Raul Fernandez has signed a two-year extension with Trackhouse Racing which will see him ride for the Aprilia satellite team until the end of the 2026 MotoGP season.
Trackhouse opted to retain Fernandez for a further two years following strong displays on the year-old Aprilia, with the Spaniard accumulating four top ten finishes in the first half of the 2024 season.
Fernandez sits five points behind current team-mate Miguel Oliveria despite the bike disparity, placing him 14th in the championship following the German Grand Prix.
His new deal will mean he will race the up-to-date 2024 spec bike from Silverstone before using a 2025 bike from the start of next season.
“I’m super happy to remain with Trackhouse Racing MotoGP,” the 23-year-old said. “That’s all we wanted; this new project, with Justin and Davide, is great and they have built a very good team.
“I am delighted to hear their plans for the future as they have a clear idea of what they want to do and for me, from the beginning of the year, it was my priority to try to stay in the team.
“In the end, I get to be here for the next two years which leaves me very satisfied but, of course, this also means we have a lot of work to do.
“We will have the full factory material in 2025 and 2026, obviously great news and right now, we are gearing up to start with a new bike in the middle of this year, so we have to make good use of this to prepare for next year as well.
“We need to stay calm, understand everything about the bike and see what we have to do for the 2025 season – it is very important.“
It isn’t confirmed who will accompany Fernandez with the American-owned squad in 2025. Incumbent rider Miguel Oliveira is rumoured to be linked with a move away to Pramac Yamaha.
Trackhouse are reportedly interested in KTM departing Jack Miller or American Moto2 racer Joe Roberts.
Team principal Davide Brivio is delighted that the young Spaniard has opted to remain with the team for the next two years.
“We are happy to secure Raul in our rider line-up for the next two years,” he said.
“Having seen him at work in the last few months, we have appreciated his talent and I feel that he has been changing his approach to racing and that he is willing to work, willing to put in the effort to improve, to solve problems and this is always with a positive approach.
“This is something that we have appreciated and it will be very important to continue for our future, having already 3 year’s experience in MotoGP and knowing the latest 2024 spec Aprilia RS-GP from Silverstone to the end of the season – it will be the best way to prepare Raul for the coming two years.
“I think we have a lot in common; the way of thinking on this project and Raul is happy with his crew, he is happy about the team direction and so there are all the conditions we need to make our challenge stronger, help get Raul to be a stronger rider and keep pushing to make Trackhouse Racing a better MotoGP team.”
