– The Trackhouse duo continued their strong form from Assen at the Sachsenring. Once again, the satellite team achieved better results than the factory team. Ai Ogura finished second in the Grand Prix in Germany and Raul Fernandez third.
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As the first Japanese since Tohru Ukawa in 2002, Ogura secured three consecutive podiums. “Yes, the position we achieved in both races was more than I expected. So yes, I think we can be super, super happy.”
“I mean, finishing second behind Marc [Marquez] feels like I have achieved my goals. So, I couldn’t be happier. We fulfilled our task here, so a happy Sunday.”
After the sprint, Ogura said that he mainly lost time to the Ducati riders in sector 3. For Sunday, the Trackhouse engineers were able to make the right changes and it went better.
“I was probably lucky to have the front tire problem already in the sprint race. We worked on it in the warm-up for the main race, and that paid off.”
For almost three quarters of the race, Ogura rode behind his teammate until he slowed down Fernandez at the start of the 25th of 30 laps in turn 1 and overtook him. With this maneuver, the team duel was decided.
“I could see that Raul started to struggle. I think I had a better feeling at the front. So I think we did a good job,” Ogura nods. “I mean, the situation, the overtaking maneuver, and everything were very well managed.”
When asked how the 25-year-old would rate his first half of the season on a scale from one to ten, he answers with a ten. In the World Championship, he improved to second place, only 14 points behind his brand colleague Jorge Martin.
“We are in a good position, and in the last three races we have been really strong,” says Ogura. “So yes, our goal will be to continue as we have so far. But the conditions are changing.”
“And the riders who are fast on a particular track are also changing. That’s why it’s really difficult to manage this whole situation. So our task will be to do the same every time and see where we end up.”
Fernandez struggles with back pain
For teammate Fernandez, the Sachsenring weekend was painful from qualifying onwards. In Q2, there was a compression shock that led to back pain.
Nevertheless, he was able to finish the sprint behind Ogura in fifth place. Fernandez spent the rest of Saturday afternoon in the Medical Center to receive treatment. It got better, but pain remained.
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Still, he praises his physiotherapist, because otherwise he would not have been able to stand on the podium in the Grand Prix: “I can’t live my normal life. So you can’t imagine what pain I have on the motorcycle.
“That’s not an excuse, but I think we had too many races, too much stress. It’s not just about how we have to manage the race, it’s also about how we have to manage the whole weekend.”
That’s why Fernandez was very happy about third place, because on Saturday evening he did not expect such a result. He has stood on the podium three times this season in Grands Prix. In addition, there are two sprint wins.
The 25-year-old finished the first half of the season as sixth in the World Championship. His deficit is 49 World Championship points. Nevertheless, Fernandez realistically does not see himself in the World Championship fight.
“I don’t really think I’m ready to fight for the championship with everyone. I mean, certainly I have achieved good results in the last races.”
“But if I want to continue fighting with them in all races, I have to improve myself a bit more because sometimes I make some mistakes. So yes, I am still young and have to understand some things and improve myself.”
The results of the past weeks were especially important to clarify his future. Fernandez is expected to start for the Trackhouse team again in 2027.
That now allows him to go into the summer break calmly: “My future is almost settled, so I think that will help me because in the last two races I felt freer, and I can do what I want with the motorcycle.”
“But I still have some things to improve, still some things I can do with my body, with my mentality. I will focus on improving myself.”
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Trackhouse is second in the team standings, 41 points behind the Aprilia factory team.
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