For 2023 Fernandez started the season as the only rookie on the grid and many people believed he would fail on the Tech3 KTM machine like others had before him...

Augusto Fernandez entered into the MotoGP class at the start of the 2023 season with the newly branded GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 squad. Despite the name the bike that Fernandez has been riding is very much a KTM RC16.

This move seemed like it would most likely see the 25-year-old floundering around at the back of the pack for this season, perhaps picking up a point here and there. However, the Moto2 World Champion is proving everyone wrong.

The last two riders to race for Tech3 in MotoGP before Fernandez took over were Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez, the riders who finished first and second in the 2021 Moto2 campaign. Both of these talented young riders were shown the door by KTM bosses at the end of the 2022 season, a fate many people expected Fernandez to share come the end of 2023...

However, so far this season Fernandez has been a revelation for Tech3. The young Spaniard currently sits 14th in the Championship with 30 points to his name. During this season Fernandez has failed to finish any Sprint Races, but has finished every main Grand Prix race on the Sundays.

The thirty points that the MotoGP rookie has picked up have come from two 13th places, an 11th place, a 10th place and his most recent, and most impressive finish, of 4th place at Le Mans. These five results mean that Fernandez is one of only three riders this season to have scored points in every Grand Prix on a Sunday. The 30 points the Spaniard has scored also means that he has more points than Gardner and Fernandez had combined in 2022.

Despite only taking part in five MotoGP races Fernandez is clearly gaining respect of fellow MotoGP riders, with Aleix Espargaro saying this after the French Grand Prix: “I know how difficult it is to stay and to maintain your position in this paddock, you have to fight like a lion… He's the reigning Moto2 World Champion, so actually on the last lap I had some opportunities to overtake him in the last split, but I decided to don't try because I think the risk was too high and I didn't want to ruin his race because what he did today was amazing.”

It seems that this season Fernandez is taking what was seemingly the most challenging bike for a rookie in recent years and is making it work. With 15 races still to go this season the rookie will be aiming to continue his point scoring streak and will attempt to climb the table a little bit more before the end of the season.

It also seems safe to say that at this point of the season we will most likely see the #37 on a GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 bike in the 2024 season.