The dawn of a new era: Aprilia Racing unveils the RS-GP25 and the new rider line-up
After an initial taster on the track during the Montmeló tests, Jorge Martín, reigning World Champion of MotoGP, and Marco Bezzecchi, officially unveiled the Aprilia RS-GP25. This project marks the beginning of a new chapter for Aprilia Racing, characterised by a strong technical identity, proudly Italian.
The 2025 season represents the dawn of a new era for Aprilia Racing, with the arrival of two young, fiercely talented young riders: Jorge Martín, who will race as world No.1 after winning the MotoGP title, and Marco Bezzecchi, who is ready to express his enormous potential in the premier class. To provide support to the official riders, Lorenzo Savadori has also been confirmed as a test rider, after his significant contribution to the growth of the RS-GP in recent years.
The Aprilia RS-GP25 represents an important evolution for Aprilia Racing’s MotoGP project. Each detail has been overhauled with a view to delivering the highest levels of performance, in order to consolidate Aprilia Racing’s status as one of the leading lights of MotoGP. All zones of the bike have been improved, from the aerodynamics to the chassis, right down to the electronics and the V4 engine, which has been subject to a great deal of development with regard to all components not affected by the freeze imposed by the regulation. The Noale technical department, led by Fabiano Sterlacchini, has met this new challenge, remaining faithful to the brand’s DNA and developing a highly innovative bike that can compete at the highest levels.
Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi will be supported by a strong, close-knit team, as well as by official test rider Lorenzo Savadori. They will be joined by the riders from the Team Trackhouse: Raúl Fernández and Ai Ogura, MotoGP debutant and Moto2 World Champion in 2024. The Trackhouse project, established to serve as a strategic partner to Aprilia and not simply a satellite team, is a key resource in the ongoing development of the RS-GP25, providing useful data and contributing to the process of innovation. For the first time in its history, Aprilia Racing will make its MotoGP début with four bikes with the most advanced specification.
JORGE MARTÍN ALMOGUERA
“I am super excited by this new challenge: to win with Aprilia. My goals are very clear; now we must concentrate on being the best version of ourselves – that goes for Aprilia and for me personally. I’m in the right place to do great things, it will be an exciting challenge, we are all very determined. I really feel the warmth of being part of this team, and I think that this is the perfect place for me. We are all thrilled to be starting this new season.”
MARCO BEZZECCHI
“I’m really happy I joined this team, and Aprilia as a whole. It’s going to be fantastic, and I’m really happy to be representing such an important brand. It’s a great source of pride for me, both as a person and as a rider, to become an official rider. I can’t wait to get onto the track, to work hard and to give it some gas, and try to achieve good results. We are all really motivated, and that’s something that I really value. I’m really fired up – see you in Sepang for the test!”.
FABIANO STERLACCHINI
“It’s a real pleasure for me to start this new adventure with Aprilia Racing. The goal for 2025 is to be remain competitive at all times, both in the sprints and in the longer races, aiming to achieve the best possible results throughout the season. It’s crucial that we continue to grow, working with two new, very talented riders. This really does represent a new era for us, with a significant change after many years, both in terms of technical management and the line-up of our riders. We are particularly motivated for the new season and proud to have two top new MotoGP riders in our team, including the World Champion.”
MASSIMO RIVOLA
“For Aprilia Racing, the 2025 season represents the start of a new era, and our aim is to be leaders and not just followers. Our goal is clear – to stay competitive at all times, in every race. With two strong, talented and motivated riders like Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, and an equally determined team and company, we can create something special. The RS-GP25 has enormous potential, and our task will be to ensure that this is expressed to the maximum in each of the 22 races in the championship.”
BMW’s 2024 Superbike World Championship season was an exercise in domination. World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu won 13 races in a row, 18 in total and won the title by 43 points even after missing six races due to injury.
But in 2025, the team apparently will have to make do without the special chassis that it developed for the M 1000 RR that it raced in 2024.
