SUNday july 13, 2025
Sachsenring, Germany
Warm Up: 9.40am – 9.50am – Wet Track
Air Temperature: 60.8°F / 16°C
Track Temperature: 62.6°F / 17°C
#25 Raul Fernandez
P13 – Best Lap: 1’30.006 – Lap 3 of 7
Top speed: 179.39 mph / 288.7 km/h
#79 Ai Ogura
P15 – Best Lap: 1’30.866 – Lap 4 of 7
Top speed: 175.66 mph / 282.7 km/h
RACE: 2pm – Dry track:
30 Laps – 68.43 miles / 110.13 kilometers
Air Temperature: 69.8°F / 21°C
Track Temperature: 80.6°F / 27°C
#25 Raul Fernandez – P9 (Race Points: 7 Championship Standing: 13 Total Points: 51)
Race Time: 41’08.713 Best Lap: 1’21.296 – Lap 6 of 30
Average speed: 99.73 mph / 160.5 Km/h Top speed: 185.85 mph / 299.1 km/h
#79 Ai Ogura – Out on Lap 22 (Race Points: 0 Championship Standing: 14 Total Points: 49)
Race Time: 28’44.416 Best Lap: 1’21.432 – Lap 6 of 21
Average speed: 99.98 mph / 160.9 Km/h Top speed: 186.41 mph / 300 km/h
Race Notes & Quotes:
#25 Raul Fernandez comes home in 9th after race of attrition claims teammate Ai Ogura – crashing out of a points scoring spot.
- Round 11 - the German Grand Prix – marks reaching the halfway point in the 2025 MotoGP World Championship.
- Mixed fortunes for the Trackhouse MotoGP Team riders, #25 Raul Fernandez and #79 Ai Ogura, at the last round in Holland, meant that Germany presented an opportunity for Raul to continue his recent run of top ten finishes and for Ai, a re-set after a challenging weekend at Assen.
- Friday, at the Sachsenring, did not bear the fruits of progress for either rider – both missing the top ten cut to progress directly from Practice to 2ndQualifying on Saturday.
- Qualifying 1, on the Saturday morning, also did not go to plan on a wet track with Raul finishing up P6 in the session which meant starting the Sprint from 16th, while Ai was on a learning curve to get the feel of his RS-GP25 on Michelin’s wet weather rubber and ended up P9 for 19th on the start grid. - The Sprint race ended on Lap 1 for Raul with a technical retirement stemming from an airbox issue with his RS-GP25 while for Ai, recovering from the crash he suffered in Q1 meant his race ended in P16.
- A rain affected Sprint race on Saturday afternoon proved a frustrating affair for the American MotoGP team. Raul, now starting from 15th on the grid after injury forced the withdrawal of Maverick Vinales, endured a frustrating race, unable to extract the speed he was looking for from his Trackhouse Aprilia to come home 13th. His teammate, Ai Ogura, rode a steady race, concentrating on gaining valuable track time in wet conditions and determined to improve, steadily built speed through the 15 laps and took the checkers in 17th place.
- Sunday morning brought more early rain to the Sachsenring and while the Warm Up was run in dry weather, the asphalt was still damp for the short session. - For teammate, Ai Ogura, Sunday’s main race at Assen lasted to turn 5 – off the line in 20th place, he was collected as the result of other riders coming together and forced into the gravel where he crashed.
- By the time 2pm rolled around for lights out in the German Grand Prix, over 98,000 fans were trackside to see the start of the 30 lap race.
- Starting from 14th on the grid, #25 Raul Fernandez battled teammate #79 Ai Ogura for much of the race before Ai crashed going into Turn 1 on Lap 22, leaving Raul to run home in 9th after a race of high attrition throughout.
- More valuable World Championship points for Raul. Frustration, after a challenging weekend in the mixed weather conditions for Ai.
- Trackhouse MotoGP Team now moves straight to the Czech Republic and Round 12 of the Championship - next weekend.
