The sole MotoGP rookie entered for 2023 will arrive to the series as a Moto2 champion, Augusto Fernandez sealing the title at Valencia.
KTM rider Fernandez entered the season finale with a 9.5-point buffer but didn’t need to wait until the chequered flag to find out the fate of his title campaign.
Instead, Honda-backed main rival Ai Ogura fell out of contention on the eighth lap while running two places ahead, making Fernandez’s coronation a formality.
The 25-year-old Spaniard, who will partner Pol Espargaro in the Gas Gas-branded Tech3 outfit next year, looked to be heading for defeat in the Moto2 title race when he crashed out at Phillip Island and then struggled to find good pace at Sepang.
But main rival Ogura crashed out in Malaysia while fighting for the lead, with what should’ve been a healthy points buffer going into Valencia instead turning into a long-shot situation.
Ogura had looked slower than Fernandez for much of the Valencia weekend, but pounced on him at the start – and when Alonso Lopez forced Pedro Acosta wide in the lead battle, it promoted Ogura into second.
Fernandez, in the meantime, briefly ceded position to Fermin Aldeguer and, after repassing Aldeguer, was then overtaken by Cameron Beaubier.
But with both Beaubier – calling time on his Moto2 career to return to MotoAmerica – and Lopez subsequently crashing out, it made Fernandez’s situation more comfortable and effectively turned the race into a must-win for Ogura.
And while Ogura reeled in leader Tony Arbolino, he also came under pressure from Fernandez’s team-mate Acosta, who passed him down the inside Turn 1 on the eighth lap.
Ogura successfully retaliated at Turn 2, and managed to keep position through a cross-over move after an Acosta lunge at Turn 4. But he then buckled under pressure, the bike folding under him as he went into the Turn 8 left-hander.
💥💥💥💥 @AiOgura79 CRASHES OUT!
It's OVER! #ValenciaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/f0UTDFTTMJ
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 6, 2022
With Ogura out and thus unable to make up the 9.5-point deficit in any circumstance, Fernandez was assured of the title.
“In the race we did everything we could. I saw Augusto’s position, I said ‘OK, there is only the victory, it’s the only chance for me’ and I tried,” Ogura said. “It was a nice season.”
Fernandez went on to finish second behind team-mate Acosta, both having swept past Arbolino.
Fernandez has succeeded fellow KTM protege Remy Gardner as Moto2 champion – and becomes the seventh consecutive Moto2 champion to head directly to the premier class after their title.
Ogura had been expected on the MotoGP 2023 grid for much of this year, but Takaaki Nakagami earned a reprieve in the LCR ride earmarked by Ogura, who will instead spend another campaign in the intermediate class.
