Raul Fernandez "very lucky not to get involved" in first turn crash

Raul Fernandez managed to avoid the opening turn crash between Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi in the MotoGP sprint at Silverstone. 

Morbidelli made contact with his fellow Ducati rider which resulted in a first turn accident, and Fernandez was one of the riders that managed to stay clear. 

The Aprilia rider, who is aboard the updated-spec RS-GP24 bike for the first time this season at Silverstone, ended the race in 12th place.

“I was very lucky not to get involved in the crash in the first corner and get away," said Fernandez. 

"I’m happy as the best thing for me, right now, is that I already know the margin of the bike and we just need to get in more kilometers and understand the bike more - I have to find out where the limit is. 

"This morning, I was really close to getting into Q2 for the first time with the 2024 RS-GP. 

"In the Sprint my pace was quite decent. I decided to go with the soft front in order to be able to stay with the group and to understand the bike more, but then I was alone and at the back of the field. 

"Obviously, I tried to do my best to recover and was 12th at the end of the race and I think it was really good. I did many kilometers on the bike, learned a lot and I already know my tyre choice for Sunday. 

"Overall, I’m really happy with this bike as I can run close to others and overtake better, which is great.”

A tough race for Fernandez, Trackhouse ended the 10-lap sprint scoreless as Miguel Oliveira finished tenth, one place out of the points. 

Oliveira blamed the electronics as the reason he can't get the best out of the current RS-GP package.

Speaking about his Saturday at Silverstone, Oliveira added: “The first run in Qualifying was not good and the second one was alright, but still two tenths off challenging for Q2 and that meant I qualified again in the fifth row. 

"I had a good start for the Sprint. Fortunately, there was no incident for me in the first corner, which was quite close to happening. 

"Then, I just started to lose so much rear grip and couldn’t go forward. I switched all the mappings, but it was still not enough just to keep up with Maverick (Vinales) and Jack (Miller). 

"It was super frustrating because I feel I was riding quite well, but I’m just stuck there with the electronics so deep into the traction control that I can’t go forward. 

"I’m really looking to improve this as we had a good step with the bike and I was able to be a little bit faster today.”