The three days of shakedown, the tests reserved for testers, rookies and official riders of teams with concessions, could not have ended better for Raul Fernandez, who will face his first season in MotoGP on the Tech 3 RC16. The Spaniard finished the first day in the lead, improving his time trial in the second and closing the third and last day with the third best time (1’59 ”468), behind only the two Aprilia riders, Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro.
“I am very happy with the balance of these three days. We have done an incredible job and are improving day by day. In general we have a good bike. I talked to Dani Pedrosa and I think I can improve a lot starting from his advice ”, explained the young KTM driver, who praises the work with Pedrosa, KTM tester, whenever he can. “Working with Dani is a dream. When I was little, I remember one day I went to Jerez and won. I will never forget that day. When I have problems I ask him, I listen to him a lot. And every time he gives me advice, I always improve ”.
The improvement was evident from the first day, concluded with a time of 2’00 “898, which he lowered by almost a second and a half on the second day, until he finished the shakedown with a time of 1’59” 468, accumulating a total of 150 laps of the complicated and demanding Malaysian track: “The first day in Sepang I didn’t even know the trajectories. I was completely lost. When you don’t know the bike or the circuit it’s even worse ”.
However, Fernandez doesn’t want to give too much importance to being the best rookie on the track: “It’s a good thing because there is a reference. But the work is on our bike and in our team. The most important thing is to progress with this bike so that one day it can win. In general, the test was very positive, because we have improved. I struggled a bit only on the second day, but when you are a rookie the most important thing is to go to sleep every night having learned something and I think we have taken a big step forward in terms of comfort on the bike and riding “.
The Tech 3-KTM rider crashed on Tuesday, from what can be seen in some images released on social media. However, it is an unimportant crash: “It was a pretty stupid crash, certainly due to the high temperatures. There were no consequences, fortunately, and it was the only one we had in the three days of testing. I didn’t follow any rider on the track, I just thought about trying my things, I don’t like to be behind anyone, I prefer to know what I do and do my thing “.
On a physical level, Fernandez assured that he feels better compared to the two days of testing in Jerez last November, and that he does not see a great change in intensity between MotoGP and last year’s bike: “Only those who experience a Moto2 race from within he knows the intensity that this entails, it is very difficult, very much. They are completely different bikes and it is difficult to compare them. In Moto2 there is no electronic help, while in MotoGP there are many, they are details that are not seen. There is also a very large team behind them, who take care of all the details. MotoGP looks like a beast, but until you know it. I have changed the way I train, I am at a very good physical level and now I am in this process of getting to know the bike and getting used to it. I feel strong, the only problem is my hands, I always end up with huge blisters ”.
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