Метка: Rau00fal Fernu00e1ndez

Espargaro «burned his hands» as Aprilia heat issues strike again

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro says he «burned his hands» during a hot MotoGP race in Malaysia where he struggled to 13th place.

The Aprilia RS-GP is infamous for its overheating problems, with both Espargaro and team-mate Maverick Vinales having repeatedly expressed concerns about its adverse effects during some of the flyaway races in Asia.

According to Espargaro, the Noale brand has made no progress in this direction this year, which meant that he found it hard to even make it to the finish in last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Withstanding the heat exuded from the bike for 19 laps in a crash-shortened race, the Spaniard came away with just three championship points as he benefited from incidents further up the pack.

Speaking afterwards, the 35-year-old revealed that the issues not only compromised his own performance at Sepang, but also meant that the bike was running down on power.

“It was very tough,” he described. “I knew that in these types of races [where] it is very very hot, it is extremely difficult for us. And even more if you start that far on the grid, it has been a real nightmare. 

“The engine was really slow, I couldn’t overtake anybody. The engine was very, very slow due to the heat. 

“I was [only] able to overtake Raul. Then I suffered a lot the last three laps where I almost couldn’t make it to the end, I couldn’t handle the handlebar. The heat was amazing.

“I burned my hands and had to open my visor. The heat is the Achilles heel of this bike.»

Espargaro wasn’t the only Aprilia rider to complain about heat issues on a hot and sunny day in Malaysia.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Asif Zubairi

Riding a 2024 RS-GP with last year’s engine, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez also felt the effects of the bike in Malaysia as he desperately tried to get some air blown onto him on Sepang’s long straights.

“Super difficult to manage with the temperature on the bike. The last four laps I was done. I tried to end the race [out of] respect to the team, respect for all my mechanics.

“The last four laps I couldn’t live on the bike. All the straight I had my head out of the bike to take some air. It is very difficult especially when you have slipstream you don’t take air.

“I don’t feel the hand, I don’t feel the foot. I couldn’t take the air. It is safe but it is really difficult.”

Vinales wasn’t impacted as severely by an overheating bike as Espargaro and Fernandez, finishing a relatively strong seventh between the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

But the 29-year-old spent most of the race in clean air, with Quartararo circulating several seconds ahead of him in sixth.

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Trackhouse took all aero off Fernandez’s MotoGP bike in Australian GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez competed in the Australian Grand Prix without an aerodynamic package on his Aprilia MotoGP bike and felt like he was «flying».

Due to the disruptive influence of the powerful winds at the seaside track, the Phillip Island circuit is the only one on the MotoGP calendar at which riders are allowed to run without aero.

Fernandez and Aprilia’s satellite Trackhouse team took advantage of this point in the regulations to remove the aero elements from the bike and take off all the wings from the fairing for the races in Australia.

While Fernandez’s grand prix was spoilt by a poor start from an encouraging sixth place on the grid, he was thrilled by the sensation and performance of riding ‘wingless’ around the flowing Phillip Island track.

It was something the Spanish rider had never tried since his arrival in the premier class three years ago.

“We tried it yesterday [Saturday] and it went very well,” he explained after the grand prix on Sunday. “This is the only track in the world championship where you are allowed to remove the wings, because of the intense wind.”

Without aero
Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Following the poor start on Sunday, Fernandez was swallowed up by the pack and dropped to 13th position after the first lap.

He gradually worked his way up to ninth, which he lost to Fabio Quartararo in the final part of the race before crossing the line tenth.

But despite the disappointing result, he had only good things to say about his speed during the race.

“Running without the wings was really good, I was really flying. The feeling was incredible,» he described.

“I had never ridden without wings, it was very nice. Aprilia [trusted me] and I offered myself as a guinea pig to make a good bike. I had a great time, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt a bike like this.

“I think I had the pace to finish fourth. I was catching the group ahead of me at the end, so I was happy with our pace and I think we did a good job.

“We held the gap to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s group. We had the same pace and at the end we were even faster.

“We talked about [the idea] with the team on Saturday and decided to do it. And the truth is that it has been very good for us to collect data for next year.

“The [experiment] was a bit crazy, but we got some good conclusions. The real pity, the most annoying thing, is to lose so many positions at the start.

“Basically we have to understand what we have to do to start well, because this is the key in MotoGP. We have a lot of wheelie and when that happens you cannot use the power. I have to close the throttle.”

