Let's talk MotoGP: Raúl Fernández's anecdotal season

We continue our retrospective of each driver's season, from the last to Pecco Bagnaia. To appreciate the performance of our heroes, looking at their place overall is not enough. Thus, we will look at the dynamics, the context, the qualifications, the expectations that the driver in question aroused to judge his campaign. This opinion remains subjective, and we are curious to see what you think in the comments. Yesterday was rookie season Remy gardner who was in the spotlight. You can find the corresponding article by clicking on this highlighted sentence.

Today, let's look at the young Raúl Fernández, promised a great future.

I) A little context

The least we can say is that the 22-year-old Spaniard has not burst onto the screen. To understand his campaign, we have to go back a year, in order to understand the root of the question. Fernández was a genius. A pure KTM product, he competed in his first full season in 2019 in the smallest of categories. Realize it. Three and a half years ago, Raúl began his world adventure. A point we will talk about later.

It was revealed in 2020, a year that ended with a bang. Then, the move to Moto2 bore fruit. With Remy gardner, the KTM duo animated the year and shared most of the successes. Even if the title went to the Australian, it was legitimately thought that Fernández, due to his lack of experience, his sense of racing and his speed, was the better of the two. Thus, the Austrian firm propelled the two thieves into the premier category. This is the story of Raúl Fernández in Grands Prix; it lasts on six lines. Such rapid progression through the ranks is an extremely rare occurrence.

 

II) A season in the wind?

From then on, and as contradictory as it may seem, we were able to expect a lot from the young Spaniard. It's paradoxical, but given the enthusiasm it has generated, why wouldn't it continue its formidable momentum? Moreover, he himself does not hide his ambitions and we have also discovered a strong head in 2022, which is far from being a fault in MotoGP.

And the blow fell again. So, of course, we are aware that the KTM RC16 is not the best bike to start with, especially since his teammate was also a rookie. We shouldn't have expected a season of it Brad Binder, but we would still have liked to see a spark, a great result, some breakthroughs, even a partial transcription of what we had observed in Moto2. In fact, he was the worst performer on the field: he never did better than 12th (Sachsenring and Valencia). Statistically, the record is the same as his teammate Remy Gardner, or almost.

Because yes, we still think that his season, as flat as it is, is relatively better than that of Gardner. First of all, we cannot omit his hand injury, which cost him massively at the start of the season. This influences his average points per race, which is 0,77, against 0,65 for Gardner. This still represents a significant gap, more representative than the small unit which separates them in the championship (14 points against 13).

Remember that he was better than his teammate on Sunday: he finished ahead of him nine times, against six in the opposite direction (when both crossed the line). Finally, we note a slight improvement at the end of the season (six points over the last four rounds), progress that Gardner did not display. His season is therefore not that terrible, even if there is nothing to call it genius, at least for the moment. This is the obvious reason why he will have a handlebar in MotoGP next year, and not Gardner.

III) The reasons

When studying his case, other parameters come into account. Already, the desire. KTM hinted that its Tech3 riders, particularly Remy Gardner, were no longer there, very early in the season. But has Raúl Fernández “already been there”? Remember the imbroglio regarding his contract for the 2022 season; everything suggested that the young Spaniard wanted a Yamaha handlebar in the structure WithU NWA. KTM management, often criticized, had the last word.

This is not the ideal state of mind to start a season. Afterwards, Raúl displayed a certain arrogance, which, in fact, is not a bad point. But it has to be in line with his performance and clearly, that wasn't the case. We all have in mind the harsh words regarding the Ajo team in Moto2, but also the heatwave in the Tech3 box at the Sachsenring. Moreover, KTM officials were not the most enthusiastic, and expressed strong criticism of it as early as August.

 

 

As you will have understood, this is not the ideal situation to gain confidence, especially in an increasingly competitive MotoGP category where compromises are prohibited. A rookie must be exemplary like any student, this is the basis for learning.

Conclusion:

We cannot cast stones at Raúl Fernández. His year, although quite anecdotal for such a colorful man, was a bit more encouraging than that of his former teammate. On the other hand, bringing up a driver who had not entered the world championship since 2019 was a very risky bet. What more could KTM expect? Fernández fought with his weapons, but everything suggests that he should have had one or two more years in the intermediate category. From now on, he is almost forced to perform, because once you go back down to Moto2, the climb back turns out to be tortuous.

The plan of the Mattighofen firm is clear; we have already studied it at length. However, Fernández's move to MotoGP was perhaps one blow too many. From the point of view of efficiency, their strategy is the right one, but you still have to know how to wait. Shortcuts do not exist at the very high level. Anyway, we wish a happy new year 2023 to Raul Fernandez, and that he keeps his state of mind with this hint of arrogance. These profiles will definitely be missing in the future, and once well mastered, this trait will turn into a definite advantage.

What did you think of his season? Tell us in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport