MotoGP: Are Spanish riders underappreciated on TV? Raul Fernandez's dig

The Trackhouse team rider speaks again about his contract renewal and also about how DAZN should give more value to Spanish riders.

Raul Fernandez left Silverstone with a huge smile, having won the long race and thus redeeming the bitter crash in the sprint race. In the MotoGP overall standings he is sixth with 184 points, 56 fewer than leader Jorge Martin. With ten Grands Prix still to go, he cannot be ruled out of the race for the world title.

On August 5 came the official announcement of the renewal of his contract with the SuperFile Trackhouse team, to which he will remain tied until 2028, but there was a moment when it seemed he was at risk of being left off the MotoGP grid: "I’ve gained a bit more stability knowing that my future is secured - the rider explained in an interview with El Larguero on Cadena SER -, until now I hadn’t been this consistent. I’m more focused now, but it’s always hard to separate the future from what you do on track. Luckily I have great people around me and a fantastic family, but of course it has an impact."

Knowing he wasn’t certain to have a seat for 2027 influenced him a bit, but at the same time it didn’t prevent him from achieving good results that led practically everyone to think it would be an injustice to exclude him from MotoGP. Francesco Guidotti, who had just arrived in the SuperFile Trackhouse garage as the new team manager, said he was surprised there weren’t already talks underway for Fernandez’s renewal. He immediately got to work and in a short time was able to reach an agreement with Paco Sanchez, the Madrid rider’s manager.

Fernandez also highlighted another aspect concerning the promotion of Spanish riders compared to that of Italian riders by the major TV broadcasters in the two countries: "I think DAZN does a lot, but Spanish riders aren’t given the recognition they deserve. When I’ve been abroad, I’ve watched races on Sky Italia and Italian riders are given enormous attention and importance. And that makes fans identify with the rider. DAZN lacks a figure like that, someone who can put us in the spotlight. It’s an important step they need to take to give our riders more visibility."

According to number 25 of the SuperFile Trackhouse team, Sky Sport Italia does a better job in the way it follows and highlights Italian riders, and he hopes DAZN España will do more in the future for Spanish riders, regardless of their results: "What they need to value - he adds - is the fact that you put on the helmet and line up on the starting grid. Because maybe that rider doesn’t have the tools to win at that moment, yet he still tries. It’s a general thing: we need to give value to what we do. That’s how the big names will become even bigger and the lesser-known ones will connect more with the public. Good work is being done and DAZN is moving in that direction... It’s something we try to discuss with them."

Reading the comments of some Italian fans on social networks, it’s no secret that Sky is accused of favoring and defending above all the riders linked to Valentino Rossi, and therefore belonging to the VR46 Riders Academy. In Spain, on the other hand, some consider DAZN too focused on Marquez. Opinions vary; getting everyone to agree is never easy.