Raúl Fernández struggled to keep pace with his teammates at the French MotoGP Grand Prix in Le Mans, highlighting a critical gap in his racecraft as Jorge Martín and Ai Ogura surged past the field with apparent ease. While Martín stormed from seventh on the grid to claim victory—ending a 588-day winless streak—and Ogura secured his maiden podium in third, Fernández stalled in eighth place, unable to overtake Enea Bastianini despite staying close for much of the race.
The Spanish rider, representing Trackhouse Racing, admitted that overtaking has become his biggest challenge this season. “I feel quite strange right now. I think we have two solutions. Either we improve qualifying to start in the first or second row or we have to figure out how to pass during the race. That’s it,” Fernández said after the race.
Fernández’s discomfort on the brakes when trailing closely behind rivals hampered any attempt to gain positions. “I felt uncomfortable throughout the race. When I was less than three or four tenths behind Enea Bastianini, I felt like I couldn’t brake the bike properly. So, for me, it was almost impossible to overtake,” he explained.
The contrast with his teammates was stark. “If you watch the race, it looks super easy to pass with our bike. Especially Jorge Martín and Ai Ogura—it seemed like they were riding a MotoGP and the rest of us were on Moto2 machines. But in my case, it’s not like that. I’m fighting to make moves in every corner,” Fernández said. “When I’m within three or four tenths, I feel very uncomfortable with the rear tire and can’t brake the bike the way I want.”
Despite his frustration, Fernández insists the bike’s pace is there. “Looking at the weekend overall, we are very close in qualifying and race pace. But during the race, it seems easy for them to overtake and quite difficult for me. So now we need to find a middle ground.”
The 23-year-old also believes his physical stature might be a factor in why he struggles more than his smaller teammates. “Maybe it’s time to change my mindset and work more on slipstreaming during the weekend. Perhaps in a practice or a session, I can shift my thinking and try to understand why I feel so uncomfortable when I’m very close to another rider.”
“If I knew the reason, I could go to the garage and make changes to the bike myself. But honestly, we don’t know. Some things you can’t change, like my body. They are much smaller compared to me. Maybe that’s the difference. It’s not an excuse because I think we’ve found solutions before and can do it again. We just need to understand how I can improve when I’m in the slipstream,” Fernández concluded.
While Aprilia dominated the weekend with Martin’s win and Bezzecchi’s second place, Fernández’s inability to follow suit leaves Trackhouse Racing with a mixed bag at Le Mans and raises questions about his development amid fierce competition. His eighth-place finish, stuck behind Bastianini and narrowly ahead of Fermín Aldeguer and Luca Marini, underscores the urgent need for adjustments as the MotoGP season intensifies.
