While Ai Ogura dominated the race over the weekend in Brno— securing a pole position and then falling just one Ducati short of his first MotoGP victory in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix—from the upper section of the Trackhouse team’s pit, Raúl Fernández had to grit his teeth to finish one of the most physically demanding rounds of his career.
However, you’d hardly know it by looking at his results in the Czech Republic—a 6th-place finish in the Sprint and a 7th-place finish in qualifying and the Grand Prix—but Raúl ended up battling a weakened physical condition due to an attack of appendicitis, which forced him to be hospitalized on Wednesday. After avoiding surgery, he returned to his Aprilia RS-GP as usual, but he considerably struggled to complete the 21 laps of Sunday’s race because he was nauseous and had a limited amount of energy left after a very demanding Saturday.
“I still feel worse, maybe because I gave it one hundred percent to be ready for Qualifying and the Sprint. But, today, from the very first lap and throughout the race, I thought I was going to throw up. As soon as the race ended, I went straight to the bathroom, because I wasn’t feeling well. I’m feeling much better now. Honestly, though, I’m not well. I don’t care about the position. I don’t care about the race,” Fernandez told reporters.
“It seems we weren’t able to get the most out of the front tire, but, besides that, I think it was a pretty tough weekend for me,” he noted. “I had good sensations. The team did a great job and found a solution to the brake problem I had on Saturday. Everything worked pretty much as usual. It’s just that my situation isn’t ideal. The problem is that I haven’t eaten or drunk anything for a day and a half. Now I’m drinking and eating too much, and that doesn’t help in sports.”
Although he didn’t want to confirm the rumors that he’s set to stay for next year as well—stating “I’m in talks with Trackhouse, but I haven’t signed anything, yet”—Fernandez is among the riders taking part today in the first test with the 850cc bikes fitted with Pirelli tires, which will be competing in the World Championship starting next season. It’s a test that the Aprilia rider wasn’t sure he’d be able to tackle yesterday, despite the gradual improvement in his condition.
“The infection is subsiding. I had some tests done this morning, and I’ve been going to the medical center every afternoon to check on the infection and see if it’s getting better. It’s still there, but the situation is improving. The doctors will leave since this isn’t an official test, but I’ll have one more check-up before getting on the bike. If I feel any pain, I’ll go straight to the hospital,” he explained. “Now I’m going to take two days of real rest. I’ll try to eat as much as possible and recover in time for Assen. Honestly, I don’t have a stomachache. I just feel like I have no energy. It’s a very strange feeling. I just need to eat well, sleep well, and do nothing.”
Focused on next weekend’s GP, the rider from Spain doesn’t want to let the idea of having to undergo surgery get to him. “I’m not thinking about it. The Monday after Assen, I’ll go straight to the hospital for tests, and, if necessary, they’ll operate,” he concluded.