Raul Fernandez produced one of the rides of the season as he took second place in the Indonesian Grand Prix with two broken fingers.
Afterwards, a very satisfied Fernandez praised MotoGP’s medical staff for helping him achieve the result following the nightmare Saturday on which he had picked up the injuries.
While it was already clear following the sprint that Fernandez had fractured one finger, the Spaniard said a second fracture was revealed on Sunday morning. The main problem was the index finger on the right hand, which he would normally use for braking.
The only way to take part in the grand prix was to find another way of operating the brake. Together with his Trackhouse Aprilia team, Fernandez managed to make the necessary adjustments to allow him to brake using his middle finger.
Even so, he reported pain from around one-third distance, at which point he was leading the race. While he could not prevent factory rider Bezzecchi from passing him later in the contest, he was delighted with the result under the circumstances.
Asked how he had done it, Fernandez paused to reflect and said: “I don’t know!
“This morning when I woke up, I felt super bad with the finger. The problem was not the pain. The problem was that the finger that I broke is the one that I use to brake.
Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
“The problem for me was how I would brake. That was my question before the warm-up. The team made some changes on the position of my hand, and a little bit on the brake.”
While that made riding possible, the bigger challenges were still to come. Fernandez had only the warm-up to learn an unfamiliar riding technique and reset his references.
“The worst part is that the reference that I had during the weekend was completely zero, because everything started from zero. The reference, how I take the brake, how I enter the corners, was completely different.
“After 13-14 laps I was almost destroyed. It felt super painful… to keep my focus on the handlebars and not make mistakes was super difficult.
“So yeah, it was difficult to manage but finally we got to make the race. We got an amazing podium.
“I think also the clinic made a super good job, [MotoGP medical director] Dr Angel Charte, because we made a super nice tape on the finger to keep it in the position on the handlebars and try to be more relaxed on the bike. If it wasn’t for them maybe also I couldn’t race today.”
The 1-2 for Bezzecchi and Fernandez, which formed part of a 1-2-3-4 for Aprilia, evidently helped clear the air between the pair to some degree following their sprint clash. While not overwhelmingly friendly, the duo were cordial with each other in the immediate aftermath of the race and on their way to the podium.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
