Raul Fernandez finishes fifteenth in Thailand, DNF for Remy Gardner

It seems that exotic countries always provide the thrills weather-wise. After Indonesia earlier this year which saw the MotoGP race being delayed due a heavy rain, the story repeated itself today in Thailand. The rush started when heavy drops fell down just in time for the Moto2 race. It continued to rain meaning that the MotoGP race was delayed by one hour after multiple race start announcements.

Eventually, the show went on and both Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner took a really strong start to their OR Thailand Grand Prix, their seventeenth race in the MotoGP class. Within five laps, the Spaniard had powered himself to the top 10 with Australian teammate not far away in twelfth. Their respective rhythms and paces were both really good, and they appeared confident under the rain, leaving us hoping that a good result might be there today.

Within ten laps into the race, their rhythm started to drop a little bit and they lost positions. Unfortunately, Remy Gardner crashed in lap 12 which put an end to his Thailand Grand Prix. Despite the difficult track conditions, Raul Fernandez continued to push hard and managed to finish fifteenth to grab a well deserved point. He levels championship points with his teammate, as both will now have a week off to rest before Australia.

Raul Fernandez

“I had wished for the rain to come because I was not at my maximum physically, so I was pretty happy when the rain came. I felt good at the beginning of the race but then our pace started to drop and I started losing confidence lap after lap. For this I am frustrated because I think that I could have finished in the Top 10. The track was getting worse so I had to analyse and decide how to behave to try to at least finish in the points. Anyway, it was good having some battles with Brad Binder, Aprilia riders and we grab one point, which is very positive.”

Remy Gardner

“I enjoyed the first few laps of the race although it was difficult to have visibility on the straights with all the water. I felt really good at the start of the race and was registering good lap times. Unfortunately, I ended up crashing, which is a shame because I think that we could have finished in the top 10. Next we will race in Australia, so I am looking forward to racing there, and hopefully we can have a good result at home.”