Renowned technician Alberto Giribuola has joined the Tech3 squad as the new crew chief to Augusto Fernandez, in a move the Spaniard says has restored his confidence.
Giribuola was spotted in Tech3 colours at the Aragon Grand Prix as opposed to his usual KTM orange, having been the factory squad’s performance engineer since the start of 2023.
But the Italian has replaced Alex Merhand as Fernandez’s crew chief in the team to not only help the ailing rider but with a view towards filling the same position for the incoming Enea Bastianini in 2025.
Fernandez finished 13th in the Aragon GP, equalling his second-best result of the season, and set more competitive lap times after a torrid campaign in which he has scored points in only half of the grands prix so far.
The 26-year-old has been dwarfed by the speed and results of rookie team-mate Pedro Acosta in his second term in the premier class, while he has already lost his Tech3 spot for 2025 to Bastianini.
Giribuola’s intervention has come too late for Fernandez, who is expected to be confirmed as the third and final part of Yamaha’s 2025 MotoGP project as a test rider, following the expected announcement of Jack Miller’s Pramac transfer at the Emilia-Romagna GP in two weeks’ time.
While revelling in the changes and absence of pressure surrounding his future, Fernandez was also more candid about his team set-up.
“I had been asking for one year,” he revealed on the crew chief situation. “But the last push came. It’s late for my contract and everything but it’s good for me to get the confidence back.”
The entrance of Giribuola has invigorated the 2022 Moto2 world champion and reset his current season: “I’m happy. It’s a process: he had to know my riding style and I had to adapt to his ideas for the bike but already in Aragon we are going in a good way. It might a bit of time…but this weekend and also the test will be important to build a ‘pre-season’ and finish the season where we have to be.
“It’s also good for KTM, I think they did it [the crew chief change] because of that. It’s different when you are 100% a crew chief.”
Giribuola previously worked with Andrea Dovizioso at Ducati and then marshalled Bastianini’s formidable season at Gresini in 2022 when he finished third in the riders' championship.
As for Fernandez, the Spaniard is publicly showing the mentality that pushed KTM to select him for MotoGP this year over Pol Espargaro, who is now a factory test rider.
“I am just thinking of the positives,” he said. “I have a new crew chief and a big opportunity to prove to everyone, and also myself, that I can be ‘there’ and then jump on whatever bike it will be.”
