Fernandes took his first MotoGP victory at the Phillip Island circuit, becoming his seventh winner of the season.
Published October 19, 2025
Raul Fernandez delivered a dominant performance at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix to claim his first MotoGP win, securing Trackhouse Racing’s first victory in the premier class.
Sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi, who started from second on the grid, got off to a good start and took the lead from pole sitter Fabio Quartararo before the first corner. The Italian’s quick escape also allowed Fernandes and Pedro Acosta to overtake Quartararo, who set a new record lap in qualifying on Saturday.
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However, Bezzecchi’s stint was short-lived as he was handed two long-lap penalties after colliding with newly crowned MotoGP champion Marc Marquez at the Indonesian Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider honored his penalty and fought his way to an impressive 3rd place finish.
Bezzecchi recovers, Bagnaia crashes
Fernandes took advantage of Bezzecchi’s setback to take the lead and the 24-year-old Spaniard became untouchable when he realized there was a clear course ahead.
Fernandes’ victory was a milestone for Aprilia, achieving its 300th victory and making it the most successful European manufacturer in the history of Grand Prix racing.
“I’m really disappointed, but I can’t believe it,” Fernandez said. “The team always believed in me. They never stopped supporting me. So this is the result of hard work.”
“So, of course, we have really good pace, thanks to them.
“We know that on this kind of track you have to manage your tires very well, and I knew it would be very difficult to manage at the end, so I tried to do that, especially the last five laps. It was a very long race for me.”
Acosta, Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio swapped places in a fierce battle, with VR46 Racing’s Di Giannantonio managing to secure second place and Bezzecchi making a remarkable recovery to complete the podium.
“It was a very tough race,” Bezzecchi said. “The penalty made everything more complicated, but my strategy worked perfectly because I wanted to get a perfect start and push from the beginning.
“I’m very happy because I had a little bit of a gap when I got the penalty. I never imagined that I would be on the podium because of the penalty.”
Quartararo endured a tough race and dropped down the order to a disappointing 11th place.
It was heartbreaking for local hope Jack Miller when the Australian crashed while running sixth and was out of contention for a podium place. Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia also ended the weekend on a disappointing note after crashing with four laps remaining and retiring.
