13/06/2023 News
Holgado goes from strength to strength
Mugello, Italy, June 14th 2023 - Dani Holgado took his second win on the trot in Italy, following on from his victory in France last month. The Elf rider's latest success consolidates his position as Moto3 world championship leader.
MotoGP
Augusto Fernandez, who impressed in the last race at the Bugatti circuit, struggled more on the long and technical Mugello track. The MotoGP rookie was the victim of two big crashes in practice, which dented his confidence. “I struggled to find my feet," admitted the GASGAS Tech 3 rider. “I lacked feeling with the front and on this circuit that's a big problem because there are very high speed changes of direction.” Fernandez was 20th at the end of the Sprint after qualifying in 21st position and wasn't helped by the few drops of rain that fell during the first race. The Spaniard did much better the following day, however, finishing 15th in the Grand Prix. “I'm happy to have finished the race and to have scored another point," he said. “It's been a difficult weekend, but we've acquired some good knowledge for the rest of the championship.”
While waiting for Pol Espargaro's return to competition, Jonas Folger continued his mission as replacement rider by finishing 21st in the Sprint and 19th in the Grand Prix.
Moto2
Winner at Le Mans, Tony Arbolino was once again on the podium at the Italian Grand Prix. It was the fifth time in six races that the Elf Marc VDS Racing rider has finished in the top three. Even if, starting from tenth on the grid, Arbolino wasn’t counting on another podium finish. “We had some problems in practice," admitted the Italian. “I didn't have a good feeling with the bike despite all the changes we made. In the end, I got a better feeling in the race and was able to climb back up to second place.” Even though Acosta won this time, the Elf rider maintains a solid lead in the overall standings. Qualifying on the front row, Alex Lowes was more than unlucky. He made a very good start but crashed out on the first lap after being hit by Alonso Lopez.
Moto3
After winning the French Grand Prix, Dani Holgado shone again in Italy with his second win in a row, his third since the opening round of the championship in Portugal. Qualifying third on the grid, the Elf rider put his riding ability and racing skill to good use to overtake Deniz Öncü just a few metres from the finish line. Fighting with the Turkish rider, Japan's Sasaki and Spain's Masia, Holgado played a waiting game to take the lead at the decisive moment. “It was a difficult race because Deniz was very fast here," confided the Tech 3 rider. With no one able to make the break, I knew that it was going to come down to the last lap, maybe even the last corner.” And that's exactly how it played out. 17th in practice, Filippo Farioli crashed out at the start of the race when he collided with Xavi Artigas. The Spaniard was also forced to retire as a result.
As for Joël Kelso, who had to start from the last place on the grid after receiving a penalty in practice, he also crashed out as he tried to make his way up the field.
MotoE
After a good start at Le Mans, the two Tech3 E-Racing riders had a more complicated weekend in Italy. Badly placed on the grid, Alessandro Zaccone and Hiraki Okubo struggled to climb back up to the front. The two nevertheless managed to finish in the points, both in the first dry race and the second wet race. Eleventh and ninth, Zaccone is now tenth overall. Fifteenth and twelfth, Okubo has dropped back to 22nd.