Raul Fernandez frustrated after Qatar sprint: “I lost to everyone”

MotoGP Saturday in Qatar brought some good news: “My finger is working well. I’m in a bit more pain than on Friday, but it’s not holding me back whilst riding.” To ensure he was in better shape, the Trackhouse rider had travelled back to Spain in the run-up to the Qatar weekend to put in extra sessions with his own physiotherapist – with success: “I can fight again!” But that was as far as the good news went for the Spaniard. In Saturday’s sprint race in Qatar, following a strong qualifying session and starting from fourth on the grid, he crossed the finish line in fourth place.

A missed opportunity for the Madrid native: “We need to find solutions for Sunday. If we lose just as much time in the Grand Prix, we’ll run into trouble. Otherwise, we’d be quick enough for a podium finish.” But the difficulties began for the rider with number 25 as soon as the race restarted. In the first few corners, his motorbike skidded across the tarmac whilst leaning into the bend, as the Aprilia’s launch control was still active: “I was sure I’d deactivated it and I don’t know what happened there. I lost too much time there as well.”

Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Katar

Foto: Gold and Goose

Paddock

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Streckenposten

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Marc Márquez & Jorge Martin

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Pol Espargaró

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Johann Zarco

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Francesco Bagnaia

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Raúl Fernández

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Cal Crutchlow

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Enea Bastianini

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Fermin Aldeguer

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Lorenzo Savadori

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Jorge Martin

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Luca Marini

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Iker Lecuona

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Der Start des Rennens

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Franco Morbidelli

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Raúl Fernández

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Pedro Acosta

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Maverick Viñales

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Ai Ogura

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Diogo Moreira

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Marco Bezzecchi

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Fabio di Giannantonio

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Pedro Acosta

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Marco Bezzecchi

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Qualifying - Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi & Fabio di Giannantonio

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Jorge Martin

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Fabio di Giannantonio

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Marc Márquez

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Sprint - Fabio di Giannantonio, Marc Márquez & Jorge Martin

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography

Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Katar

© Gold and Goose

Fernandez’s main problem, however, was the acceleration of his bike. “I’m incredibly frustrated, because fighting for the podium like this is impossible! It doesn’t matter which make I’m up against, because I’ve battled with Aprilia, with Ducati, with KTM and with Honda, and I’ve lost to all of them.” After the acceleration section, Fernandez’s Trackhouse machine was up to 12 kilometres per hour slower than the fastest rider in the sprint, and the deficit had built up to as much as 0.3 seconds, even compared to other riders from Noale.

“We need to work out how we can solve this problem. Throughout the entire lap, I had to make up time in the corners, only to lose it again on the straights. It didn’t matter whether I could ride in the slipstream or not,” lamented the rider currently seventh in the World Championship standings. The problem is unlikely to have had any impact on top speed on the straight at the Lusail International Circuit. Although Fernandez, at 351.7 km/h, was among the three slowest riders in the field, the other two were winner Marc Marquez and runner-up Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Topic of the week

World Champion Kimi Antonelli: record-breaker, heart-breaker, the Tifosi’s dream

With his third-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest of the 36 Formula 1 world champions to date. The 20-year-old Italian is on a record-breaking run. The Tifosi are dreaming of Antonelli in a Ferrari.

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Lusail: International Livestream

MotoGP World Championship

08.11.2026 - 12:35

An important mission lies ahead on Sunday: to secure as many points as possible for Aprilia in the battle for the Constructors’ Championship. Following the sprint in the desert, the team now needs to make up 13 points on Bologna.