Augusto Fernández is one of three riders bidding farewell to MotoGP this weekend. After two seasons, the driver finds himself without a seat for 2025.
The Spanish rider arrived in the paddock in 2017, joining Moto2 from the Italian GP and scoring points only in the last two races of the year with SpeedUp. The following year he again secured a place only halfway through the season, but his results were significantly better.
In 2018, Fernández achieved his first victories, finishing fifth in the championship. Despite a move to Elf Marc VDS – one of the strongest teams in the intermediate category – in 2020, it was only with his move to Red Bull KTM Ajo in 2022 that he won the coveted title.
MotoGP followed, with Fernández joining Red Bull GasGas Tech3 in 2023. Despite the hopes placed on him, the #37 never managed to really break through. His best finish to date is a fourth place at last year's French GP, one of six top tens in his 39 main races.
His results and performances ultimately cost him his place in MotoGP. Neither his accumulated experience nor the potential of the bike and the team (as shown by his rookie teammate Pedro Acosta) yielded better results. KTM has decided to take a different approach, recruiting a strong duo for Tech3 in 2025 – Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales.
In Barcelona, Fernández will bid farewell to the grid – ironically, at the same track where he arrived permanently in the paddock in 2018. However, this might not be his last GP: it is very likely that he becomes a driver of trial for Yamaha, where he could also make wildcard appearances.
