Marco Bezzecchi
Raul Fernandez’s collision with Jorge Martin at the Catalan Grand Prix has sparked rumours around the Trackhouse rider’s future, after Aprilia’s team bosses confronted each other.
After the second restart of the race, Fernandez and Martin came to blows at turn five while battling for second. The latter came into the pits and was unclassified from the race, while the former limped home in 17th.
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MotoGP cameras picked up Massimo Rivola coming to the Trackhouse garage to confront Davide Brivio. He was clearly unhappy with the move from Fernandez, as it denied what could have been a strong podium, or even a win.
Neil Hodgson criticised Rivola for his actions, but the drama went further beyond the team bosses. The riders were equally unimpressed, blaming each other for the incident.
Raul Fernandez’s spat with Jorge Martin will not affect his MotoGP future
With Fernandez’s contract up in 2026, his collision with Martin has led to some speculation about his future in MotoGP. Aprilia were supposedly unhappy with the Trackhouse rider and would have done him no favours for securing a 2027 seat.
However, Brivio, who is leaving Trackhouse for Honda next year, privately told journalist Mela Chercoles that the incident would not affect Fernandez’s 2027 prospects.
Chercoles said via the Motociclismo YouTube channel: “Well, Martín didn’t want to say it quite so clearly, but he said it without actually saying it. You can see perfectly well on the television what happened, blaming Raúl.
“And yet Raúl saw the footage from the helicopter, he explained it to Rívola, and Rívola’s first reaction really surprised me. I’d even call it a bit of a dig.
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“During the first race, I said on TV, I mean, what else does Raúl Fernández have to do to earn a contract renewal at Trackhouse? And of course, when I see Rívola saying that to Brivio, I say, well, it seems to me that a renewal is out of the question now, isn’t it?
“Then I spoke to Brivio, I spoke to Raúl. Brivio tells me this isn’t going to affect Raúl’s future. And then Raúl says that Rivola changed his mind after hearing his explanations and they watched the footage from the helicopter together.”
Fernandez blamed Martin for the accident, but it was deemed a racing incident, as neither rider wanted to give up the position.
Aleix Espargaro hit out at Fernandez, calling his comments a ‘joke’. He was heavily implying that he was to blame for both of their races ending miserably.
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