Raul Fernandez didn’t have lengthy to savour his victory within the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix because the Malaysian Grand Prix got here simply seven days later – and it supplied a impolite return to Earth for the Spaniard.
However the Trackhouse Aprilia rider insisted on holding issues in perspective following a sluggish marketing campaign at Sepang, which led to a uncommon race crash.
The Malaysian GP was the scene of solely his second failure to complete a grand prix this season – the opposite got here within the opener in Thailand – however Fernandez was struggling even earlier than he fell.
Together with all of Aprilia’s race riders, the hero of Phillip Island battled at Sepang and will solely qualify fifteenth. On prime of that, he gambled incorrectly on the medium entrance tyre for the race. He had solely gained one spot by the tip of lap 11, then crashed at Flip 1 on lap 12.
His response was to maintain his eyes on the larger image – good performances in three of the 4 races within the late-season Asia-Pacific swing. On his option to Phillip Island, Fernandez completed seventh in Japan, then certified on the entrance row on his option to sixth in Indonesia.
Fernandez fortunes modified dramatically in just some days
Photograph by: Santanu Banik / MB Media / Getty Photographs
“We can’t have a look at simply this race,” he mentioned. “Final week I acquired my first victory. But additionally at Mandalika we have been fairly sturdy. And in Japan we have been fairly sturdy.
“So it means, for me, that it was a really constructive [flyaway tour]. The stability of the tour was very constructive.”
“After all, this race doesn’t assist us preserve our aggressive [trajectory]. However we knew that this sort of observe might come earlier than we acquired right here. We knew that it might be one of many worst tracks [for Aprilia]. So it implies that we needed to take the positives.
“For me, the sensation to come back from my first victory and to make my second DNF on the race is kind of unusual. However anyway, it’s a part of the job. Additionally it was my mistake 100%, as a result of I selected the medium tyre.”
Fernandez additionally selected to spotlight the positives of the swings in type at present prevalent in MotoGP.
“One week in the past, Honda had a variety of issues. And now we meet once more, they usually get a podium. So it implies that MotoGP is a unbelievable sport. Since you see a variety of totally different riders and a variety of totally different manufacturers, preventing for the rostrum.”
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