VR46? Trackhouse is Aprilia's priority: Fernandez and Ogura promise fireworks

Trackhouse Racing wants to improve its MotoGP results in 2026, and the continuation of the partnership with Aprilia is also on the table.

In the 2024 MotoGP Championship, the Trackhouse Racing team made its debut on the grid, taking over from CryptoDATA RNF as Aprilia’s satellite outfit. In its debut season it scored 141 points with the duo Raul Fernandez–Miguel Oliveira, while in 2025 the tally rose to 261 points with the retained Fernandez and rookie Ai Ogura.

The American squad also climbed the podium thanks to the Spanish rider, who managed to win the long race at Phillip Island, where he also finished second in the sprint. He had also taken third in the sprint in Indonesia, while in the last race of the calendar in Valencia he crossed the line in second. In the riders’ standings, he closes out the top 10. With 172 points in total and tenth overall, he has contested his best year since joining MotoGP.

Fernandez finally seems to have unlocked his potential. After the rough debut in 2022 with the KTM Tech3 team, Massimo Rivola strongly wanted him in the Aprilia family, and the trust placed in him was justified by the great growth seen in 2025. The first Grands Prix didn’t go very well, but after the Jerez test the situation improved and many top 10s followed. Obviously, for 2026 the goal is to further improve the results and secure a good seat for 2027 as well.

Ogura definitely wants to improve too. He surprised in the early rounds of the season, then ran into some difficulties related both to the adaptation process to MotoGP and to some physical issues. He ended 2025 with 89 points and sixteenth place in the overall standings. His best weekend of the year remains his debut in Buriram, which also hosted the final pre-season test: fourth in the sprint and fifth in the race, results he did not match thereafter.

The 2024 Moto2 champion has shown flashes of strong potential and will be one to watch in 2026. Even though Aprilia is focused above all on the factory team and the Bezzecchi–Martin pairing, it also wants to put the satellite squad’s riders in excellent competitive conditions.

2026 will also be a very interesting year in terms of the market. Many riders’ contracts are expiring and plenty of potential changes are on the horizon. There are also teams with contracts expiring, among them Trackhouse Racing.

Recently, a rumor surfaced about the possibility that the VR46 team might consider splitting from Ducati to sign with Aprilia for 2027. Rivola, interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, responded as follows on the subject: “It would only be a fascinating idea to think of Valentino’s VR46 with Aprilia, but the priority is to continue with Trackhouse: I have a great relationship with Davide Brivio and I’m happy with them and Raul Fernandez.” At the moment, Aprilia Racing’s CEO dismisses the rumors and reiterates his confidence in the American team.