Aprilia had to conserve fuel: Fernandez nevertheless held Acosta at bay

In Saturday’s sprint race, Raul Fernandez could only manage 8th place. The main race also got off to a tough start: in the opening stages, his team-mate Ai Ogura put him under pressure. When Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) overtook Pedro Acosta (KTM), Fernández seized the opportunity and also overtook the Spielberg winner.

Fernandez then settled into 5th place, but was unable to match Bastianini’s pace. From the midway point of the race, a three-way battle ensued with his Trackhouse team-mate Ogura and KTM ace Acosta. After Acosta had overtaken the Japanese rider with a blocking manoeuvre, Fernández countered in the same way at Turn 9; at times, the three were riding side by side. Fernández kept his nerve and held on to fifth place ahead of Ogura and Acosta to the finish.

Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Jorge Martin

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Ai Ogura

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin und Marc Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Ogura und Fernández

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin, Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi

© Gold & Goose

“It’s the first time I’ve really felt at home on a stop-and-go circuit,” said Fernandez, delighted with his competitiveness. He was unable to push right to the limit right until the end: “In the last four or five laps, we had to manage our fuel because we were using it up quickly.” The fuel held out until the finish, where he crossed the line 14.8 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez (Ducati).

Praise for the hard rear tyre

The 25-year-old was pleasantly surprised by the hard rear tyre. “The tyre’s performance was good; I hadn’t expected that,” was his verdict on official tyre supplier Michelin. Fernandez identified the key to the three-way battle with Acosta and Ogura as his mental approach: “Pedro and Ai brake very hard. I tried to stay focused, not overthink things and improve my lap time,” the Madrid native explained his strategy. According to Fernandez, the fact that the battle remained open right up to the final lap was down to the cool temperatures: he had no problems with the front tyre.

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Fernandez remains seventh in the World Championship standings with 216 points. He is now just 14 points behind sixth-placed Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), who suffered the consequences of his Sprint crash in the Grand Prix and finished 18th, scoring no points.