It was no surprise that the rain was on the menu this weekend at the Mobility Resort Motegi, but it was definitely not expected in the way it has been on Saturday. Since early morning, the rain had settled in Motegi, Japan, thus welcoming back on track MotoGP riders Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez for the Free Practice 2. But it never really stopped, and a heavy rain completely disrupted today’s schedule, with the FP3 being cancelled to leave space for only the two qualifying sessions in the afternoon.

In the rain this morning, Remy Gardner impressed on his KTM RC16 as he appeared pretty confident on the wet with a provisional P8 at a stage of the session. Eventually he got caught back by the other riders, but his best lap in 1’56.851 put him sixteenth of FP2, twenty-third overall. With less track time than planned due to the FP3 cancellation, the Australian rider headed straight to Q1 at 16:10 (GMT+9). A lap in 1’57.288 placed tenth of Q1, and the rookie will start the Grand Prix of Japan from P20 on Sunday.

His teammate Raul Fernandez also had to face the wet track this morning but he kept it together with a time of 1’57.292. Without the final free practice, Raul headed straight to the first qualifying session, still wet. He quickly made his fast lap in 1’57.827 and finished twelfth, meaning he’ll start the Grand Prix from P22. Eitherway, the Spaniard confessed feeling good both on dry and wet, and we will have to wait until tomorrow to see what the Japanese weather has in store for us, when the lights go out for the first time since 2019 at 15:00 (GMT+9) for twenty-four laps.

Remy Gardner

Grid Position: 20

Time: 1'57.288

Laps: 8

"We had a really good FP2 this morning which is a positive thing. The bike felt different in the afternoon, maybe because of the rain. I did not have much rear grip and I was unable to ride like this morning. It is a shame that we did not have a FP3 because it would have been good to understand better what we needed to do for qualifying, but it is like it is. Tomorrow we will have to push a lot because it will be a tough race for sure, so we will have to adapt to the conditions and give our best."

Raul Fernandez

Grid Position: 22

Time: 1'57.827

Laps: 7

"Quite wet weather, right? The day was challenging with the track conditions, but I feel pretty happy about my day as I am feeling good both in dry and wet. I made a small mistake in qualifying today, but it is ok. I am really happy to be back in Japan, and whether it rains or not tomorrow, I’m looking forward to the race."