Why results are “the second thing we want to see” for one Trackhouse MotoGP rider

Raul Fernandez enters his fourth season in MotoGP and second with the Trackhouse Aprilia squad, as the Spaniard starts the campaign on factory machinery.

Fernandez made his debut in 2022 with the Tech3 KTM squad, before departing after a difficult year to join the RNF Aprilia team.

Year one on the RS-GP didn’t yield much to write home about, as he scored just 51 points down in 20th in the standings - though a fifth-place finish at the Valencia finale hinted at a brighter future.

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While there were no points for Fernandez in the first two rounds in 2024 as Trackhouse got its time in MotoGP underway, he got on the board in Austin and continuously added to his tally through to the summer break.

The high point came in Barcelona. He found himself in the lead of a chaotic sprint race before crashing out, but didn’t let that dent his confidence as he rode to sixth in the grand prix. He ended the first half of the season 16th in the points having exceeded his 2023 tally with 66 points.

From the British GP, Fernandez was put onto the 2024 RS-GP and the wheels came off his season. He scored nothing until the Emilia Romagna GP and tallied just 20 points in the rest of the year.

“I was really focused on myself,” Fernandez said on Tuesday following Trackhouse’s 2025 livery launch. “I tried to work a lot on my body. It’s true that the last two years I had two surgeries on my arm, but at least I was not really fit for some reason and I was checking everything well during the winter.

“I changed the personal trainer, I started to work with another one, to try to feel fit and so I was working on myself in the mentality area. I was trying to take off all the pressure that I put on myself because I am very ambitious in some moments.

“I worked a lot on that. And basically also with Davide [Brivio]  we will start the season with another situation, because never in MotoGP have I started a season with a factory bike. Never have I started the season with a really clear mentality behind us [in the team], because last year when we started with Trackhouse.

“Trackhouse didn’t 100% manage at the start of the season. Davide arrived in the last moment before the start of the season. So, for me it was quite different to start the season and also I tried to be at 100% in terms of mentality, because I think this year I have the opportunity to do my best and show what I can do.”

Fernandez openly admits that his ambitions got the better of him after a strong first half of the 2024 campaign, so when the change of bike hindered his progress he struggled to manage those expectations.

“I think for example one mistake that I made last year was the first part of the year, before Silverstone, we were very close to the top 10,” he added. “We were 11th, 12th in the championship. We had some good results, we were fighting for some good results in qualifying.

“Basically, the beginning of the year was so good but after that I was thinking too much about getting results when the new bike arrived and from there it was very difficult to manage the year. So, maybe this was the key that I was thinking at the end of the year that I have to improve for this year.”

For 2025, Fernandez starts the year on the same machinery as the factory Aprilia squad. He is the only constant in the Italian marque’s roster, which welcomes reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi and Moto2 title winner Ai Ogura at Trackhouse.

Aprilia leaned more on Fernandez in the second half of last year to help steer development of the RS-GP 25, but isn’t viewing himself as the manufacturer’s leader while those other riders get up to speed.

“Jorge is the world champion,” he said. “Sure, he will take the Aprilia for the first time in a race in Thailand. He’s the reference now in MotoGP. When you have the number one, it is super clear for me.

“It’s true that what I want to do is my best, try to focus on me. Sure I have a lot of things to learn about them, because also Marco is coming and Ogura is coming as a world champion. Sure, I have a lot of things to learn, but I will try to be focused on me.

“On who is the Aprilia reference, I will not think about that. I am the same rider as them, I will try to do my best, I will try to improve in every practice and try not to think about the results. That’s the second thing we want to see this year. I want to be fit, focused, and try to do my best.”