me to replace Barberá. So I came back, but this time with a different mentality and the team helped me in that too. Last year I was under pressure, and then I was told to take it slowly, without stressing myself out. In the end it worked because I progressed a lot until finishing fourth in Australia. In testing too, I am often at the forefront and improvement is regular.
What are your goals for 2019?
This year, my goal was to get completely used to the category and aim for the top 10. I achieved it at the end of the season and that's positive. Next year, we will have to see if the adaptation to the Triumph engine goes well, but I would like to fight at the front from the start and then aim for victory.
Check out previous episodes:
Episode 1: Andrea Locatelli (Moto2) / Episode 2: Dennis Foggia (Moto3) / Episode 3: Iker Lecuona (Moto2) / Episode 4: Alsonso Lopez (Moto3) / Episode 5: Albert Arenas (Moto3) / Episode 6: Marcos Ramirez (Moto3).
