One struggling MotoGP rider has newfound belief after Jerez test tweaks

Raul Fernandez emerged from Monday’s Jerez MotoGP test with a much-needed sense of optimism after making big progress with comfort and performance aboard his Trackhouse Aprilia.

A difficult start to the 2025 season has left Fernandez just 19th in the world championship and without a top ten race finish.

But he finished a much more competitive ninth overall at the post-race test, just 0.15s from the top Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi, while focusing on used tyres.

“Today was an important day for us after the first five races,” said Fernandez, whose day included chassis tuning in the morning and a Michelin tyre evaluation in the afternoon.

“I have not been feeling so good on the bike and although we worked a lot, we couldn’t find anything that I can use with my riding style.

“Today, though, we made a really good job.

“I don’t want to say a lot because first of all, it will be important to see if we can confirm what we found here when we get into Le Mans.

“Tonight, I’ll definitely sleep well as the team did a really good job.

“All the mechanics made a lot of changes to make me feel comfortable on the bike again and I can say that we found something to be more relaxed and use my riding style more or less well.

“We improved a lot my pace because we were focussing on the used medium tyres and full tank. I am really positive. I made a 36.9s with a used tyre… but also it’s true that after a Grand Prix the grip is much better.”

For comparison, Fernandez set a best race lap of 1m 38.450s on his way to 15th in the Spanish MotoGP.

What made the difference?

“Aprilia gave me something that I started to use from this morning. And I feel better. And also we changed a little bit the set-up. Now I can say we have a base on the bike.”

Crew chief Noe Herrera added: “We started with our base from here in Jerez. After that, we knew clearly our weak points, so we were trying different solutions which did not make improvements and so we also worked on the frame with the second bike. That helped us a lot to improve our performance.

“The conditions were a bit tricky actually - the track was very grippy but it was very windy, which made it very difficult for us especially in the fast corners. But at the end of the day, we understand a lot and improved our performance.”

Fernandez will seek to confirm the possible breakthrough during the French Grand Prix at Le Mans from May 9-11.