Raul Fernandez tells Trackhouse the ‘main thing’ he must ‘figure out’ at Qatar Grand Prix, ‘not what we wanted…’

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Raul Fernandez admits his start to the 2025 MotoGP season has not been what he or Trackhouse wanted, so has one clear target for the Grand Prix of Qatar this weekend.

MotoGP heads to the Lusail International Circuit slightly later on in the year this season than normal. It has been the traditional curtain-raiser for a number of years but marks round four in 2025. It has also not been a happy hunting ground for Fernandez as a MotoGP rider so far.

Since making his premier class debut for KTM Tech3 in Lusail in 2022, Fernandez is still yet to score a point at a Qatar GP. He finished P18 in 2022 and then P17 in 2023 after moving to RNF Racing. The 24-year-old even retired at the 2024 edition as RNF became Trackhouse.

Raul Fernandez is still trying to ‘be happy’ on the Trackhouse rider’s 2025 Aprilia bike

Yet Fernandez is not thinking about what result the Spanish rider could claim for Trackhouse at the 2025 Qatar GP. Instead, his only focus is on the Madrid native figuring out a way to be ‘happy’ on the Aprilia RS-GP25 as Fernandez does not feel able to utilise the bike’s potential.

Rookie sensation Ai Ogura has ‘absolutely destroyed’ Fernandez since Trackhouse promoted the Moto2 champion to MotoGP. The 24-year-old came P5 on his premier class debut in the Grand Prix of Thailand, plus P9 in America after Ogura was disqualified from P8 in Argentina.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Raul Fernandez from net worth to career stats

Fernandez scored his first point of the 2025 MotoGP season after Ogura’s disqualification at Termas and got his first points on merit at the Circuit of the Americas last time out with P12. But Fernandez has not met Trackhouse’s pre-season goals ahead of the Qatar GP this week.

“The beginning of the year was not what we wanted but, anyway, we are all pushing to find my best,” Fernandez said, via Crash. “That is the target for Qatar. I am trying to find out how I can do my best and be happy on the bike – this is the main thing I need to figure out now.

“I don’t think about the result, but on what I can do myself in order to progress and get my maximum out on the bike. I do really hope I can find that at the Lusail International Circuit.”

Raul Fernadez has not been happy with his Aprilia bike since the 2024 British Grand Prix

Fernandez’s rookie sensation teammate Ogura plus works Aprilia ace Marco Bezzecchi have shown the RS-GP25 has more than the Trackhouse ace has unlocked. Ogura sits level with Johann Zarco of LCR Honda in sixth in the riders’ championship as the top non-Ducati pilots.

Ogura’s 25 points, even after being disqualified from the Argentina GP for non-homologated software, far eclipse Fernandez’s five that leave the Spaniard just 18th in the standings. With Bezzecchi also sat in eighth on 24 points, Fernandez admits he cannot criticise Aprilia’s bike.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Trackhouse including the MotoGP team’s riders

So, as the Madrid native is also the only rider on the 2025 grid who rode the Aprilia last term, Fernandez must find a happy place with the RS-GP25 soon. His early struggles this year also only add to Fernandez’s frustration moving from an RS-GP23 to a GP24 mid-season in 2024.

Fernandez started last year on an RS-GP23 and impressed with seven top-10 finishes across the first nine rounds. Yet Aprilia upgraded his bike to the RS-GP24 at the 2024 British Grand Prix and he has only achieved two further top-10 finishes through the 14 Grands Prix since.