RAUL FERNANDEZ SAYS HE AGREED WITH TRACKHOUSE TO SCORE POINTS IN EVERY RACE AFTER ARAGON DNF

Raul Fernandez has shed light on the “agreement” he has reached with Trackhouse team boss Davide Brivio as the Spaniard continues his push for the 2026 MotoGP riders’ title. With the championship picture tightening after the Aragon Grand Prix, Fernandez explained that his plan with Trackhouse was built around consistency—specifically, scoring points in every race and staying in contention as the season moves toward its final stretch.

After round 13 at MotorLand Aragon, Jorge Martin remains in front of the standings, though Marc Marquez has cut into the gap. Marquez reduced his deficit to the top from 40 points to 19, and he also moved back above Marco Bezzecchi into second place. Bezzecchi sits 24 points behind Martin following Aragon, while Marquez is 19 points off the lead. Fabio Di Giannantonio and Ai Ogura are also in the wider title conversation, but both have faced setbacks that have affected their momentum.

Ogura, Trackhouse’s leading light in the fight for the championship, missed the Aragon GP due to injury and dropped to fifth in the standings. He is now 53 points behind Martin. Fernandez, meanwhile, suffered a major blow at Aragon: he retired from the race with a mechanical failure, leaving him 70 points adrift in seventh.

Fernandez said that before Aragon he had already aligned with Brivio on a season-long approach. “I had already reached an agreement with Davide Brivio to continue scoring points in every race, and reach the end of the season with a chance,” Fernandez said, according to Automoto.it. He added that the outcome at Aragon changed the outlook dramatically: “But if there was a small chance, it vanished today. It doesn’t matter; it’s part of the game, so now we’re thinking about the next race.”

Brivio’s message, as Fernandez described it, was to focus on the long-term rather than chasing short-term results. Fernandez arrived at Aragon facing a 56-point deficit to the factory Aprilia rider Martin, and he had already shown he could deliver results—winning the British Grand Prix before heading to Spain. Still, with the championship increasingly shaped by who can reliably extract points, Fernandez framed his role as one of staying present in the points battle rather than trying to force the title all at once.

Despite the setback, Fernandez indicated he will keep working in the same “one round at a time” mindset. He also pointed to the uncertainty around the Qatar GP as part of why the remaining calendar still carries variables, but he suggested there are at least eight races left in the fight.

A key concern for Fernandez is not only his own recovery, but preventing a repeat of the problem for the riders who are directly challenging for the championship. He said his Aragon retirement was caused by vibrations that interfered with braking rather than a gearbox issue. “It wasn’t the gearbox. It was vibrations in the corners that prevented me from braking. I tried different things, but we didn’t find a solution,” Fernandez said. He stressed that the issue needs careful investigation so it does not reappear—especially for Martin and Bezzecchi, who are both in the title mix.

“There was nothing I could do. But it’s an issue that needs to be carefully studied, so that it doesn’t happen again in the future and, above all, so that it doesn’t happen to Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi if they’re fighting for the title,” Fernandez added.

The broader championship context also matters for Trackhouse and Aprilia. The report notes that Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola is willing to allow Trackhouse to fight for the title, a stance that would still mean the champion comes from an RS-GP rather than seeing a fifth consecutive title winner from Ducati.

With the next round at San Marino, Fernandez expects the title contenders to be aggressive in taking points from one another. Martin and Bezzecchi are separated by 24 points, while Marquez sits between them in the standings, 19 points behind the leader. Fernandez’s own Misano record is described as not particularly strong so far, though the caveat is that the Aprilia he rode in 2023 and 2024 at San Marino was not in the top-prize conversation. The report also highlights that Martin has previously won at Misano—taking victory in 2023 when he beat Bezzecchi in both the Sprint and Grand Prix on a Ducati—while Bezzecchi scored pole in 2025 and finished second behind Marquez.