Former Moto2 championship runner-up Raul Fernandez has opened up about what he believes to be the root cause of his 2025 MotoGP problems, after yet another frustrating weekend at the Trackhouse Aprilia at the team’s home race in Texas.
Unable to even match rookie team-mate Ai Ogura this season so far, never mind live up to the promise with which he joined the Italian factory from KTM two seasons ago, it’s been a difficult year for Fernandez, with only five points to show from the opening three rounds of the championship - 20 fewer than Ogura.
And while once again missing out on a big chunk of pre-season testing due to injury has played a role in his recent form, it’s clear that the bike is working well and that Fernandez is quickly running out of excuses, something that has instead caused him to look inward.
“I feel good with the bike,” he explained on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas. “I feel we are strong, but I need to tell myself that we need calm in this critical moment. I am not managing well qualifying, and I’m not managing well the sprint.
“This is what I need to do because the bike is ready, the team is ready. It’s simple.
Fernandez's Ogura problem
Qualifying head-to-head: 0-3
Average qualifying margin: 0.513s
Race head-to-head: 0-6*
Average race lap margin: 0.574s*
* ignoring Ogura's disqualification at Termas
"I feel physically ready, in a really good moment, and we are working well. So the thing is that I need to say to myself that I need time. Since I arrived in the world championship, I’ve never made the mistakes I made this weekend, and it’s something that I cannot explain.
“I cannot be happy with myself. It’s impossible. I know what I want to do, but I am not thinking with calm when I try to do them.”
Under huge pressure to perform since joining the premier class straight from the best-ever rookie season in Moto2, there have never been any question marks about Fernandez’s talent - something that might actually play a factor right now in the situation he finds himself in.
Promoted heavily by Aprilia factory boss Massimo Rivola in particular and offered something of a surprise two-year contract extension by Trackhouse at the end of last season, it’s meant that even without the presence of his fast rookie team-mate and a newly-revamped factory line-up, he’s already been under pressure that he now acknowledges he needs to manage better.
“I’ve had two difficult years,” Fernandez admitted. “This year, I feel like I have everything - I have the bike, I have the team, I have the experience. I know that I have this, and maybe the ambition doesn’t help me.
“Maybe I just need to work. I have my psychologist, and we are working now on this. It’s not easy, but we’re trying to do the best.
“To be honest, it’s not because Ogura is doing a good job or because of Marco [Bezzecchi], or maybe Jorge [Martin] when he comes.
“It’s just because I want to show to myself that I can do, not to someone else.
"It’s not something that anyone [else] can help me with, I just need to work.”
