Two years in to his MotoGP career , and it ’ s fair to say Fernandez hasn ’ t quite lived up to his billing . There was little evidence of the rider who won an incredible eight races in his rookie Moto2 campaign in 2021 as he finished 22nd overall and then in 2022 , when he placed 20th . Yet there were signs of improvement come the end of 2023 . A costly crash early in the Sepang test forced him out of the following two days , meaning he ’ s already on the back foot , and early performances have underwhelmed , bar a fine sixth in Barcelona . Now is the time for Raul to reward his team and Aprilia ’ s faith in him .