Raúl Fernández found himself far down the standings this Friday, like all the Aprilia riders, and hopes things will be better tomorrow.
Last week, Raul Fernandez took the first victory of his career in MotoGP, in addition to a podium in the sprint race. His rise to prominence resulted in the Holy Grail, but The Spanish driver believed he should not rest on his laurels and wanted to get back to work for the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.
He was right to do so, as we know MotoGP can change dramatically from one circuit to the next. That's what happened to him, starting with a 19th-place time in FP1, due to the rain, and then a 16th-place finish in Practice this afternoon. He will therefore have to go through Q1 tomorrow.
Fernandez can only note the decline in his sensations, which are however entirely linked to the management of the rear tire on the Sepang circuit. However, he was not the only one from the Aprilia clan to find himself in difficulty, since Marco Bezzecchi, the strong man of the moment, finished just ahead of him, in 15th place, while his teammate at Trackhouse Ai Ogura finished 14th. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori, present to replace Jorge Martín, is for his part at the bottom of the classification.
"We can't get the most out of the rear tire and that's stopping us from being really fast. We also have a lot of degradation on the rear tire, which isn't helping in the race, so I have to say we need to work more. It's quite strange for me, because in the last three races I was quite competitive, and I feel like I'm not riding the bike the way I want to.", told Fernandez.
“One positive point: all the Aprilias have almost the same problem, so we already know the way forward. The only thing is that it's not going to be easy for the Aprilia guys, but I believe they can find a solution for tomorrow. I'd like to analyze the data to see what else there is to do. On a weekend like this, you have to take the step that the bike hasn't taken yet, trying to get the most out of the weekend.”
Malaysian Grand Prix Practice Results :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