Fernandez also suffered a poor start in the sprint race, dropping to 11th at the end of lap one. He recovered to finish seventh, which became sixth when di Giannantonio was penalised for a tyre pressure infringement on his VR46 Ducati.

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Trackhouse retains Fernandez for 2025-26 MotoGP seasons with new deal

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Trackhouse Racing has signed a new deal with Raul Fernandez that will keep the Spaniard at the Aprilia satellite squad until the end of the 2026 MotoGP season.

Fernandez has been retained by Trackhouse following a series of impressive performances on last year’s Aprilia RS-GP, including front-row starts in Barcelona and Sachsenring and four top-10 finishes in the opening nine rounds.

In fact, despite having to contend with old machinery, Fernandez scored only five fewer points than team-mate Miguel Oliveira in the opening half of the season, putting him right behind the Portuguese rider in 14th place in the championship’ standings.

Fernandez has secured a new contract with the team just as Aprilia is due to hand him the latest-spec bike for the second half of the season, albeit with an old engine due to the regulations.

He will have the newest version of the RS-GP from the get-go in 2025 as part the term of his new deal.

“I’m super happy to remain with Trackhouse Racing MotoGP,” he said. “That’s all we wanted; this new project, with Justin and Davide, is great and they have built a very good team. 

“I am delighted to hear their plans for the future as they have a clear idea of what they want to do and for me, from the beginning of the year, it was my priority to try to stay in the team. 

“At the end, I get to be here for the next two years which leaves me very satisfied but, of course, this also means we have a lot of work to do. 

“We will have the full factory material in 2025 and 2026, obviously great news and right now, we are gearing up to start with a new bike in the middle of this year, so we have to make good use of this to prepare for next year as well. 

“We need to stay calm, understand everything about the bike and see what we have to do for the 2025 season – it is very important. “

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The 23-year-old is expected to be the only rider within the Aprilia fold to enjoy continuity with the Noale-based brand next year, amid major changes elsewhere at Trackhouse and the factory team.

Oliveira is likely to leave Trackhouse (previously RNF Racing) after two seasons in favour of a move to Pramac, which is set to field an all-new line-up next year following its switch to Yamaha.

The works team, meanwhile, will compete with Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini, with incumbents Maverick Vinales moving to Tech3 KTM and Aleix Espargaro retiring and taking on a test rider role at Honda.

KTM outcast Jack Miller has now emerged as the prime candidate to take Oliveira’s place at Trackhouse and team up with Fernandez. Moto2 frontrunner Joe Roberts has also been linked to the seat.

“We are happy to secure Raul in our rider line-up for the next two years,” said Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio.

“Having seen him at work in the last few months, we have appreciated his talent and I feel that he has been changing his approach to racing and that he is willing to work, willing to put in the effort to improve, to solve problems and this is always with a positive approach. 

“This is something that we have appreciated and it will be very important to continue for our future, having already 3 year’s experience in MotoGP and knowing the latest 2024 spec Aprilia RS-GP from Silverstone to the end of the season – it will be the best way to prepare Raul for the coming two years.

“I think we have a lot in common; the way of thinking on this project and Raul is happy with his crew, he is happy about the team direction and so there are all the conditions we need to make our challenge stronger, help get Raul to be a stronger rider and keep pushing to make Trackhouse Racing a better MotoGP team.”



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Fernandez “crying like a baby” after “very stupid mistake” in Barcelona MotoGP sprint

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Trackhouse Racing rider qualified a career-best third for himself and the American team on Saturday morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Fernandez, riding the 2023-spec Aprilia that won last year’s sprint and GP at Barcelona, took the lead on lap three of 12 and quickly broke away from the pack by almost a second.

But on lap five, Fernandez crashed out at Turn 10, which he explained was down to him compensating for a mistake which cost him time at Turn 9.

“Now I feel a little bit better, but before arriving to the box I was crying like a baby,” he said on Saturday after the sprint.

“Honestly, I want to say sorry to the team. I did a very stupid mistake.

“I felt super comfortable today, I felt I had it all under control.

“I think the crash was for a mistake. I was trying to compensate for a mistake I did in the curve before the one I crashed at.”

He added: “I don’t know why; I had a lot of movement in Turn 9. I lost a little bit of time, I felt, but I tried to compensate on the brakes [at Turn 10] and I said ‘f**k, I go wide’.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“But at the moment I tried to close the line and I crashed.

“Was 100% my mistake, I was maybe in that moment the ambition was too much because I didn’t want to lose too much time.