World Superbike’s “superconcessions” rules allow for substantial changes for teams that are not doing well. In 2023, BMW did not win a single World Superbike race, with Alvaro Bautista dominating on the Ducati Panigale V4 R. Under the rules, BMW was allowed to race with a “superconcessions” chassis in 2024, which Razgatlioglu took to his second world title.
Right now, BMW is preparing to race in 2025 with the standard chassis from its new 2025 M 1000 RR, said Shaun Muir, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal.
“We started a plan for this as late as September last year, we knew this was going to disappear,” said Muir at the team’s 2025 team launch. “The chassis was our only concession, and we had already been testing the bike in its full, complete 2025 package in December in Jerez, so I’d say we’re confident.”
Shaun Muir, left, and Sven Blusch at the launch of the 2025 BMW racing team. Photo courtesy BMW.
However, BMW’s Superbike Technical Director Chris Gonschor said it has not yet been completely settled whether the team can race with the 2024 chassis.
“Based on the regulations, we can carry on (with) our concession parts. There are some discussions about fine-tuning the regulations. In case the regulations will change, our bike will be according to the regulations. Let’s see and wait for the final outcome of the regulations,” Gonschor said.
A final decision on the 2025 homologation for the M 1000 RR configuration is due in two weeks, he said.
BMW Superbike Technical Director Chris Gonschor. Photo courtesy BMW.
With data acquisition an increasingly critical part of road racing success, Gonschor says he is not concerned that BMW will be handicapped by the loss of the Bonovo Action team, which ran American Garrett Gerloff and Scott Redding on satellite M 1000 RR racebikes in 2024. BMW will have only the two factory bikes on the grid, while chief rival Ducati will have eight. But Gonschor said the team would rely on the feedback from the test team and the racing by other BMW riders. Former Superbike World Champion Sylvain Guintoli and former European Superstock 1000 Champion Markus Reiterberger will race an M 1000 RR in the FIM Endurance World Championship series as well as perform testing duties for the World Superbike team.
“I can focus on my bikes and our riders. We have two strong racebikes on the grid and we have the test team in the background. So we can do the work we need to do. Anyway, only one rider can win the race. Only one rider can win the Championship,” Gonschor said.
From their team launch event in Berlin, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK hosted a team launch event at which the team spoke on their feelings and aspirations for the upcoming 2025 season.
Much is new ahead of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s 2025 campaign, a new version of the M 1000 RR, the #1 mounted on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bike, and new regulations are set to impact BMW’s package as the German manufacturer hopes to not only defend their Riders’ title, but double down, and claim the Manufacturers’ title as well. Further complicating all this buzz, while he will be fully recovered by the start of the season, it was confirmed Razgatlioglu will miss at least the Jerez test, and potentially the Portimao test as he suffered an injury to his right index finger, crucial for his signature braking style.
TOPRAK #1 AGAIN, BMW #1 FOR THE FIRST-EVER TIME: aiming high in 2025
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bombshell decision to change teams from Yamaha, which he had won a World Championship with in 2021, to BMW, who in their history had never propelled a rider to a Championship was a huge talking point heading into 2024. A year later, ‘El Turco’ has flipped the narrative on its head, he is the defending Riders’ Champion and it is BMW who are projected among the title frontrunners this year. Hot off the best season in the manufacturer’s history, BMW will look to keep that momentum ahead of the preseason tests in Jerez and Portimao which precede round one in Phillip Island, Australia.
“Normally I wouldn’t use #1, but I did this for BMW, this is a really big team accomplishment, we worked really hard and now we are World Champions,” said Razgatlioglu. “I can feel improvements in the grip, it doesn’t feel super different, but with the new fairing I feel the bike being even more agile, to me this is a big step.”
VAN DER MARK RESURGENT: The Dutchman looks to keep building on a strong 2024 campaign
Shoulder-to-shoulder, he is joined by friend and teammate Michael Van der Mark, who enjoyed a very positive comeback season. Free of injury after struggling to maintain his race fitness throughout 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw him place 6th in the rider championship, winning race day one at the French Round, third at race day two in the Spanish Round, and a fastest lap at race day two at the Motul Czech Round.
