Raul Fernandez ‘still unfit’, ‘maybe I will lose 2 races...’
The Tech3 KTM rider now looks to have one last chance, on Friday morning, to convince doctors he is able to ride in what should be his first home premier-class Spanish Grand Prix.
“They said tomorrow I have to do another [test] because the first one they said ‘no, you cannot race like that, still unfit’,” Fernandez said. “Tomorrow I will do another check and if they say that I am more-or-less good I will try.
“For normal life it’s not really bad, but it’s still painful when I want to do some exercises like push-ups or something,” he added of his hand, which he injured while riding with slicks on the damp Portimao track.
“It’s a strange feeling because I’ve never [missed] one race and now maybe I will lose two.”
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First part of the season ‘a disaster’
Fernandez, runner-up to team-mate Remy Gardner in last year’s Moto2 World Championship, is among three rookies yet to score points in the premier-class.
“In general I have a good feeling, honestly, but the beginning of the season was really strange for all the riders,” he said. “Argentina with the first day removed. In America, I felt really bad with the stomach. Indonesia with the wet conditions was crazy. And now the crazy and stupid crash from Portugal.
“When you have a very crazy track or very difficult track, to do one mistake is easy. It was a stupid mistake because I don’t push and I [still] crash. But I’m a rookie and I had never tried the Michelins in mixed [wet/dry] conditions."
Adding that “it’s all part of the learning process” and that he was mentally prepared for tough times at the start of his MotoGP career, Fernandez admitted: “It’s been really difficult… The first part of the season is really a disaster honestly. But anyway, it’s just the first part of the season.”
Should Fernandez be unable to participate this weekend he must pin his hopes on a return for the Monday test, a rare chance for track time away from the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a MotoGP event.
“In the test, you have time to prepare something different, something on the bike to improve,” he said. “But now we need to see what happens if we can do the test or not.
“In the race weekend, you don’t have time to prepare or try something different on the bike. It’s too short. [Also] for this reason it’s harder to close the gap.”
Team-mate Gardner starts the Spanish weekend with three points, putting him second in the early rookie standings behind Darryn Binder (RNF Yamaha), who claimed tenth place in the wet Mandalika race.
