Raul Fernandez, who claimed his maiden MotoGP victory at Phillip Island last year, admits he will “cry a little” at this weekend’s final Australian Grand Prix at the circuit.
Fernandez inherited the lead of last year’s race when Marco Bezzecchi served the first of his two long-lap penalties.
The Spaniard then remained out of reach of his nearest challengers, including Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez and finally Fabio di Giannantonio, to claim his and the Trackhouse team's first premier-class victory.
“Yes, I will cry a little bit,” Fernandez said of the last Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
Raul Fernandez, Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.
© Gold and Goose
“Not because I got my first MotoGP victory here but also because I always enjoy it a lot coming here to Phillip Island - it is super nice.
“There were so many interesting races in the past here, not just in MotoGP, also in Moto2 and Moto3, so it’s a track that everybody will miss a little bit.”
Asked for his memories of last season, Fernandez replied:
“The last corner! I remember the last corner, [seeing] all the team... and was I thinking: we made it.”
Fernandez returns fresh from his maiden MotoGP pole position at Mandalika, followed by a brave runner-up finish in the Grand Prix despite a broken finger sustained in a Sprint clash with Bezzecchi.
Raul Fernandez, Davide Brivio, 2025 Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.
© Gold and Goose
With Aprilia repeating its strong 2025 Mandalika form, all eyes will again be on the RS-GPs at Phillip Island, where Bezzecchi and Fernandez both stood on the Sprint and Grand Prix podiums a year ago.
Fernandez offered a straightforward explanation for why the Aprilia suits the fast, flowing seaside circuit so well: “Because we have very good stability in the fast corners.”
Team-mate Ai Ogura could only manage 13th at Phillip Island last season, during his rookie campaign and while recovering from injury.
“For sure. I’m expecting to have a much, much better weekend than the last year,” said the Japanese rider, who completed Aprilia’s historic top-four sweep at Mandalika.
“Last year, in Phillip Island, it was just the race after the injury and in the first season in MotoGP, going to Phillip Island and to race there would have never been easy.
“I think the track experience on a MotoGP bike is definitely going to help me a lot this season. Hopefully, I can do much better this year.”
Bezzecchi, Fernandez, Martin and Aprilia celebrate podium sweep, 2026 Indonesian MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
Team principal Davide Brivio said: “Phillip Island is full of memories for everybody, but it’s a special place for Trackhouse because last year we won our first race with Raul, who had a great performance.
“We’re arriving here after a great Indonesia weekend with both Raul and Ai on the podium, in the Sprint and the main race. We just hope that the injury that Raul had in Indonesia will not affect him too much and it will put him in a condition to fight for the victory, as he deserves.
“At the same time, Ai had a great result in Indonesia despite some crashes and difficulties, so we try to work like we worked last week.
I think it could be another good weekend for the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team, so we go there full of hope and try to do the best possible result for us.”
The Australian MotoGP will move to Adelaide in 2027.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.