“But it’s part of the game. Honestly, I am happy because we saw we can be here. I saw that we are competitive. Just it’s a question of time.

“We need time. We need to put everything like I want and we are now on a correct way.”

Significant progress for underpressure youngster

Fernandez narrowly missed out on the Moto2 title in 2021 in a season in which he scored a record eight wins for a rookie in the class.

But his time in MotoGP has been lacking in results, with Fernandez scoring just 14 points in 2022 with Tech3 and KTM before moving to Aprilia’s satellite outfit last year – which was RNF Racing at the time.

He had just one grand prix top five all season, fifth at the finale in Valencia, while the start to 2024 has been even tougher.

Albeit not with machine parity to the rest of the Aprilia stable as he is on the 2023-spec (though is set to get the 2024 chassis at some point this season) Fernandez hasn’t breached into the top 10 on a Sunday yet.

With significant pressure being placed on him by Moto2 frontrunner and US-born racer Joe Roberts for his seat at the American Trackhouse squad, Fernandez faces an uncertain future.

But in Barcelona, after a tough Friday, he managed a first front row – beating a best of ninth in Qatar last year – and said Aprilia helped him to feel like he did in Moto2.

“It is not what we want, we don’t want to crash but we crashed when we were leading,” Fernandez said.

“So, I think we are working so well, day by day I feel more comfortable.

“Today I felt a very big change on the bike, I feel Aprilia helped me a lot. Yesterday was really difficult day, I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike, I felt it really difficult to manage the bike.

“But today I feel comfortable, I feel I can ride easy – I feel like when I was in Moto2, which was important.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Ok, I did a mistake, I can’t go back, I have to be focused on what we did, I need to be focused on tomorrow and I will try to do the same tomorrow.

“I think we had the pace, it was super easy.

“The crash was not because I was trying to get the track record, just I crashed due to a mistake. But I was really calm on the bike and I feel super comfortable.”

On the biggest improvements made, Fernandez noted: “We worked a little bit on the set-up from yesterday.

“For me, the main thing is the electronics part. We changed the mind on the electronic, I tried to change also a little bit my style to adapt my style to this kind of track because for me it’s not super easy.

“But also, the big change was the electronics. It’s not [made the throttle delivery] soft, it’s something where I can drive and I don’t need to think about what to do to go fast.

“For me, the main thing is today I can ride like I want and I don’t have to think about what I’m doing. So, this is what we changed.”

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Raul Fernandez set to get 2024 Aprilia MotoGP bike at Jerez

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Fernandez was the only rider within the Aprilia contingent to start the season with last year’s bike, with team-mate Miguel Oliveira getting the latest-spec machinery in 2024 following the takeover of RNF Racing by American outfit Trackhouse.

Originally, it had been communicated to Fernandez that he would move to the upgraded RS-GP at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, but his debut outing now has been pushed back until the post-race test at the Circuito de Jerez on Monday.

Aprilia has yet to confirm whether Fernandez will get to race with the new version of the RS-GP at the following round at Le Mans in France on 12 May.

«We are happy to be back in Europe with the iconic Jerez race which, this time, will be Raul’s home race,» Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio.

«I’m excited to see how much more we can achieve in the coming races after the recent progress we made in Austin with both drivers. I don’t think we showed our full potential in Austin and for that we need to be good in all areas over the weekend and optimize our performance. Let’s see where we end up on Sunday. 

«Then we will have the test on Monday and if everything runs smoothly during the weekend, Raul will have the first opportunity to briefly test the 2024 bike.»

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The upgrade only covers the chassis side of the bike, with the regulations forcing the 24-year-old to stay with the same engine he started the season with.

This means he will continue to have the 2023 motor fitted to his new ‘24 bike, meaning he won’t have complete parity with team-mate Oliveira and factory Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales during the season.

In the past, Aprilia’s satellite team RNF Racing always had to do with year-old equipment, but Trackhouse made a point of getting the latest-spec machinery from Aprilia following its entry into the MotoGP.

Although Trackhouse’s ambitions caught Aprilia by surprise, the company’s CEO Massimo Rivola got on well with the new management and agreed with the request to expand the supply of 2024 bikes.

Due to production difficulties and the limited timeframe, Aprilia could only have one additional 2024 bike ready for pre-season testing, which went to Oliveira. However, it always maintained that it would be able to supply another 2024 version of the RS-GP for Fernandez by the middle of the year.

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