The young Spanish rider will replace the injured Darryn Binder at the German GP this weekend.

Raul Fernandez will make his Red Bull KTM Ajo debut this weekend at the German GP, as a replacement for the injured Darryn Binder after the South African suffered a fractured right collarbone last Thursday in Barcelona. The Spanish rider will be the team’s sole rider for Round 9 of the season at Sachsenring, which marks the halfway point of the 2018 season and the last event before the summer break. This will be the sixth time the 17 year old races in the Moto3 World Championship, with all of his previous participations either as a substitute or as a wildcard.

One such race was at Sachsenring last year, making it three previous visits there for Fernandez as he also rode at the scene of this weekend’s GP twice in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. Earlier in 2018 –with a KTM Moto3 bike– he took part in the Catalan GP as a wildcard and placed tenth.

Fernandez’s goal for this weekend is clear: To learn. He will do so with a team that won the Moto3 races at the German GP in both 2012 and 2014. The race will start on Sunday at 11am local time.

Circuit information – Sachsenring
Length: 3.671 m / 2.281 miles
Width: 12 metres
Left corners: 10
Right corners: 3
Longest straight: 700 m / 0.435 miles
Constructed: 1996
Modified: 2003

#25 Raul Fernandez
“I am very excited and happy about this opportunity that Red Bull KTM Ajo have given me at the German GP. It’s never good to have to replace a rider because of an injury, so I wish Darryn [Binder] a quick recovery. I face this challenge with two aims: To enjoy myself and to learn from a team that have been World Champions several times. In addition, I will have the opportunity to ride this year’s KTM Moto3 bike, which is very similar to the one I have in the FIM CEV, but I have been told that it has small details that make it even faster. I am lucky to have already ridden at Sachsenring, both in the Red Bull Rookies Cup for two seasons and last year replacing another rider, so this process of adapting to the track has already been done. Now I’m just looking forward to the start of the GP.”