While waiting for the three-way negotiations between the Spaniard, RNF and Aprilia, a series of events that have taken place in the last few hours lead us to think that Razlan Razali’s team is the most logical destination for the rider from Madrid.
Raúl Fernández met this Sunday morning with Stefan Pierer , CEO of KTM, who a few months ago made the option he had by contract effective and extended the bond with the rider for another year, until the end of 2023.
However, Fernández’s wishes to leave KTM and the interest of the Mattighofen manufacturer to close this chapter have made the two parties finally reach an agreement to separate their paths.
At first, KTM demanded a large compensation (more than one million euros) to release Fernández, an obstacle that until a few weeks ago seemed insurmountable. However, the predisposition of the orange motorcycle company to reduce that figure, and the insistence of #25 and its entourage, have generated a framework of understanding.
In this way, Fernández, who in recent days had seriously considered the option of returning to Moto2 –he had offers from MarcVDS and Pons–, or even trying his luck in the WorldSBK World Championship, will focus all his efforts on finalizing the agreement which should lead him to compete on top of an Aprilia for the next two seasons.
At the same time, it will be necessary to see who ends up being his partner in the satellite team of Noale’s house. In the first instance, RNF has closed the arrival of Miguel Oliveira, after KTM chose not to renew the Portuguese – he will be relieved by Jack Miller. However, the reformulation of the Tech3 project, which next season will become GasGas, triggered a second attempt by the holding company owned by Stefan Pierer, to try to retain the #88, which would share a garage with Pol Espargaró.
