Trackhouse MotoGP Team

Trackhouse MotoGP Team in 2025

Trackhouse's second MotoGP season sees the American team retain Raul Fernandez but sign reigning Moto2 champion Ai Ogura to ride its factory-spec RS-GPs.

Trackhouse's history in MotoGP

Trackhouse Racing joined the MotoGP grid for 2024, taking over as Aprilia's satellite team by acquiring the former grid places of CryptoDATA RNF.

Based in North Carolina and owned by ex-racer Justin Marks, Trackhouse began its motorsport journey just three years earlier in NASCAR. 

Most of the RNF personnel were hired for the new Trackhouse MotoGP project, including experienced team manager Wilco Zeelenberg, with title-winning Yamaha and Suzuki boss Davide Brivio returning from F1 to act as Team Principal.

Former RNF riders Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez, both contracted directly to Aprilia, provided the inaugural Trackhouse rider line-up.

Five-time KTM MotoGP race winner Oliveira was upgraded to the latest factory RS-GP machinery, equal to that of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, with Fernandez starting the season on the older 2023-spec bike.

During the Sepang pre-season test, former Yamaha and Suzuki team principal Davide Brivio, who left MotoGP for F1 after Joan Mir’s 2020 title triumph, was announced as joining the ambitious Trackhouse project.

Podiums were expected, especially from Oliveira, but the Portuguese - like Maverick Vinales - initially struggled on the aero-packed RS-GP24. While Vinales rebounded with victories at Portimao and COTA, Oliveira's only highlight was a Sprint podium at Sachsenring and it was soon clear he was Pramac Yamaha bound for 2025.

Oliveira's end-of-season was ruined by a wrist injury at Mandalika, caused by a traction control glitch, leaving him 15th in the world championship. But that was still one place clear of Fernandez.

Fernandez impressed on the year-old bike, briefly leading the Catalunya Sprint and joining Oliveira on the German front row, before his chassis and aerodynamics were upgraded to 24-spec in the summer break. But the change upset the Spaniard's momentum and he managed only one further top ten. 

Aprilia kept faith in Fernandez's raw talent and with Oliveira, Vinales and Aleix Espargaro all leaving Aprilia, his signature was also the only way of providing continuity in 2025 when Fabiano Sterlacchini will also take over from HRC-bound Romano Albesiano as Aprilia technical director.

Riding alongside Fernandez in 2025 will be a MotoGP rookie but not, as widely rumoured early in the 2024 season, American Joe Roberts.

Instead, another Moto2 star moved to the top of Brivio's list in the form of eventual world champion Ai Ogura.

“It would be nice to have an American rider in the American team. And of course, Joe Roberts was on our shortlist,” Brivio said.

“But we made our analysis and we decided that Ai was a better choice for our project, from a potential sporting performance point of view. Regardless of the passport.

“Ai has won races but he also has a kind of resilience. Maybe he doesn’t have a good start, but he recovers and never gives up. We also think his riding style can evolve well to a MotoGP bike.

“We think he's a good choice, and we will see in the future.”

Fernandez and Ogura will both have factory-spec RS-GP25s from the start of the season.