FERNANDEZ REVEALS HE RACED TO INDONESIAN PODIUM WITH TWO BROKEN FINGERS

Raul Fernandez’s second place at the Indonesian Grand Prix came after he concealed the full extent of an injury that left his participation in doubt. The Trackhouse rider had broken two fingers in a first-lap collision with Aprilia stablemate Marco Bezzecchi during Saturday’s sprint, but kept the news to himself before Sunday’s race.

Fernandez had taken his first MotoGP pole position, yet the injury to his hand threatened to end his weekend before the grand prix began. He said he realised immediately after the crash that he had broken the finger he normally uses to operate the brake. Then, on Sunday morning, he discovered the damage was worse than he had thought.

“When I woke up, I saw that I didn’t have one — I had two broken fingers,” Fernandez said. “And no one knew. I tried not to say anything, just keep the pain for me and keep my focus on the race.”

He started the 27-lap grand prix and led for 18 laps before finishing second. Before the start, he needed help putting on his gloves, but his injury was not apparent on track. He made a clean start, resisted Bezzecchi’s first-corner attack and built a lead of about a second, responding whenever the Italian set a faster lap. Bezzecchi passed him at Turn 1 with nine laps remaining and pulled away with the race’s fastest lap.

To make the race possible, the team adjusted the handlebar and brake position so Fernandez could ride without relying on his injured index finger. “Normally I brake with that one [index finger] and this morning I was not able to use that one,” he explained. The revised setup meant learning to brake and corner differently, with no familiar reference points. “I have started from zero: the whole setup, the braking references, how I have to use the front brake. It was difficult work,” he said.

Fernandez said he made too many mistakes while leading, running wide in several corners and damaging his rear tyre. “I just tried to survive, but the last five laps I was completely finished,” he said. Earlier, he had described being almost destroyed after 13 or 14 laps, as pain made it difficult to concentrate and avoid mistakes. He nevertheless held on for second and called it “an amazing podium”.

After the race, Fernandez praised MotoGP’s medical staff for helping him compete following what Motorsport.com described as a nightmare Saturday. Reflecting on the ride, he said: “I don’t know how I did that.”

The result gave Fernandez 20 points and strengthened his seventh place in the championship. He has 236 points, 23 behind team-mate Ai Ogura in fourth. His next stop, Phillip Island, is a circuit where he won his first MotoGP race last year.