Raul Fernandez on the “strange” feeling of crashing out a week after first MotoGP win

Raul Fernandez did not have long to savour his victory in the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix as the Malaysian Grand Prix came just seven days later – and it provided a rude return to Earth for the Spaniard.

But the Trackhouse Aprilia rider insisted on keeping things in perspective following a slow campaign at Sepang, which ended in a rare race crash.

The Malaysian GP was the scene of only his second failure to finish a grand prix this season – the other came in the opener in Thailand – but Fernandez was struggling even before he fell.

Along with all of Aprilia’s race riders, the hero of Phillip Island battled at Sepang and could only qualify 15th. On top of that, he gambled incorrectly on the medium front tyre for the race. He had only gained one spot by the end of lap 11, then crashed at Turn 1 on lap 12.

His response was to keep his eyes on the bigger picture – good performances in three of the four races in the late-season Asia-Pacific swing. On his way to Phillip Island, Fernandez finished seventh in Japan, then qualified on the front row on his way to sixth in Indonesia.

Fernandez fortunes changed dramatically in just a few days

Photo by: Santanu Banik / MB Media / Getty Images

“We cannot look at just this race,” he said. “Last week I got my first victory. But also at Mandalika we were quite strong. And in Japan we were quite strong.

“So it means, for me, that it was a very positive [flyaway tour]. The balance of the tour was very positive.”

“Of course, this race doesn’t help us keep our competitive [trajectory]. But we knew that this kind of track could come before we got here. We knew that it would be one of the worst tracks [for Aprilia]. So it means that we had to take the positives.

“For me, the feeling to come from my first victory and to make my second DNF on the race is quite strange. But anyway, it is part of the job. Also it was my mistake 100%, because I chose the medium tyre.”

Fernandez also chose to highlight the positives of the swings in form currently prevalent in MotoGP.

“One week ago, Honda had a lot of problems. And now we meet again, and they get a podium. So it means that MotoGP is a fantastic sport. Because you see a lot of different riders and a lot of different brands, fighting for the podium.”