Trackhouse's incredible rise reflects MotoGP's shifting landscape

The Malaysian Grand Prix produced incident and accident, but it’s hardly the first time for the Sepang International Circuit. Once the flag dropped on Sunday afternoon, one of the narratives from the premier class affair was the reversal of fortunes for the American Trackhouse Racing team. Regular readers will know that only seven days before the 25th GP at the venue near Kuala Lumpur, Raúl Fernández had swept to P1 on the Trackhouse RS-GP Aprilia in the chilly, speedy confines of Phillip Island in Australia. It was not only the maiden podium and victory in MotoGP for the maligned (but gifted) Spaniard but also allowed Justin Marks’ team to complete the set in just its second campaign: all 11 squads on the grid now have a MotoGP win to their name.

Sepang almost doubled the temperatures, up to 35 degrees, extended the track length from 4.4km to 5.5km, provided tricky low-grip, high-wearing asphalt and introduced hard braking zones, making it a different stage to the wonderful trajectory of the Australian course. Aprilia cut through the wind and sea breeze in Victoria, but Sepang was a thicker prospect: no Noale motorcycle had made the top five in MotoGP at the circuit. However, Trackhouse could be forgiven for pre-race optimism. The post-win bump was still fresh in Malaysia, courtesy of the proximity of the achievement and the reverb of emotion.

“The first effect is everybody smiling,” team principal Davide Brivio told Motor Sport magazine at Sepang. “It was a big relief in a way but also motivation going forward. It gives confidence, firstly to Raúl as a rider. He deserved it and has worked for it.”

The corner of smiles had been lowered slightly by Fernández’s (and Aprilia’s) toil to use and maximise grip in Malaysia. In the Sprint on Saturday, Fernández’s, who turned 25 on the eve of the meeting, finished 12th, just behind team-mate Ai Ogura as both riders cut a dash in the spectacular Gulf livery being used for the third time in 2025. “We are both at the back, so it doesn’t matter if Raúl is in front or I am in front,” the Japanese rookie said sternly to the media when asked if he was content to classify ahead of the Aussie GP hero. On Sunday, Fernández circulated 14th, inhibited by a medium tyre choice that eventually led to his Turn 1 crash after 11 of the 20 laps. “This race does not help to keep our competitive line… but before coming here, we knew this kind of track can come,” he reasoned to us afterwards. “The pace was not really competitive, and we need to analyse why.”

“The feeling in coming from my first victory to make only my third DNF [of the season] is quite strange,” he admitted. “But, anyway, it’s part of the job. It’s also MotoGP [right now]: one week ago you see Honda have a lot of problems and now [Joan] Mir has another podium. It means it’s a fantastic sport… because you see a lot of different riders and brands fighting for the podium. It’s nice.”

Fernández’s claim is not inaccurate. Since Marc Márquez‘s demise from active duty, MotoGP has cascaded: seven different riders from a possible nine have climbed the box, three different winners (two of whom for the first time and increasing the total in 2025 to seven so far) and a blitz of unpredictability. In Malaysia, Fernández and Trackhouse felt the opposite swing of transient success, but the reverberations of their feat 168 hours beforehand still carried resonance in the paddock.

Among the six independent teams (from 11 in MotoGP) both Gresini team riders have won grands prix and Alex Márquez was confirmed as the 2025 runner-up less than a year after Jorge Martín won the title for an ‘Indie’. LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco aced an emotional home round in Le Mans and Team Owner Lucio Cecchinello recently revealed to Motor Sport that he’s had at least a dozen varying offers for investment in LCR around the time that Guenther Steiner announced a consortium acquisition ofTech3 for 2026 and beyond. Trackhouse, in just its second full attempt at MotoGP, has now joined the club and that gleaming gold plate trophy from Phillip Island shines like a ‘Bat Signal’ of intent.

“Having Trackhouse as a protagonist or in the spotlight probably gives confidence to potential partners. Hopefully, it will help the process,” Brivio said.

“We always talk about being ‘relevant’, being a part of the story of the championship: the win certainly goes a long way towards that,” offers Trackhouse Team Owner Justin Marks. “We’re having a number of early-stage conversations with companies interested in title sponsorship of the team and being able to show that we can win these races only helps. A number of firms, funds, and individuals see the potential in the sport for high growth and high returns. It’s nice to see because we feel like we have something that’s positioned for high growth over time.

