This isn't really a surprise, but until now, no press release has made this official. It is now confirmed, Augusto Fernandez will find refuge within the official Yamaha team, in MotoGP. From next season (so, next month…) the Spanish rider rejected by KTM will therefore work together with Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins and the Pramac riders -Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller- with a view to improving the competitiveness of the Japanese machine.
MotoGP: Augusto Fernandez in GP with Yamaha!
A great opportunity for Augusto Fernandez since he should also participate in several Grand Prix, via the wild-card system. Yamaha also confirms, through the voice of Lin Jarvis, that there will be six in 2025. It remains to be defined whether Cal Crutchlow will be reinstated and therefore invited to make them as well. As well as, why not, Andrea Dovizioso. So, we do not yet know how many pilots the newly recruited young driver will carry out.
Regardless, this active participation of the person concerned in the project is excellent news, for all the riders and more generally, for Yamaha. With, what's more, valuable information from KTM, added to that of Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia). His first meeting aboard his new mount is already scheduled, at the time of the Shakedown.
“I am delighted to confirm that Augusto Fernández is officially joining Yamaha for the 2025 season as a Yamaha Factory MotoGP test rider”says Lin Jarvis. “Motorcycle development is a priority for Yamaha as we strive to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.
We signed Augusto as our second Yamaha test rider alongside Cal Crutchlow. Cal was unfortunately unable to complete all of its testing tasks in 2024 and it became clear that we needed to recruit a second pilot to help us complete all essential activities for 2025. We think Augusto will be a good fit for both the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP test team and the YZR-M1 bike. Augusto is young and fast, and he can test alongside Cal and learn the special methodology required of a full-time test pilot.
Our current performance ranking allows us to take full advantage of the maximum limit of the testing program. In addition to testing, we have the idea of participating in up to six wild-card races, and Augusto will also be the go-to replacement rider in case one of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team riders or Prima Pramac riders Yamaha MotoGP will not be able to race at any time in 2025. The numerous riding opportunities should allow Augusto to maintain his racing speed while continuing his intensive testing obligations.
Augusto has already started working with us off-track and his first real test participation will be during the shakedown at Sepang at the end of January 2025. In the meantime, we are closely monitoring Cal's improvement in fitness after his arm issues this year, and we hope he can return to resume testing duties as soon as possible.
“I am very happy and very excited to join Yamaha as a test rider for 2025. It is a huge honor to be part of the Yamaha family and I would like to thank everyone who made this possible. In this incredible new project, I will do my best to help Yamaha get back to where it deserves to be. I can't wait to start our journey together!” says Augusto Fernandez.
Article published at 11:50 a.m., 12/17/2024
