Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) had some electronic issues in the debut race in Qatar, but he states that Aprilia has resolved the issues and he is ready to achieve a good result in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
‘I feel good, honestly. Honestly, after Qatar, I spent two days with a lot on my mind after the mistake, but we can’t do anything. In those types of situations, you can’t do anything. I think Qatar was, at some moments, very positive. In other moments, we have to learn. But anyway, we were fast, which was important. And here I hope we can have a somewhat normal weekend, especially in qualifying. Because for me, the big problem, or the big mistake, was, of course, the race, but also what I did on Saturday was a bit chaotic for me: to make six or seven attacks on the clock was very difficult to think how I managed it. Anyway, I feel good, Portugal is always good for me, I have very good memories from both Moto2 and Moto3. So I believe it will be a good weekend. Of course, I will not dwell on the mistakes from Qatar, but I think we have to continue on our path, we have to follow our direction and try to be competitive.
According to Fernández, the issue in the Qatar race was related to electronics, it is understood and the team sought to resolve it.
The problem we had in Qatar was something related to the electronics, we understood what it was, we tried to correct it,’ he stated.
Miguel Oliveira’s teammate at Trackhouse Racing highlights that the characteristics of the Portuguese circuit may favor the American team in the coming days.
‘It could be a good clue for us. I really like the track, I think that for my riding style it is always easy for me to ride here. Honestly, I don’t know why I am fast here, but I have always been very fast since we were here in the Spanish championship. And I also believe that we can be very competitive in MotoGP. So, I think it is a very good track for us,’ he concluded.
In Qatar, Raúl ended up not finishing the race, completing only 19 of the 21 laps, after starting in 12th place on the starting grid.
