MotoGP, Sportrik Media - The remarkable resurgence of Raul Fernandez during the 2025 MotoGP season has finally been explained. After three difficult years in the premier class, the Spanish rider delivered a career-defining campaign with Trackhouse Racing and Aprilia, highlighted by his maiden MotoGP victory and a string of consistent top-ten finishes.
Trackhouse team boss Davide Brivio revealed that Fernandez’s transformation was not sudden, but the result of tough internal discussions, a complete mental reset, and a major step forward in physical preparation over the winter.
Fernandez arrived in MotoGP as one of the most highly rated prospects in recent years after taking eight wins and finishing runner-up in the 2021 Moto2 World Championship. However, his first three seasons in the premier class with KTM and Aprilia machinery failed to live up to expectations, with a best result of fifth place in the 2023 campaign.
The start of his 2025 season was equally difficult. Across the first five rounds, Fernandez failed to break into the top ten and even faced public criticism from Aprilia over his performances. Finishes of 17th and 18th raised serious concerns within the team.
The turning point came at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans. A seventh-place finish marked the beginning of a consistent run of top-ten results, followed by a sprint podium in Indonesia and, ultimately, a breakthrough maiden victory at the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
“Raul’s talent has never been in question,” Brivio said at the Valencia season finale.
“The whole paddock knows how talented he is. It was more about rebuilding his confidence and improving his physical preparation. Over the winter, he changed his training methods and focused on what really matters.”
Brivio explained that in 2024 Fernandez often faded towards the end of races, but that weakness disappeared in 2025.
“At Phillip Island and Valencia, he was incredibly consistent from start to finish, without a single mistake over race distance. That was something he simply couldn’t do last year.”
According to Brivio, the early struggles of the season also forced some difficult but necessary conversations.
“At the beginning of the year, we were struggling to score points. We had some hard discussions because if you are Raul Fernandez and you finish 17th or 18th, something is clearly wrong. We said, ‘You are talented, so what’s going on?’”
From that moment on, Fernandez slowly rebuilt his confidence. The sprint podium in Indonesia was described by Brivio as the mental “click”, before the emotional victory at Phillip Island confirmed his status as one of the most improved riders of the season.
“We now have Raul in a great shape, and it’s a pity that the season is already over,” Brivio concluded.
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