“It is true that there is interest in MotoGP teams, and I think almost all of us have had enquiries,” Brivio said, from the comfort of his small office at Sepang. “It’s an interesting time because it’s something we haven’t discussed before: having people buying or joining teams has never been the case. It’s a sign that change is going on in this sport.”

MotoGP teams currently hold more potential stock in the six-month wake of Liberty Media’s 4.2-billion-dollar acquisition of Dorna Sports. Dorna subsidises the independent teams for the $2m+ lease of the motorcycles per year from the manufacturers and also cover the annual freight costs but the new contract period between the promoters and the 11 outfits is approaching another five-year renewal, and there have been several meetings between the chess-piece-movers in the paddock over terms. “There’s an important conversation happening to ensure that the teams are in a position to be financially viable as well as be partners with Dorna to promote the championship, the riders, and the excitement of the product,” Marks says.

The difference between an operation like Trackhouse and the factory Aprilia set-up could become even closer with increased means, whether that flows from more Dorna remuneration or the external companies and investors that are circling the MotoGP net.

“The level [on track] is much closer compared to a few years ago because we all have the same equipment,” Brivio explains. “Our bike is the same as the factory bike but it is also true that the factory team has more resources, more engineers and more analysis available and perhaps they can afford to have more expensive riders, let’s say! So, overall, the level of the factory team is above the independent team. This is a fact, so to win as an independent is quite an achievement.

“We are going in this direction,” he adds, when referencing the power distribution in F1. “Dorna has announced that we will go to having 11 teams all at the same level. Of course, there are top teams – more than those that struggle in midfield – but they are all balanced in terms of financial contribution which goes on merit, as well as for discussing regulations, problems, initiatives or whatever. Maybe that is Dorna’s intention going forward.”

Title sponsorship of the teams sees lubricant, energy drinks, online betting, electronics and insurance brands present in MotoGP. Trackhouse, like the Aprilia factory outfit (financed by the vast Piaggio Group) still does not have a major backer outside of its stable, although the NASCAR team, which has half a dozen victories from its 2025 campaign, has brands like Coca-Cola and Busch beer involved. Top pricing for a factory team used to crest 20 million euros (£17m). Some independent squads are selling name and image for a sliver of that fee as MotoGP struggles to offer much more than a small, angular, fast-moving billboard, and needs to improve activation and forage deeper levels of corporate engagement.

Trackhouse announced a multi-year deal with Gulf at the start of this season and Fernández stone-scraped the iconic, distinctive livery as Malaysia filled one of three grand prix appointments with the famous light blue-and-orange. CEO Mike Jones made his first visit to the MotoGP paddock in Sepang and explained the attachment to the team and series in what is rumoured to be a $1m+ per season agreement.

“Gulf is a historic brand and is very known for Le Mans, the McQueen movie, racing in the ’70s but what we want to do is appeal to newer generations, and so we looked for a team that would make some storytelling,” Jones, who also has the Williams F1 company under the Gulf umbrella, revealed to Motor Sport.

“This is a new team and we quite like the underdog where you are trying to punch above your weight a little bit. We saw Trackhouse as a team that could develop really quickly and a team that could be a disruptor, and I think we’ve seen that already with two results that not many expected,” he added, referencing Fernández’s Sprint podium finish in Indonesia and then the Australian breakthrough two weeks after.

“We believe that MotoGP can only get bigger. People tend to ask us why we haven’t been in earlier. In some ways, it’s actually been under the radar a little bit because F1 has had this exponential growth, not just in terms of traditional fans but also Gen Z and other demographics but also in the US MotoGP is a series that will become bigger and bigger but I think it has to be more global. F1 is global, MotoGP is regional in some ways. And that’s why we chose specific races [for the livery] and our business.”

Other significant or headline-grabbing commercial or broadcast deals have yet to emerge in MotoGP but the championship is twisting to be more promotion-friendly thanks to the modern rebranding and gestures like rider parade laps, more investment in social media content and activities, and further emphasis on what the 22 stars of the grid do away from the motorcycle as much as onboard. Dorna has already asked teams to review and expand their marketing and communications efforts for 2027 and to meet those demands will require triple or even quadruple the framework they currently use. In short, MotoGP needs to work harder when the engines are off.