Raul Fernandez

27th February 2022

Moto2: Pre-Season Testing Round-Up

The only official test for the Moto2 grid took place last week with a number of riders laying down an early gauntlet and smashing the previous lap record.

The three-day test saw every rider from both Moto2 and Moto3 on track at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao to make final preparations ahead of the first race of the season. This comes after two private testing sessions which were led by Sam Lowes and Ai Ogura respectively.

Overall, the gauntlet was well and truly thrown down by the sensation that is Pedro Acosta. The 2021 Moto3 Champion has clearly stated his intentions before his rookie season has even begun, thanks to laying down a time of 1:41.552 on the final day. This smashed the previous lap record by almost half a second.

Not far behind Acosta was his team mate, Augusto Fernandez – however, he was a distant 0.154s behind his colleague on day three.

Aron Canet enjoyed a hugely consistent test, sitting within the top three at the end of each day of testing.

Trouble plagued Lowes, who missed the afternoon sessions of the first and second test, before then entirely missing the third day. He has been struggling with tendonitis which seems likely to hamper the start of his season, which is fast approaching.

Day 1

The first day of testing, made up of three sessions, saw Jake Dixon, on the GASGAS Aspar Team machine, posting the fastest with a 1:43.169. Overall, the final times were very close with the top four riders covered by less than a second.

Canet’s Flexbox HP 40 ended the day with the second-fastest time – just 0.075s behind Dixon. Fernandez on the Red Bull KTM Ajo machine was fastest in the first two sessions of the day. However, he decided to not run in the final session of the day. His time from the second session – a 1:43.258 – was enough to finish the day with the third fastest time.

Fernandez’s team mate, Acosta, also chose not to run in the final session. He finished the day in fourth, rounding out a successful day for the KTM team.

Day 2

The second day of testing saw the riders finding more time around the Portimao circuit – so much so that four riders were able to beat the 2021 pole time set by Fernandez.

The honours for the day went to Canet who was able to go one better than day one. His fastest lap time was a 1:41.892, beating the previous lap record. Rookie Acosta secured the day’s second fastest time, a mere 0.037s off the pace. His team mate, Fernandez, was third with Dixon dropping to fourth.

A number of drivers faced a struggle on the second day, with Keminth Kubo, Marcel Schötter and Fermín Aldeguer crashing in session one. That was followed by another crash from Kubo in session two, as well as tumbles for Ogura, Acosta, Sean Dylan Kelly and Lowes.

For the second consecutive day, Lowes chose to sit out the final session of the day. This may have been caused by Lowes’ struggles with tendonitis.

Day 3

The final day of testing was “The Acosta Show” as the rookie smashed the lap record and set the fastest lap of the day. Thanks to this enormous lap, the top riders were a little more spread out on the final day. Acosta’s team mate rounded out a KTM 1-2, with Canet setting the third fastest time. All three have enjoyed consistently fast times across the entire test.

Aldeguer put his day two crashes behind him to set the fourth fastest time of the day. Albert Arenas was fifth and Ogura was sixth.

There were another series of serious crashes in the final day which led to Schötter visiting the medical centre for checks on his hand and Bo Bendsneyder breaking his collarbone. There were further crashes for Arenas, Canet and Dixon, among others.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

3rd January 2022

Raul Fernandez Believes he is “Moral Champion”

In an interview with Spanish Autosport, Raul Fernandez claimed that he is the “moral” Moto2 champion in 2021. He believes his team placed “stones and obstacles” in his way, preventing him from taking the title.

Raul Fernandez is the Moto2 rookie who burst onto the grid in 2021, claiming a phenomenal 12 podiums, 7 pole positions and 8 race wins. The latter surpasses the previous record held by Marc Marquez, who won 7 races in his rookie Moto2 season.

These results saw him clinch 2nd in the Moto2 championship, eventually won by his KTM Ajo teammate Remy Gardner. He missed out on the title by just 4 points.

When speaking to Spanish Autosport, Fernandez stated that “no one knew how to guide” him and his team of “inexperienced” mechanics. He believes this played a role in him failing to secure the title in his maiden Moto2 season.

“The problem we had is that my whole team – and when I say my team I mean my mechanics, who I was very lucky to find such a special group – were inexperienced and nobody knew how to guide us. And that is why today we don’t have the championship crown. But morally it has been proved by the result that I am the strongest rider, with more wins, poles, fastest laps.”

“Remy is the champion, he has scored more points, but really with the speed we had and being a fish that swims against the current, I honestly feel morally champion. What we have done, being all new and getting to know each other this year, it’s impressive.”

Fernandez then stated that he felt “stones and obstacles” had been placed in his way by his team, handing the championship to his teammate. He claimed that having a “figure” in the team to guide and support himself and the mechanics would have helped them secure the title.

“I have lacked a hand to guide us, a hand to tell us, like little children before they trip over a stone, to be careful. A figure that would guide us and open the way for us, a figure that would want to help us to win, not a figure that would put stones and obstacles in our way so that we wouldn’t succeed. That was the key.”

