MotoGP Australia Day 3 Debriefing Raul Fernandez (Aprilia/1): "He is the most important person in my life", etc. (Full)

The press conference at the end of the Grand Prix from Australia MotoGP 2025 met at Phillip Island Raul fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fabio DiGiannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) for their post-race debriefing.

24 years old, Raúl Fernández arrived in MotoGP in 2022 with Tech3 KTM Factory Racing. He joined RNF Aprilia in 2023 and then moved to Trackhouse Racing the following year.
He won his first MotoGP Grand Prix victory Sunday in Australia, thus becoming the 124th different winner in the premier category.

It is also about the seventh different winner of the 2025 MotoGP season, and the third driver to achieve a first victory this year, after Fermín Aldeguer (Indonesia) and Alex Marquez (Spain).
His excellent weekend in Australia propelled him to 10th place in the overall standings and his contract with Trackhouse runs until the end of 2026.

Trackhouse MotoGP Team has won his first MotoGP Grand Prix victory, which means thatToday, all teams on the grid have won at least one MotoGP Grand Prix.

Aprilia obtained his second MotoGP victory this season, after Marco Bezzecchi at Silverstone, and his sixth total victory in the premier class (one less than KTM). It is also Aprilia's 300th victory in all categories in the Grand Prix World Championship. For the first time since Barcelona 2023, Aprilia places two riders on the MotoGP podium, at the time Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales had signed a double 1-2.

As usual, we report here in full the words of Raúl Fernández, without any formatting, even if it is translated from English.

🎤 OK, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sunday post-race press conference here at Phillip Island following the 2025 Liqui Moly Australian Grand Prix.
We're joined by our three podium finishers: what a memorable day for Raul Fernandez and his Trackhouse MotoGP team, winning the premier class for the very first time! This is the seventh different winner of the MotoGP season, and the fifth in the last five Grands Prix, in what has been a truly exceptional 2025 season.
Congratulations to you, Raul!
In second position, after a superb comeback from tenth place on the grid, we find Fabio Di Giannantonio, rider of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.
And in third place, another remarkable performance from Marco Bezzecchi, now a rider for the Aprilia Racing Team. Winner of yesterday's sprint race, and despite two Long Lap Penalties during the 27 laps of the Australian Grand Prix, he fought back to secure a magnificent podium finish.
Gentlemen, well done to all three of you!

🎤 We'll start this conference with you, Raul.
Congratulations! This is an incredible and very special day for you and your team: you have won a MotoGP Grand Prix for the first time. It wasn't an easy race to manage in these windy conditions, but you did it. How do you feel?
Raúl Fernández : "Honestly, I still don't believe it! Yesterday, while watching the Sprint, I saw that Marco had incredible rhythm, and “Diggia” (Di Giannantonio) was also very fast in the final part. This morning, when I had the meeting with the team, we felt that aiming the podium was a realistic goal…but I never imagined that we would have the opportunity to win the victory.

Anyway, I'm really happy, for me, for my team, but especially for my family and my brother, who has always supported me. Today, the conditions were very difficult, especially towards the end with the wind. But I tried to manage well, to warm up the rear tire properly, and then when I passed Pedro and I saw that I had a rhythm very close to Marco's, I said to myself: « Okay, maybe it's daytime, but you can't make any mistakes. »

From there, I tried to stay focused on myself, not to think too much, and to enjoy the moment. That's what I did. In the last four laps, I did everything not to make a mistake... but when I took off my tear-offs, I couldn't get back on the handlebars properly! (laughs) In the end, it helped me to say to myself: "Well, even if you don't win, you have to stay calm if you want to go on to victory."
So I tried to be even more relaxed. But on the last lap, in the last sector, I started crying into my headphones… Yes, I am really very happy for track houseBut also for Aprilia, because it is their 300th victory. So congratulations to them too!”

🎤 You are the fourth different rider to win a race for Aprilia, after Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, and Marco Bezzecchi. It is also the first time since the 2023 Catalan Grand Prix that Aprilia has placed two bikes on the podium on Sunday. You just talked about these last four laps: I imagine that at times, they must have seemed like four years… How did you feel crossing the finish line, and how did you cope with the end of the race?
“Phew… it was really difficult, but I tried to stay focused. On the dashboard, we have the sectors, and I was just thinking about not making a big mistake and staying consistent. It’s true that in the last three or four laps, I had a big drop in tire performance, so I just tried to survive until the end.
But for me, the hardest moment was when I came out of Turn 10 and attacked the last sector… that's when I started to cry. And even during the last lap, I was riding crying in my helmet, because, honestly, This morning I never thought it would be the day I would win »

🎤 Raul, you reminded me of the Sachsenring two years ago. How difficult have the last two years been to maintain your confidence and believe you could do it again?
“Yes, you know, it has been very difficult, but the good thing is that I feel that I have really great people around me and that they helped me a lot. Last year, when I decided to stay with the team, I think I made the best choice: continuing here, with a factory bike, it helped me a lot to take the pressure off, to stay focused on myself, to try to move forward in my own way, and I think that was the key. After four very complicated years, I found a position to fight for victory. I still don't believe it., but if I have to say something, it's that I'm here mainly thanks to my family and my brother, because he always supported me. The team also helped me a lot, but He is the most important person in my life. When I go through difficult times, he is always there for me.

🎤 Raul, at the beginning of the championship, you weren't as comfortable as you seem to be now in this final part of the season. What has changed on your bike, in your team, and in yourself over the course of these races?
"I've said it several times before. I think that, For me, the big turning point was the Jerez tests, where we had a lot of time to work. I think I made a big mistake at the beginning of the season when I crashed in Sepang and got injured. My comeback was quite quick, and it didn't help me build the right bike setup. So, for me, the main change is that we had some tests in the middle of the season, time to work on ourselves, and we found something that helped me ride the bike better »

(I.e. Raul, yesterday we saw you battling with Bezzecchi in the lead in the sprint race. And today, with Marco's two long laps, there were obviously a lot of expectations on your shoulders. How did you handle that pressure, and was it difficult to stay calm before the race?
“I knew he had to do two Long Laps today, but I still thought he had the rhythm to come backTo be honest, I wasn't thinking too much about winning. My goal was just to try and get my first podium. But The moment I realized we could fight for victory was when I overtook Pedro and I saw that I had a very similar rhythm to Marco's. At that moment, I said to myself: “OK, he has to do two Long Laps, maybe here we can open up a gap, and with that gap, he might not be able to come back.” But anyway, I just tried to focus on myself and not make any mistakes, and that helped me a lot to stay focused.