Fernandez’s manager on Trackhouse: “We gave them an ultimatum!”

Following his runner-up finish in the 2021 Moto2 World Championship, Raul Fernandez made the step up to MotoGP. He joined KTM Tech3 – as a team-mate of the Australian Remy Gardner. In his rookie year in 2022, Fernández struggled with the RC16, finishing only 22nd in the overall standings.

For the 2023 season, he moved to the RNF team, where he rode an Aprilia RS-GP alongside Miguel Oliveira. He scored a total of 51 World Championship points, which saw him finish 20th overall. In 2024, Trackhouse Racing took the helm of the satellite team. Fernández continued to improve until he secured his first MotoGP victory at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. Last year, the Spaniard made it onto the podium once again at the season finale in Valencia.

From the second half of the 2025 season onwards, Raúl Fernández regularly achieved top finishes. He confirmed his form in the first Grand Prix of 2026, when he raced onto the podium twice in Thailand. This was followed by two sprint race victories (Mugello and Assen) and two GP podium finishes (Assen and Sachsenring). The 25-year-old put in strong performances, but something was missing: Fernández had no contract for 2027. It was not until 5 August, ahead of the British Grand Prix, that Trackhouse Racing announced the two-year contract extension.

Raul Fernandez’s manager is the experienced Spaniard Paco Sanchez. He also manages Joan Mir. In an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com writer Manuel Pecino, Sanchez explained why the contract negotiations with Trackhouse Racing had dragged on for so long and where else he had been looking.

Raul Fernandez had an offer from KTM Tech3

“I spoke to all the manufacturers; one by one, the doors closed, and with some the deal was on the verge of being finalised, but in the end they opted for another rider,” said Sanchez. “It wasn’t until the race at Assen that KTM contacted me and made us an offer for Tech3. We had a meeting with the team owner and received a binding offer to move there. It was only then that Trackhouse reacted and finally put forward its offer. The problem with Trackhouse was that there was something of a power vacuum there.”

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Sanchez cited the announcement that team manager Davide Brivio would be moving to Honda in 2027 as the reason for this vacuum. “It was unclear who was responsible for the riders’ contract extensions. Justin Marks had only attended two races this year up to that point; the third was the one at Silverstone. And he clearly lacks experience in MotoGP,” said Sanchez. “He had to restructure a team that had become somewhat unstable following the announcement of Davide’s departure. Then he had to set about finding a team manager, which delayed the renewal of contracts and the signing of new riders somewhat, and that is precisely what held up their decision. But when we had the opportunity to switch to KTM, we gave them an ultimatum, and their response was immediate: they put a contract on the table, and it was always Raul’s intention to stay with them.”