His rookie status in this 2023 MotoGP season which will launch in Portugal on March 26 allowed Augusto Fernandez to begin his off-season tests from the Shakedown at Sepang from February 5 to 7. He will do it again from May 10 to 12 at the same place, this time with the big names in the category, rather than the testers, among whom there were still some big names. This preliminary experience will be very useful to him, especially since it allowed him to explore different conditions. An experience which will count according not to Hervé Poncharal but to Nicolas Goyon, now Manager of the French team…
At the end of his three days of testing at Sepang as part of the Shakedown, Augusto Fernandez commented : " the first test in Valencia was just to ride a MotoGP, without thinking about changing the settings too much, so logically the aim of the Shakedown was to start the work correctly and to build my base » begins the reigning Moto2 World Champion. “ I'm happy to have had three days to get used to MotoGP, and I already feel that I'm starting to understand why everything is happening, and how to control this machine ».
He adds : " We have gained a lot of information over the last three days, both in the dry and wet, and it will be very important to understand what I need to do to go faster in the coming days. The team did a very good job and I would like to thank them. I can't wait for Friday at the Sepang Test ».
« Augusto Fernandez didn't crash at all, which means we have plenty of room for improvement«
For its part, Nicolas Goyon, Manager of the team drew up this assessment: “ Augusto Fernandez returned to his bike here at Sepang after the first test in Valencia in November. These three days of Shakedown Test were really constructive, even if the weather didn't help ».
But out of evil can come good MotoGP : “the positive point is that he was able to ride in a lot of different conditions, which is crucial for a rookie: he rode on wet tires on a completely wet track, on rain tires on a drying track, on slick tires on a mixed track, and of course on slicks on a dry track ».
« The third day was the most intense because the track was completely dry, and he achieved very interesting times » adds the Frenchman, specifying: it hasn't fallen at all, which means we have a lot of room for improvement ». Then he ends with an aspect that will be closely watched this year… “ He has a very good attitude, his comments are positive and constructive, so everyone in the box and at Pierer Mobility Group is happy with him. We look forward to continuing the work with Augusto on Friday for the Sepang Test ».
