At Silverstone, Raul Fernandez must relearn everything. Indeed, he now benefits from an Aprilia RS-GP24, the same one used by Oliveira, Vinales and Aleix Espargaro. This has its share of advantages, of course, but starting from scratch – or almost – mid-season is not necessarily easy, especially since the Spaniard was already not the fastest with the previous version of Noale's machine. Can he bounce back? He believes it!
Again, the results do not necessarily reflect the pilot's feeling. Qualified 14th (but still ahead of Miguel Oliveira), he finished the Sprint in 12th position, which means that he lost places given the race incidents which eliminated, in total, four drivers. « I'm happy, but I still need to understand the bike, do more kilometers, understand its limit. This morning, I was close to Q2. During the Sprint, the pace wasn't so bad. Of course, I chose to take the software before to be able to compare myself to the drivers in front of me. Overall, it's positive. » he declared on our microphone recently.
Saturday in Silverstone is set to go 💨#BritishGP pic.twitter.com/lIPvqR9kDb
— Trackhouse MotoGP (@TrackhouseMoto) August 3, 2024
The differences between the RS-GP23 and the GP24 are subtle, but very real. It’s a whole new package that we must adopt, in order to become one with it. « With this bike I can be closer, I can overtake, which I couldn't do with the RS-GP23. It's not a more aggressive bike though. It's just easier to use in close combat, which is nice in today's MotoGP. » he continued.
Photo: Michelin Motorsport
Aleix Espargaro finished third with the hard tire at the front, an anomaly. Raul Fernandez already has an idea. « I think I found my compound for tomorrow » he affirmed, without saying more. In any case, his performance is not ridiculous compared to that of his Portuguese teammate, who has been riding the GP24 since the first Grand Prix of the season.
Do you think Raul Fernandez can reinvent himself at Silverstone? Tell us in the comments!
Sprint result at the 2024 British Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
