Raul Fernandez was forced to opt out of the remaining days of the official MotoGP Pre-season Test at Sepang in light of his opening-day crash at turn 11.
Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez will not be able to participate in the remaining days of the official pre-season test at Sepang after suffering a bruised hip and pelvis following a crash on the first day of the 2024 MotoGP testing session.
Ten minutes after the eight-hour session got underway, the Spaniard triggered the first red flag of the test session when he lost the rear of his Trackhouse Racing Aprilia on his first flying lap and crashed at Turn 11.
It was reported that his RS-GP caught fire as a result of the highside. However, Fernandez made a fleeting return to the circuit that afternoon after being brought to the medical center.
After running for almost half of the afternoon session, Fernandez was taken to the hospital for further checks. Although nothing was broken, he did get severe hip and pelvic bruises. Fernandez will now return home to recuperate ahead of the two-day Qatar Test later this month in order to avoid additional injuries.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Spaniard, who is about to begin his second season with the satellite Aprilia team but his first under its new Trackhouse Racing management structure, expressed regret and conveyed his deep apologies to the squad.
“First of all, I would like to say sorry to Aprilia and our Trackhouse Racing MotoGP Team,” Fernandez said. “This morning in my first laps I had a big crash because of the track conditions. Honestly, I didn’t expect that coming. But because of that crash, I won’t be able to continue this test here in Sepang.
“I feel really, really bad, because we won’t have the chance to continue to understand the new bike better and to learn how it feels,” Fernandez said. “For me, it’s just going to be important now to recover well and to rest.
“To ride the bike like this is not safe for me, so I need to focus on my recovery and try to be at 100% in Qatar test in order to do all the work we planned to do here.
“Again, I want to say sorry to Aprilia and the team.”
Fernandez now loses significant track time as he attempts to adjust to the 2023-spec Aprilia RS-GP after riding the 2022-spec for the previous season. This comes as his teammate Miguel Oliveira will be piloting the 2024 RS-GP.
Fernandez becomes the second rider to be formally ruled out of the Sepang Test following the news that Franco Morbidelli would not be participating in the event.
The Italian was riding a Ducati Panigale V4S when he ended up in a crash that rendered him unconscious at the Portimao World Superbike Test.
