Raul Fernandez tells Trackhouse the ‘crucial’ missing piece he needs to ‘exploit’ Aprilia’s bike

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Raul Fernandez goes home for the Grand Prix of Spain this weekend looking to bounce back after the Trackhouse Racing rider’s worst performance of the campaign in Qatar.

The 24-year-old has regularly been overshadowed by his rookie teammate Ai Ogura over the early rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season. While the new kid in the Trackhouse ranks sits as high as ninth in the riders’ standings with 29 points, Fernandez is only 19th and has just five.

Lusail was an especially frustrating hunting ground for the Madrid native last time out, too. Only LCR rider Somkiat Chantra finished the Sprint Race at the Qatar GP behind Fernandez, who was 26.925 seconds off the lead in P17 and finished the Grand Prix 16.317s off in P17.

It marked his worst weekend of the season so far on the back of Fernandez taking his points with his P15 and P12 finishes in the Argentina and Americas Grands Prix. The Spaniard took 11th in the Sprint Race in Thailand before retiring with a mechanical issue in the Grand Prix.

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez feels it is ‘crucial’ he can ‘feel comfortable’ on his Aprilia

Fernandez has seldom been happy aboard his Aprilia RS-GP25 at Trackhouse since retiring in Buriram after spending most of the Thai Grand Prix targeting a top-10 finish. Now, the 24-year-old heads for the Spanish GP at Jerez with Fernandez eager to feel happy on the Aprila.

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

The 2021 Moto2 runner-up does not feel he nor Trackhouse have managed to find a set-up for the RS-GP25 that suits Fernandez’s riding style. But Jerez offers them a chance to find a solution with MotoGP holding its first 2025 in-season test after the Spanish GP on Monday.

“First of all, I would like to feel comfortable on the bike,” Fernandez said, via Motociclismo. “Right now, we couldn’t find anything to be really fast and feel great with my riding style…

“Luckily, we will have a test on Monday, which will also be very important. It will be crucial to feel good on the bike again and to be fast because, until now, I couldn’t exploit the maximum potential of the bike.”

Raul Fernandez heads to Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix with more questions about his Aprilia RS-GP25

Fernandez stating that it is ‘crucial’ he feels happy on the Aprilia RS-GP25 suggests it is now an increasingly frustrating issue for the Trackhouse rider. His woes at the Qatar GP followed an admission that feeling ‘happy’ on Aprilia’s 2025 bike is the ‘main thing’ Fernandez lacks.

Yet, instead of finding the answers the Spaniard sought in Qatar, he left Lusail on the back of his worst weekend of the season so far. Now, Fernandez heads home for the Spanish GP this weekend likely dreaming of matching his P11 finish at Jerez last year on the Aprilia RS-GP23.

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

Aprilia initially only handed Fernandez a 2023-spec bike after Trackhouse took over the RNF MotoGP team last year. He enjoyed the GP23, as well, with seven points-scoring Grand Prix finishes through the first nine before Aprilia gave Fernandez a 2024-spec bike at Silverstone.

His move to the GP24 from the British Grand Prix through to the end of the 2024 season did not suit Fernandez. Being the only rider on the 2025 grid who rode an Aprilia last season has also not helped the Trackhouse racer show his talent during the opening rounds of the term.