FERNANDEZ MAKES Q2 BUT ACCELERATION ISSUES HAMPER HIM IN QATAR SPRINT

Raul Fernandez’s Friday in Qatar offered a welcome sign that his recovery from a broken finger is moving in the right direction. The Trackhouse rider said before the event that he had been able to speed up the healing process, after returning home for extra physiotherapy following the injury he suffered in Indonesia on October 11.

The first test came on track at Lusail. Fernandez finished seventh in opening practice, then took fifth in the timed session to secure a place in Qualifying 2. The result was especially encouraging because the finger still hurt and its movement had not fully returned. “I can ride with my style again,” he said.

That was not possible at Phillip Island in late October, where the fracture had not yet closed, and Fernandez also missed last weekend’s Malaysian round. He recalled that his body had made the situation clear: “You have to be careful and not do anything stupid.” In Australia, riding became very uncomfortable after only a few laps. In Qatar, by contrast, he said he could set quick times and improve them lap after lap.

Fernandez was three tenths faster than Aprilia teammate Ai Ogura, who placed ninth. He cautioned that he may not yet be fully fit, but added: “It’s getting better and better.” His main limitation remains slower movement, though the improved consistency suggests he is coping better than at his previous race appearance.

The Aprilia RS-GP also appeared well suited to Lusail: all four riders on the bike reached Q2. Fernandez praised the machine but stressed that the riders still had to deliver: “We don’t have an autopilot that rides the bike by itself; all the riders on the RS-GP are strong here.” One reminder of the challenge ahead was that the circuit lap record belonged to a Ducati.

Saturday brought further encouragement about his finger, although Fernandez said it hurt more than on Friday. “It’s working well,” he said, adding that the pain did not interfere with riding. After qualifying fourth, he finished the sprint in the same position and felt the result could have been better. “I can fight again!” he said, but warned that the team needed to find solutions before Sunday: if they lost as much time in the Grand Prix, they would be in trouble; otherwise, he believed they had the pace to contend for a podium.

One problem came just after the restart, when the Aprilia’s launch control remained active and the bike scraped the track through the opening corners. Fernandez said he had been sure he switched it off and did not know what had happened, adding that the incident cost him time.

His bigger concern was acceleration. “I’m incredibly frustrated, because it’s impossible to fight for the podium like this!” Fernandez said. He had battled riders on Aprilia, Ducati, KTM and Honda, but, as he put it, “I lost to all of them.” He reported losing as much as 12 km/h in acceleration compared with the fastest bikes, with the deficit reaching three tenths, including against other Aprilias. He said he had to recover time in the corners only to lose it again on the straights, whether or not he was in another rider’s slipstream.

Fernandez was among the three slowest riders for top speed at 351.7 km/h, though sprint winner Marc Marquez and runner-up Fabio Di Giannantonio were also in that group. Sunday’s race would also matter for Aprilia’s manufacturers’ championship campaign: after the sprint, the team needed to make up 13 points on Ducati.