RAUL FERNANDEZ
- Grid position: P14 – Started on Front: hard – slick tire & Rear: medium – slick tire
- Promoted to 14th position on the grid, after the withdrawal of two injured riders who had qualified ahead.the next lap and then, with attrition ahead, he jumped to 10th on Lap 6.
- Higher temperatures than the previous track sessions and dry asphalt promised the chance to find strong race pace for Raul.
- Lap 1 saw the #25 briefly up to 14th before being demoted back to 15th as he completed the first rotation.
- By Lap 3, Raul was trading places with teammate Ai Ogura and settled into 13th spot on Lap 5.
- Ran 12 laps with Ai in his wheel tracks before they swapped places on Lap 17.
- Crashes ahead promoted Raul to 12th on Lap 18, 11th by Lap 21 and then into the top ten for 9th on Lap 22.
- Unable to make any impression on the group ahead, Raul ran down the laps to cross the line in 9th place, scoring 7 World Championship points and climbing to 13th in the overall standings.
“I have a strange feeling. To be honest, with the result, we were super lucky because we had a lot of crashes in front of us. The good thing is, I feel good with the bike again - I feel I can ride like I want. I got my feeling back on the bike, we made the seventh fastest lap of the race so, basically, I take the positives that I feel comfortable again. But, on the negative side, we didn’t manage the front pressure well, which was super high and I couldn’t overtake. This was the problem - I tried all the race but it was impossible for me and really frustrating.”
AI OGURA
- Grid position: P17 – Started on Front: hard – slick tire & Rear: medium – slick tire
- Like Raul, Ai’s start position was improved by the withdrawal of two injured riders who had qualified ahead and he came to the start on 17th spot.
- Also, like Raul, Ai was briefly demoted a spot, after the start, on Lap 1 but quickly gained it back before crossing the stripe for the first time.
- Another position gained on Lap 2 put him right behind his teammate and on the next time around he put a move on the #25 and completed the lap in 14th place.
- Up to 13th on the next lap, trading places with Raul, by Lap 5 the #79 was following the #25 and remained on station until Lap 17.
- By the 18th time around, Ai had moved past Raul and gained 2 spots for 11th and got to the top ten on Lap 21.
- Lap 22 saw all the work disappear in the gravel bed at Turn 1 as Ai lost the front of his Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP25, crashed and retired.
- Further frustration for the young, Japanese, rookie after a steep learning curve in mixed track conditions through the event.
- It’s Brno next and a chance for Ai to re-discover the pace that marked him out in the opening races of the season.
“The crash was absolutely my fault. I saw riders in front running a bit wide and there are not many overtaking spots at this circuit, so I tried. I lost the front and unfortunately, I took another rider out. I’m very sorry to Joan (Mir)! - that wasn’t a nice feeling. In the race itself, I felt quite OK and compared to Friday, it was much better that I could stick with so many other riders. There are positive things to take away but, if you don’t see the checkered flag, it doesn’t have a meaning. Onto Brno now.”
“The race was dry but anyway there were difficulties which we could see with so many crashes. Unfortunately, one happened to Ai. It’s a pity, because he made good progress through the race and he was picking up a good pace. Then he saw a good opportunity and tried, but he crashed while overtaking, which can happen. It’s part of racing. Unluckily, this caused a crash for Joan (Mir) and we want to apologize to Joan and Honda for this. I think we could have more progress and learn more, but we are happy about Ai’s pace that was coming better and better throughout the race. On the other side, Raul tried to manage the difficulties here. It was easy to crash and he tried to manage the situation as best as he could. He was in a big group and it was difficult to overtake. At the end, we finished P9, of course we had some help because of the crashes, but we take the points and move on. In general, it has been a difficult weekend; dry, wet, dry and you have to manage all these situations. But let’s take the positives and let’s go to Brno.”
- DAVIDE BRIVIO, TEAM PRINCIPAL
Trackhouse MotoGP Team Championship Standing: 9th Total Points: 100
Next Race: Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. July 18 - 20 – Automotodrom, Brno, Czech Republic