“It has cost us sweat and tears. In the middle of the year we talked and all of [my mechanics] were having a hard time. We were all looking forward to the end of the season.”

Their strong performances across the 2021 season mean that both Fernandez and Gardner will be moving up to MotoGP, joining the Tech3 KTM Factory Team for 2022. Back in August, when his promotion was confirmed, Fernandez stated that “it’s the dream of any rider to arrive to this class”.

Feature image credit: KTM Press.

30th June 20214th July 2021

Battle rages at the Cathedral of Speed

Going into the weekend Remy Gardner leads the Moto2 championship by 36 points from his teammate Raul Fernandez, but the rookie earns his fourth pole of the season, as an eventful race sees him dropping back to ninth then clawing his way back to emerge victorious in the 9^th round of Moto2 2021.

Image courtesy of KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

Fernandez’s teammate Remy Gardner starts from 2nd place and Sam Lowes completes the front row, ahead of Aron Canet in 4th, Ai Ogura 5th and Jorge Navarro starting 6th.

Off the line it is Canet who gets the best start, forcing Raul out wide into the first bend, causing him to drop back to 4th. Della Porta who started 8th gets caught in the middle of the group into turn 2 – catches the rear wheel of Navarro and is spat off, fortunately avoiding the other machines as his bike is launched into the air from the centre of the pack.

Canet leads, Gardner in second is closely followed by Lowes in third. Tony Arbolino crashes out uninjured shortly after at turn 7, his bike flipping across the gravel.

Lowes moves up past Gardner, then takes Canet to lead at the end of the first lap – Lowes leads briefly before Canet reclaims the lead.

Ai Ogura and Augusto Fernandez pass Raul Fernandez. Raul runs wide through turns 6 & 7 and drops back to ninth as Schrotter passes him.

Gardner passes Lowes out of the chicane, and Lowes gets back past Canet to move back into 2nd

Joe Roberts crashes out at turn 9, meaning that both Italtrans bikes are out of the race.

Augusto Fernandez moves up into 3^rd, as Raul battles for 7^th, then gradually works himself back up to 6^th.

With 20 laps to go Lowes starts to close the gap on Gardner. Approaching the start/finish line Lowes slots past, the two almost swapping paint, but Augusto Fernandez spots his opportunity and passes both of them, taking the lead, making it a 1-2 for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team, Gardner in 3^rd and Aron Canet in 4^th. Meanwhile Raul Fernandez is back up to 5^th, and DiGiannantonio moves up past Ai Ogura into 6^th.

On lap 7 Raul passes Canet to move up to 4^th, as Lowes, who is all over the back of Augusto, passes him to take the lead. A gap of just over a second separates Gardner in 3^rd and Raul in 4^th, giving Raul a clear space to push on.

Gardner slots past Augusto into 2^nd, and 3 laps later Raul catches Augusto, but Augusto takes Gardner to move back into 2^nd.

On lap 14 Augusto Fernandez increases the pressure on Sam Lowes, passing him to take the lead, as Raul gets past his teammate Gardner to move up into 3^rd.

Gardner starts to drop back slightly from the top 3, and shortly after Raul takes Lowes to move up into 2^nd place. The leading 4 start to spread out as Lowes struggles to match Raul Fernandez’s pace, as DiGiannantonio crashes out at turn 9 from 6^th.

Raul pursues Augusto, edging ever closer until he makes the move along the start/finish straight at the end of lap 17, with Augusto unable to come back at him.

Augusto runs wide, giving Lowes the opportunity to move up into 2^nd. Raul is starting to stretch out his lead with a 0.8 second lead over Lowes.

Lap 20 sees Aron Canet crashes out of 7^th place, sliding into the gravel at turn 3.

Raul leads by over a second, breaking away from Lowes, Augusto and Gardner. Into lap 22 at the end of the start/finish straight Augusto gets the drive past Lowes to move up into second. Lowes checks over his left shoulder into turn 1, as Gardner slips past on his right, dropping Lowes down into 4^th.

At the end of lap 23 Gardner passes Augusto, who pushes hard but is unable to come back at Gardner.

Raul Fernandez takes his third win of the season, ahead of his teammate Remy Gardner, with Augusto Fernandez claiming the 3^rd podium spot.

Gardner’s lead at the top of the championship narrows slightly to 31 points ahead of Raul Fernandez going into the summer break, Fernandez extends his lead over 3^rd place Bezzecchi from 11 points to 25, and Lowes holds onto 4^th place overall. With ten rounds still to go can Gardner hold onto the lead or will rookie Raul Fernandez spring yet more surprises?

