It seems that exotic countries always provide the thrills weather-wise. After Indonesia earlier this year which saw the MotoGP race being delayed due a heavy rain, the story repeated itself today in Thailand. The rush started when heavy drops fell down just in time for the Moto2 race. It continued to rain meaning that the MotoGP race was delayed by one hour after multiple race start announcements.

Eventually, the show went on and both Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner took a really strong start to their OR Thailand Grand Prix, their seventeenth race in the MotoGP class. Within five laps, the Spaniard had powered himself to the top 10 with Australian teammate not far away in twelfth. Their respective rhythms and paces were both really good, and they appeared confident under the rain, leaving us hoping that a good result might be there today.

Within ten laps into the race, their rhythm started to drop a little bit and they lost positions. Unfortunately, Remy Gardner crashed in lap 12 which put an end to his Thailand Grand Prix. Despite the difficult track conditions, Raul Fernandez continued to push hard and managed to finish fifteenth to grab a well deserved point.  He levels championship points with his teammate, as both will now have a week off to rest before Australia. We will be back on track in two weeks for the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, another destination we have not been to in three years, and we will be looking forward to heading there!

Raul Fernandez

Position: 15^th

Championship: 24th

Points: 9

"I had wished for the rain to come because I was not at my maximum physically, so I was pretty happy when the rain came. I felt good at the beginning of the race but then our pace started to drop and I started losing confidence lap after lap. For this I am frustrated because I think that I could have finished in the Top 10. The track was getting worse so I had to analyse and decide how to behave to try to at least finish in the points. Anyway, it was good having some battles with Brad Binder, Aprilia riders and we grab one point, which is very positive."

Remy Gardner

Position: DNF

Championship: 23^rd

Points: 9

"I enjoyed the first few laps of the race although it was difficult to have visibility on the straights with all the water. I felt really good at the start of the race and was registering good lap times. Unfortunately, I ended up crashing, which is a shame because I think that we could have finished in the top 10. Next we will race in Australia, so I am looking forward to racing there, and hopefully we can have a good result at home."

Hervé Poncharal

Team Manager

"It was a strong race under the rain for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing. Both Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner took a good start to their Thailand Grand Prix, and were easily in the points within the first few laps as they were both doing interesting overtakes, with a really good pace.

Unfortunately, Remy crashed losing the front which was a great shame because he was virtually in the points. Raul kept his head down and kept fighting smartly to finish the race best rookie, and grabbed a point. He even finished in front of the poleman, Marco Bezzecchi, which shows that his ride was really good. He has learnt a lot today, the conditions were not easy at all with a lot of water at the start and less in the end, meaning less grip, and he managed this very well. 

I just want to thank my two riders for their work this weekend, and a special congratulations to Raul for his race.

Of course, a very special congratulations to Miguel Oliveira and KTM for their second win of the season. He did an amazing race, and is really a rain master. I am very happy for him."