Let's Talk MotoGP: This Rider Seems to Have Disappeared!

It's time to take stock! As every year for the past three years, Let's talk MotoGP is embarking on a rather important undertaking: taking stock of each driver at the end of the 2024 season, today, it's the turn of a driver who has almost disappeared, Augusto Fernandez. For a good part of the winter, we'll be going up the rankings in reverse, until we talk in detail about the world champion's campaign. Are you ready? Let's go!

Yesterday we returned to the case of Joan Mir; click here to find this episode.

 

The most discreet of all

 

The publication date of this article is well chosen, since it coincides with his arrival at Yamaha as a test rider. I assure you, this is pure coincidence, but we will talk about it again a little later.

Regarding his season, what can I say? Honestly, he is the driver I have talked about the least this year, and this is a problem for me as I write these lines. For Joan Mir and Luca marini, even though they had fewer points, I had a lot to tell, because both of their respective campaigns were quite interesting – for different reasons. In the case of Augusto Fernandez, it was quite the opposite, and you guessed it, This is not a good sign.

 

 

So let's rely on the results, because the international achievement has not shown much. With 27 points on the counter, he is better than the Honda Repsol duo, but worse than all the rest. He is the lowest ranked rider on a European bike, well behind his namesake Raul Fernandez. His best result was a seventh place in the Sprint at Jerez; which is not bad, but we must not forget the large number of falls during this event.

On Sunday, he never did better than 10th, in Malaysia. It's tough, very tough, especially in our era where a good dozen drivers can compete for the top 5 over a full year. There is not a single pole, not a single fastest lap in the race, and, all the same 13 blank results out of 19 Grand Prix contested. All this is accompanied by seven retirements, a record for him in his career. With 19 errors in total, he is fifth in the falls ranking, ahead of Joan Mir or Marco Bezzecchi who also often found their way to the gravel.

 

A comparison that hurts

 

The worst thing is not his place or his anecdotal performances. No, what hurts is the comparison with Pedro Acosta because this season we have only seen one Tech3 driver. On the team's social networks, posts about the rookie were much more frequent, which did not help to combat the total invisibility of Augusto Fernandez.

They were separated by no less than 188 points at the end of the year, while Pedro also fell a lot. There was never a match. It was a foregone conclusion, yes, but personally, I expected much more froma driver who had never disappointed me.

 

 

My mistake

 

I said it recently, but I was wrong about him. Since 2019, I have been following his efforts, his rather impressive progression which led him to the title of Moto2 world champion in 2022. Then, during his rookie year in MotoGP, he had a decent, solid season, punctuated by a huge fourth place at Le Mans. So I expected a lot from him.

But it is clear that this season, he has sunk. As proof, he scored almost three times fewer points – while he was not starting from an unattainable base – and was not extended by KTM Tech3. It is a shame, because I had faith in him, but history has not been kind to Augusto or to my certainties.

The Austrian firm is parting ways with Fernandez; rightly so, it pains me to say it. He no longer had his place, especially when we know the names of his replacements, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales. He ended up with a developer's seat at Yamaha; that's a good thing, because with the injury-prone squad that makes up the blue squadron, I'm sure to see him at the start of a race in 2025.

 

Conclusion

 

Unfortunately, there was not much to say about Augusto Fernandez, who leaves the kingdom of the starters through the back door. A season more transparent than atrocious cost him his place, after only two years of history in MotoGP. In my opinion, the sanction is harsh but fair, or at least justified. At 27, he must prove his talent at Yamaha to hope to make a return to the highest level as soon as possible.

I'm curious what you thought of Augusto Fernandez in 2024, then, tell me in comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: KTM Tech3