First fifteen riders:

1 Raul Fernandez SPA – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 25 points

2 Remy Gardner AUS – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 20

3 Augusto Fernandez SPA – – 16

4 Sam Lowes BRI – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – 13

5 Marco Bezzecchi ITA – Sky Racing Team VR46 – 11

6 Ai Ogura JPN – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 10

7 Jorge Navarro SPA – MB Conveyors Speed Up – 9

8 Xavi Vierge SPA – Petronas Sprinta Racing – 8

9 Marcel Schrotter GER – Liqui Moly Intact – 7

10 Celestino Vietti ITA – SKY Racing Team VR46 – 6

11 Somkiat Chantra THA – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 5

12 Albert Arenas SPA – Inde Aspar Team – 4

13 Stefano Manzi ITA – Flexbox HP40 – 3

14 Thomas Luthi SWI – Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team – 2

15 Bo Bendsneyer NED – Pertamina SAG – 1

16th May 2021

Rookie Fernandez Takes Second Win of the Season

All eyes were on the weather this weekend at Le Mans, with the 2.6 mile Bugatti circuit plagued by changeable conditions during qualifying. Saturday saw plenty of yellow flags, with damp patches catching out many. However, the weather improved enough overnight for Sunday to be declared a dry race.

At the start of the weekend only 6 points separated the top 3 in the championship, with Remy Gardner leading on 69 points, and Sam Lowes second with 66. Raul Fernandez, in his rookie season in Moto2, rounded out the top 3 on 63 points, after gaining victory in the third race of the season in Portugal.

Lowes went into the weekend having won the first two races of the season, at Qatar and Doha, and race 4 in Spain saw Fabio Di Giannantonio on the top step of the podium.

Another one to watch this weekend was the Brit Jake Dixon, who came so close to winning at Le Mans last year only to crash out four laps from the finish.

Sam Lowes started strong, setting the fastest lap in FP2 on the Friday, with just over a 10th off the outright lap record but it was Raul Fernandez who emerged victorious in qualifying, setting the fastest qualifying lap at 1’50.135 to gain his maiden pole in Moto2.

Bezzecchi, whose fastest lap was only 0.240 behind Fernandez, lined up second on the grid, and third was Joe Roberts, who had started from pole at Le Mans in 2020.

Lowes was nudged further down the order, starting from the fourth row of the grid in 10th place, and Jake Dixon was way back in 26th.

Bezzecchi made the best start off the line and led from the outset, R Fernandez taking second, and the American Joe Roberts in third.

Aron Canet, starting 4th, briefly moved up into 2nd, before crashing out at the Chemin ux Boeufs esses.

Lowes went out on the fifth lap, attempting to overtake into turn 8, catching a damp spot and collecting Vierge, resulting in Lowes retiring, unable to restart his machine.

Joe Roberts also left the race on lap 5, losing the front end at turn 9 and heading into the gravel.

Meanwhile at the front, Fernandez caught Bezzecchi and moved up into the lead, remaining there for the rest of the race.

Having dropped down the order early on, Remy Gardner worked his way back up, putting in the fastest lap of the race at 1’36.893.

By lap 16, Gardner was back up into 3rd and starting to close the gap. Bezzecchi runs slightly deep and onto the green paint beyond the track limits, and Gardner seized his chance to move up into 2nd.

Again, as on Saturday, the dark clouds started to gather, raising the possibility of the race being cut short, but the rain held off long enough to complete the full race distance.

Gardner can’t quite catch his teammate, with Fernandez maintaining nearly a one second lead to win the second Moto2 race in his rookie season. Gardner finishes a comfortable second, resulting in a team Red Bull KTM Ajo one-two on the podium. Bezzecchi takes the third spot, with Arbolino less than 3 seconds behind him in fourth.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, winner of the previous Moto2 race two weeks ago in Spain, finishes 8th and Jake Dixon is well off the pace, finishing 19th.

The weekend comes to an end with the championship even closer – Remy Gardner holds onto his lead with 89 points, but Fernandez is breathing down his neck with 88, and Marco Bezzecchi moves up into third with 72. Sam Lowes, his 66 points unchanged after a difficult weekend, moves down to fourth.

This leaves Lowes with plenty of work to do going into the 6th round at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in 2 weeks time. All eyes will be on the rookie Raul Fernandez, with Gardner facing a battle on his hands to keep hold of that top spot in the championship.

First fifteen riders:

1 Raul Fernandez SPA – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 25 points

2 Remy Gardner AUS – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 20

3 Marco Bezzecchi ITA – Sky Racing Team VR46 – 16

4 Tony Arbolino ITA – Liqui Moly Intact GP – 13

5 Bo Bendsneyer NED – Pertamina SAG – 11

6 Marcel Schrotter GER – Liqui Moly Intact – 10

7 Ai Ogura JPN – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 9

8 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA – Federal Oil Gresini – 8

9 Simone Corsi ITA – MV Agusta Forward Racing – 7

10 Jorge Navarro SPA – MB Conveyors Speed Up – 6

11 Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA – Italtrans Racing Team – 5

12 Somkiat Chantra THA – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 4

13 Nicolo Bulega ITA – Federal Oil Gresini – 3

14 Marcos Ramirez SPA – American Racing – 2

15 Albert Arenas SPA – Inde Aspar Team – 1