“We’ve been building a lot of momentum the last year, we ended the season so strong, and now with the bike new and improved, we should be there from the start,” said Van der Mark. “I have a lot of confidence, and of course Phillip Island is different, but I think we are stronger than last year. I’m really looking forward to it.”
BLUSCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW CHALLENGE: He and his BMW Team set their eyes on the rider and manufacturer title double
Sven Blusch, BMW Motorrad Director was enthusiastic to get the season rolling, while to him the pressure is higher, symptomatic of having the prestigious #1 on the fairing of one of their riders, he also expanded on the higher goals the team is striving for.
“It’s a different mindset we have now, from being the hunters, to now being the hunted, so far it feels really good,” said Blusch. “I think if you come in as the Champion you always want to be the Champion again, there’s the Manufacturers’ Championship as well, which we were not able to win last year, and now we are going for sure for both, we are going all-in.”
TITLE DEFENCE: BMW’s take on this season’s opposition
Team Principal, Shaun Muir made clear that while his BMW garage is highly confident in the talent of their riders and team, goals as high as winning both the Riders’ and Manufacturers’ competitions will be no easy task with the other teams they will be facing off against on the track.
“The fuel flow regulation is going to make in impact for everybody, we don’t underestimate the opposition at all, we know the strength of the other manufacturers,” said Muir. “ We know specifically riders like Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro [Bautista] (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) are going to be very strong, so we don’t underestimate our competition and have full respect for their abilities.”
GETTING AN UPGRADE: BMW will compete with a new and improved M1000RR in 2025
Chris Gonschor, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Technical Director illustrated how his team are adjusting to a new bike as well as new regulations and the absence of last year’s superconcessions which his team was granted.
“The 2025 M 1000 RR benefits from homologations made to the street bike, including six more horsepower, new aerodynamics, a new fairing and new electronics, adding potential for even more improvements.” Said Gonschor, “At the end of January, FIM officials are coming to Berlin to fully homologate the bike, and we have no doubt that everything will be sorted, and by Phillip Island we will be ready to race.”
Over 200 racers from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico registered for the January 11-12 fourth round of the CVMA 2024-2025 Winter Series at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, but due to tragic fires in Southern California, some were unable to join, while others had to leave the track to safeguard their properties or assist friends and family in the Los Angeles area. The organization extends its thoughts and support to everyone impacted by the devastating fires.
The weekend was action-packed, with ultra-competitive racing in all classes, and on Friday the New Racer School welcomed three riders who obtained their racing licenses and will be joining the amateur ranks with the club.
Saturday Qualifying
Saturday morning dawned clear and cool, but things heated up quickly when riders took to the track for the start of qualifying. Cool temperatures enabled the bikes to make big power and track conditions aided riders in turning some blisteringly fast lap times in qualifying.
The fastest of all in Saturday morning qualifying, Bryce Prince topped the field of open-class bikes turning a 1:43.128 lap time on his MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Yamaha YZF-R1.
David “Aussie Dave” Anthony was the fastest on a middleweight, turning a 1:45.455 lap time on his Next-Generation MotoAmerica Supersport Suzuki GSX-R750.
Gio Alvarez was fastest on a lightweight bike with a 1:51.98 lap time; Alex George was fastest on an ultra-lightweight bike with a 1:54.208 lap time; Danny Spina was fastest on an American Twin with a 1:58.341 lap time; and Jeff Lane was fastest on a CVMA Hooligan bike with a 1:56.110 lap time.
Saturday Races
The races on Saturday were as close as ever. There were some awesome battles in several classes with a couple of lap records falling as well. Highlights from Saturday’s racing included: Farrah “Bandit” Landers winning both the Amateur 500 Supersport and Femwalla Ultra Lightweight races.
Rafael Chavez won the Amateur Formula Open and Amateur Supersport Open races.
Marlon Gonzalez won both Amateur Middleweight class races, Formula and Supersport.
Jayson Uribe set a new lap record in the CVMA Hooligans class, turning a 1:49.112 lap time.
