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MotoGP, Raul Fernandez: "The reference in Aprilia will be Martin, he is the world champion."

"But I feel this year I have a great opportunity, it's the first year I will start right away on a Factory bike. The team now has a clear mentality, last year it was not possible to have it right away. This winter I've been working on myself, trying to get the weight of my ambitions off my shoulders."

MotoGP: Raul Fernandez:

The Trackhouse Racing team today kicked off the round of MotoGP team presentations for the 2025 season. The American team showed fans and insiders the new livery of the RS-GP25 with which Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura will tackle the championship in the premier class. For the Spaniard, Aprilia's only remaining rider from the previous lineup, it promises to be a year of great opportunities.

In fact, with the arrival of rookie Ogura, Moto2 world champion, on the other side of the box, and MotoGP world champion Martin and Bezzecchi in the factory team, Aprilia is set to start with a strong lineup. For Raul Fernandez, in his fourth year in MotoGP, it will also be his first season riding a factory bike from the very first race (last season he received it only halfway through the championship at Silverstone). Expectations are therefore high on the Spaniard's shoulders, but it is Raul himself who hinted at a change of mindset that matured during the winter break, less focused on results and more on his own path of growth.

Your 2025 on the Aprilia has already started in testing in Barcelona. Have you had a chance to try some new things?
"The biggest thing was some new people in the box," said the Spaniard at the end of the presentation, "but in Barcelona I didn't use the new Aprilia. I rode more to get some data and understand some things after the race. This was a different pre-season period for me than in other years. As you saw from the presentation we will also have a new partner on the bike, overall I am very satisfied."

You said you faced a different winter.
"This winter I trained a lot, I also worked a lot on myself. In the last two years I injured my arm twice, for some reason I was still not in the best shape. I changed personal trainers, but I also worked on the psychological aspect, on my mentality. I tried to take off some of that pressure, due to my ambitions. The year started differently this year, I also worked a lot with Davide Brivio. I have never started a season on a factory bike, and the team now has a clear mindset and direction, which was not possible last year because Trackhouse had just arrived and Brivio also arrived just before the start of the season. It was a different start of the season so I will try to be better, because I feel this year I have a great opportunity."

You are the only Aprilia rider from the past lineup. Do you feel the weight of this responsibility in any way, to help in the development of the bike while your colleagues adapt to the bike?
"I don't feel that burden. Jorge is the world champion, he will take the new Aprilia to the track for the first time in Thailand but he will be the reference. When you have the number 1 it's pretty clear to everyone. I will focus on myself, trying to give my best. I will obviously have a chance to learn and improve with the arrival of Jorge, as well as Bezzecchi and Ogura. So I am not thinking about who will be the reference in Aprilia. I will also try not to focus too much on the result, that will be the second important difference, I will simply focus on giving my best on the track."

When you talk about changing your mindset, what are you referring to?
"For example, one mistake I made last year was at Silverstone. We were close to the top ten, we were fighting for good positions. Then in the rest of the season I was thinking too much about getting results, when I got the factory bike it was difficult to manage the rest of the championship. Maybe this is the key on which I will try to make a difference for this year. During the winter I also worked a lot with Davide Brivio, being positive in the team was never a problem, but maybe I was pushing to achieve more than what I could conquer on the spot. That was the lesson of last season," the Spaniard concluded.

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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