Raul Fernandez is having a difficult rookie season with the Tech 3 KTM team – He knows nothing about his future – Razlan Razali keeping a low profile regarding riders
Two times Moto2 runner-up Raul Fernandez has finished in the championship points in the premier class. That was 15th place in Barcelona and twelfth place at the Sachsenring. His Tech 3 KTM team-mate Remy Gardner has scored points in four races.
In the rookie classification Raul Fernandez is therefore in fifth and last place. His future is open. A stay in the KTM family seems unlikely. Pol Espargaro will return to Tech 3 from Honda.
This is to be officially announced at KTM’s home race in Spielberg. This means that there would only be one seat left to fill in the second team of the Austrians. Remy Gardner is said to have a good chance of keeping his place. With Pedro Acosta, a second Moto2 season is still planned.
And Augusto Fernandez is also expected to stay in the middle class despite his run of success. But the Spaniard would theoretically also be an alternative for the open seat at Tech 3. In this constellation, there would be no more room for Raul Fernandez.
According to rumours, the RNF team is interested in Raul Fernandez. Next year RNF will be Aprilia’s satellite team. They are said to have already reached an agreement with Miguel Oliveira. However, an official confirmation is still pending.
Will Raul Fernandez be the second rider at RNF-Aprilia? “No, at the moment I don’t know anything,” the 21-year-old shrugs. “I am concentrating on doing my job and giving my best.”
“It’s difficult to think about contracts and next year while we are in the middle of the season. I don’t. I’m trying to improve. That’s the goal.” Most recently, Raul Fernandez finished 21st at Silverstone.
RNF keeping mum on drivers
RNF is keeping mum on the driver pairing for next year. “We are still in a wait and see situation because the driver market is different from what it has been in the past,” RNF team principal Razlan Razali is quoted as saying by ‘Crash.net’
“There are still some young drivers who are between 24 and 30. That’s why we can afford to wait and see what the other teams do. In the last two years we have been last or second to last [in the team standings]. That’s not what our sponsors want to see.”
“That’s why we are under pressure as a management. We need to have good results next year. To have good results, you need riders with experience – mixed with relatively young riders,” Razali believes.
Could Darryn Binder stay with RNF? “He is still on our list, but he is not the priority because other riders are available,” Razali says of the Moto3 rising star. “MotoGP is also business and results are important. “
