The Spanish rider is grateful for the opportunity with Aprilia and has had words of esteem for Rivola, but he doesn’t regret the past. On the MotoGP: “I was impressed by the level”
February 7, 2023
He shone as a rookie in Moto2 so much that he immediately earned a call to MotoGP, where, however, the first year was hell. Raul Fernandez22 years old, is ready to relaunch himself in the premier class in Aprilia, with the new satellite team of Razlan Razali.
Fernandez spoke to Speedweek: “I can’t wait. I couldn’t sleep in Valencia when I was allowed to ride the Aprilia for the first time. I got up at 5.30 in the morning even though the tests started at 10.30″.
The pilot born in 2000 (born on October 23), is grateful to the Austrian House: “My first motocross bike was a KTM, I love that brand. The fact that things didn’t go as we expected doesn’t change that.”
Speedweek met the rider after training on the motocross bike and recalled how the CEO of Aprilia, Massimo Rivola, had already tried to sign him in 2021: “I am very grateful to Massimo for having placed his trust in me, at the time I was not open to other offers due to my KTM contract. In the end, however, fate brought me to Aprilia. Massimo gives me a lot of support and I am very happy to work with him. He has already shown in his career that he is a good talent scout, also as sporting director of Ferrari ”.
At the time of the first contact with Rivola Fernandez was preparing for the first Moto2 world championship: “My intention was to do a second season in Moto2 because I didn’t expect at the beginning of the year to fight for the title, which I then did. Many people keep telling me that I threw away my chances for the World Championship with this or that crash, but what they do not understand is that I didn’t have the mindset to fight for the World Championship. If you aim for the title, you prepare for the preseason.”
On the first season in MotoGP: “What happened happened, and it’s positive. Last season was very difficult and since you can’t go back in time, there’s no point in talking about it. It was not easy to leave KTMbecause I’m a boy who would have liked to be associated with a brand for life, like Marquez with Honda”.
Did you lose confidence last year?
“Absolutely… The day I finished my last race on the previous bike, I asked myself: ‘How can I be so slow? I do not understand’. The next day I rode an Aprilia and it hit me”.
Not all of 2022 has been a waste… have you learned anything?
“Yeah, the tyres, the electronics, I figured out how to work with as many people around as you have to put. I was impressed with the level, not just one rider. I remember having dinner with Pol Espargaró once in 2020 and he explained the characteristics of each MotoGP to me. At the time I was thinking to myself, ‘It’s all motorcycles in the end.’ But then I got into MotoGP and wow! Each bike has its own line, each bike is different, each track, each tyre… I remember that Fabio Quartararo overtook me in a pre-season test. He wasn’t doing a fast lap and I was able to follow him for a couple of corners. And the cornering behavior of the Yamaha was shocking. Then I found a Ducati and the acceleration was fantastic”
