Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez competed in the Australian Grand Prix without an aerodynamic package on his Aprilia MotoGP bike and felt like he was "flying".
Due to the disruptive influence of the powerful winds at the seaside track, the Phillip Island circuit is the only one on the MotoGP calendar at which riders are allowed to run without aero.
Fernandez and Aprilia’s satellite Trackhouse team took advantage of this point in the regulations to remove the aero elements from the bike and take off all the wings from the fairing for the races in Australia.
While Fernandez’s grand prix was spoilt by a poor start from an encouraging sixth place on the grid, he was thrilled by the sensation and performance of riding ‘wingless’ around the flowing Phillip Island track.
It was something the Spanish rider had never tried since his arrival in the premier class three years ago.
“We tried it yesterday [Saturday] and it went very well,” he explained after the grand prix on Sunday. “This is the only track in the world championship where you are allowed to remove the wings, because of the intense wind.”
Following the poor start on Sunday, Fernandez was swallowed up by the pack and dropped to 13th position after the first lap.
He gradually worked his way up to ninth, which he lost to Fabio Quartararo in the final part of the race before crossing the line 10th.
But despite the disappointing result, he had only good things to say about his speed during the race.
“Running without the wings was really good, I was really flying. The feeling was incredible," he described.
“I had never ridden without wings, it was very nice. Aprilia [trusted me] and I offered myself as a guinea pig to make a good bike. I had a great time, it's been a long time since I've felt a bike like this.
“I think I had the pace to finish fourth. I was catching the group ahead of me at the end, so I was happy with our pace and I think we did a good job.
“We held the gap to Fabio di Giannantonio’s group. We had the same pace and at the end we were even faster.
“We talked about [the idea] with the team on Saturday and decided to do it. And the truth is that it has been very good for us to collect data for next year.
“The [experiment] was a bit crazy, but we got some good conclusions. The real pity, the most annoying thing, is to lose so many positions at the start.
“Basically we have to understand what we have to do to start well, because this is the key in MotoGP. We have a lot of wheelie and when that happens you cannot use the power. I have to close the throttle.”
Fernandez also suffered a poor start in the sprint race, dropping to 11th at the end of lap one. He recovered to finish seventh, which became sixth when di Giannantonio was penalised for a tyre pressure infringement on his VR46 Ducati.
