Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez causes an aborted start at the MotoGP season opener in Qatar: What happened and why Fernandez later gave up
The eagerly awaited start of the first Grand Prix of the 2024 MotoGP season had to be aborted. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia) raised his arm on the grid and signaled that he had a problem with his bike. After another warm-up lap, the race was started. Fernandez had to start from the back of the field
What had happened? “I had a problem with the electronics on the grid, I don’t know exactly why,” commented Fernandez. “I saw the lights on the display and realized that something was wrong.”
The Aprilia RS-GP displayed an error code. The team was unable to solve the problem and sent Fernandez back to the pits. The Spaniard sprinted through the pit lane and got on the replacement bike.
“We tried to find a solution in the pit lane. But unfortunately it was not possible to ride the bike. So I had to switch to the other bike, which had used tires. My race was as good as over,” said Fernandez.
Why Raul Fernandez ended the race prematurely
Fernandez lost his original starting position on row four due to the problem. The Trackhouse driver tried to fight his way through from the back of the field. He drove in P17 for a long time, but then had problems with the tires
“I tried to drive the race, but in the final five laps it was really difficult to manage the tires. I couldn’t do it anymore and I headed for the pits,” he said, explaining his decision to retire.
“To be honest, I’m really frustrated,” Fernandez admits. “We had a really good warm-up and a really good weekend in general. We were very competitive.” But after finishing 14th in the sprint race and retiring in the main race, Fernandez leaves the first stop on the calendar empty-handed
Team defends decision: Starting with the race bike was too risky
Team manager Wilco Zeelenberg also regrets that Sunday did not go according to plan: “The first drama of 2024 has been written. Raul was shown an error code on the display shortly before the start. After two or three seconds, the bike came back, but at that point you have to leave the grid as quickly as possible. “
“After looking at the error, we made the decision to switch to the second bike because it was too risky to start with the error code. With the second bike, he had to start from the back of the grid,” reports Zeelenberg.
“Unfortunately, after a few laps with a good pace, the rear tire degraded massively and the front tire was also at its limit. He pushed and tried to fight his way forward from the last position, but he had to give up,” said Zeelenberg, annoyed about the botched first Grand Prix of the 2024 MotoGP season.
