Fourth in the Misano test despite all the tests carried out for Aprilia, Raúl Fernández seemed to have found solutions to "ride more freely".
Since his breakthrough in Brno, where he achieved a top 5 and a top 6 in the race, Raul Fernandez has been more discreet, even though he has progressed in the standings. He still lacks a little something to really move up a level on the Aprilia, and according to him, that is the time attack in qualifying. Like Jorge Martín, Fernandez still cannot get everything in line on one lap and finds himself at a disadvantage due to his position on the grid.
Qualifying 14th at Misano, he managed to score the point for ninth place in the sprint race and finish 11th in the main race. Satisfied with his feelings, he felt an improvement, which only needed to be confirmed the next day during the official test.
“If I looked at the race or just the result, I wouldn’t be satisfied, but aside from that, I’m really happy because I had a really good pace, I managed the tires really well and I had a good overall feeling on the bike. Usually, I struggle with tire management, but today we found something that will probably be very useful in the future. I struggled again to overtake Brad [Binder]. I spent 15 or 16 laps behind him, trying to overtake him, but it was very difficult. If you can’t maintain your corner speed, you can’t push, and on the straights, it’s also difficult. Overall, we need to improve our qualifying, and then the weekends will be much easier than this one.” did he declare.
The next day, Raul Fernandez led the Trackhouse team's testing work alone due to Ai Ogura's withdrawal following his crash the day before, but seemed to find solutions. Although lap times are never representative during testing, he still finished fourth, which bodes well for the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend.
“I think it was a very positive test, but it’s difficult to draw clear conclusions here in Misano with this kind of grip. Anyway, we tried to be consistent in providing data to Aprilia, because we worked on many electronic aspects to improve the bike. Regarding the new parts, we were focused on optimizing our bike, our package. I think we found something because I felt more comfortable on the bike and more relaxed, which is important.”, he added.
“The mentality is the same: we have to aim for Q2 in Japan, which is our main objective. We had time to understand some aspects of my riding style, then we slightly modified the bike settings, without much change, but we found something that allows me to ride more freely and that is the key to improving my race pace. We found some positive things and we hope to be able to show it in Japan.”
Misano test results :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
