MotoGP’s newest winner ‘couldn’t even wake up with a smile’ at times in 2025

Australian Grand Prix winner Raul Fernandez admits he was so unhappy racing in MotoGP earlier this year “I couldn’t even wake up in the morning with a smile”.

The Spaniard broke Marc Marquez’s rookie Moto2 win record in his sole season in the intermediate class in 2021, as he narrowly missed out on the title.

Stepping up to MotoGP with KTM in 2022, Raul Fernandez struggled on uncompetitive machinery and joined the RNF Aprilia squad for 2023.

While there have been flashes of speed, Fernandez’s best was a brace of fifths split by two years in MotoGP before his Australian Grand Prix victory last weekend.

Getting a first sprint podium two weeks prior at Mandalika, Fernandez came to Phillip Island with a boost in confidence.

But, speaking to DAZN after his Phillip Island win, he admitted there were times when he thought about quitting.

“There was a moment when I no longer wanted to continue racing in MotoGP, but to be happy, and I wasn't enjoying myself,” he said.

“That's where the human side of the team, or my family, comes into play.

“My chief mechanic and my trainer, after the Jerez race, which was a difficult moment for me, went out for pizza before the test and said to each other that if we could turn things around, great, but if not, we'd have to find a solution. Because I wasn't happy.

“Things weren't going well, and I couldn't even wake up in the morning with a smile on my face.

“From that moment on, they helped me and reassured me.

“Even Davide Brivio (Trackhouse team manager) and my family [believe in me].

“We decided to start building a foundation, little by little, but honestly, without thinking that this moment would arrive this year.”

Fernandez’s Phillip Island win represented the 300th grand prix victory for Aprilia.

He is also the third first-time winner in MotoGP this year, after Alex Marquez and his Gresini team-mate Fermin Aldeguer.