Raúl Fernández suffered a heavy fall during the second day of the MotoGP pre-season tests held on the Island of Lombok , in Indonesia. The Spanish Tech3-KTM rider hit his head at high speed and, momentarily, his vision was affected, assuring that “after falling I began to see a little double and I got scared, but fortunately I recovered normal vision in a few moments” he said that same afternoon.
The next day, on the third and final day of the Mandalika test, Fernández returned to the handlebars of the RC16 to complete the preseason, but had to give up after suffering another crash.
“It is very rare, but I have no perception of speed. I do not see well. I went to see the doctors and they told me to stop, that it wasn’t safe for me to continue riding”, explained the pilot.
“The doctor put his finger in front of my face and moved it from side to side. I saw the finger, but the one behind, no, ”added the Madrid native.
Raúl returned to Spain and since then, his team has not offered any type of information on how the status of the Moto2 world runner-up from last year is evolving.
“Raúl has been resting for a few days and is feeling better now,” a person familiar with the situation told Motorsport.com . “We hope that when he gets on the bike everything will return to normal.”
The runner himself explained that on that Sunday in Mandalika he had lost the feeling of speed and that prevented him from having references when it came to braking, as well as noticing “a lot of pressure on my head when I put on my helmet”.
The young rookie’s next appearance will be just in a week, in the run-up to the Qatar Grand Prix , which takes place from March 4 to 6. It will be in FP1 on Friday when Raúl will be able to get on the KTM and see if the problems he suffered in Mandalika have disappeared or, on the contrary, could affect his high-speed riding.
A pity, since the Spaniard, who starts out as one of the favorites to fight for the recognition of best rookie of the year, apart from raising a lot of expectations for his undeniable talent, finished the MotoGP preseason happy.
“We have had a good winter. In Sepang we did more than 250 laps –between the shakedown and the three days of testing–, I feel good with the bike and with the team. In Indonesia we couldn’t do a single fast lap, but I compare myself with the factory bikes and I’m with them. I’m ready”, said Raúl after getting off the bike on the last day of the test.
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