Sunday Shootouts
Sunday dawned clear and cold with the sun battling the wind to keep the track temperatures up. The cold weather gave the bikes more power, but riders had to fight the wind to turn fast laps.
In the first shootout race of the day, the Middleweight Shootout, Owen Williams was first into turn one and led the first lap followed by David Anthony and Josh Hayes. Anthony got by Williams entering turn six on the second lap to take the lead, demoting Williams to second. Once in the lead, Anthony put his head down and built a gap to Williams in second. Hayes began to close the gap to Williams over the next few laps. At the halfway point in the race, Anthony lost the front in turn 14, crashing out of the race and Williams took over in the lead with Hayes second and Aldo Rovirosa running third. Hayes was able to close the gap to Williams and take the lead on lap six. On the eighth lap, Hayes began to have issues and Williams was able to overtake him and lead the race once again. Also on lap eight, Rovirosa had an issue and allowed Victor Perez de Leon and Kayla Yaakov to pass. On the final lap, Yaakov made a brave pass into turn two to take third. In the end, it was Williams for the win, Hayes holding on for second, and Yaakov third.
At the start of the Formula Ultra Lightweight Shootout, Alex George got the holeshot and led the first lap followed by Treston Morrison and Sawyer Lafayette. Initially, George was able to establish a gap to second place rider Morrison. On lap four Zachary Foster took third position and Morrison closed the gap to George. On the sixth lap, Morrison took the lead into turn fourteen on the brakes. Morrison and George exchanged the lead again and Lafayette took third back as well on lap eight. On the ninth Morrison took the the lead back going into turn two and Foster took third back from Lafayette and the finishing order was set. At the stripe, it was Morrison for the win, George second, and Foster third.
Another shot from the Sunday CVMA Stock 1000 Shootout at Chuckwalla, with Corey Alexander (1), Deion Campbell (194), Bryce Prince (partially hidden behind Campbell), Andrew Lee (140), Justin Gibbs (646), Ryan Shu (149) and others. Photo by Caliphotography.com/Courtesy CVMA.
The Formula Lightweight Twins Shootout started with Gio Alvarez getting the holeshot followed by Naden Balladares and Justin Bordonaro. Bordonaro took second on the second lap and that set the finishing order. Alvarez maintained his lead and won the race with Bordonaro in second and Balladares third.
In the premier race of the day, the Stock 1000 Shootout, Corey Alexander was first into turn one at the start but Deion Campbell was able to take the lead by passing on the exit of turn 13 (The Bowl). At the end of the first lap, Campbell led followed by Alexander and Bryce Prince in third. On lap four Prince took second with a better drive out of turn five, demoting Alexander to third. On the fifth lap, Prince took the lead and then Alexander attempted to pass Campbell in turn 14 but highsided and crashed out of the race with Andrew Lee inheriting third place. Prince put his head down to build a gap and set a new lap record for the class, turning a 1:43.610 lap time. At the finish, Prince won, followed by Campbell in second, and Lee in third.
The next Round of the CVMA 2024/2025 Winter Series will be held February 7-9, 2025.
CVMA offers two full days of racing every race weekend and also includes Saturday qualifying for grid position in all classes, amateur, and expert, as well as a wide variety of classes to choose from.
CVMA offers free reciprocity as a means of encouraging racers from other clubs to come out and compete. CVMA also offers a New Racers School for those starting in racing on the Friday before each race weekend. Log on to www.cvmaracing.com to sign up or for more information.
CVMA. Built for racers by racers and offering the best racing experience around!
CVMA would also like to thank the 2024/2025 Winter Series Sponsors: Support Moto Racing, Apex Assassins, Ryder Gear, CaliPhotography, Racers Edge/Dunlop, RoadRace City/Bridgestone, Del’s Flooring, The California Superbike School, Ride HMVC, First Team IT, Yamaha, CT Racing/Pirelli, Compact Octane Trackdays, Galfer USA, Criterion Plumbers
NRS Sponsors: Alpinestars, 6D Helmets, Five Gloves, and Racers Edge/Dunlop.
The Entry List for the FIM MotoE™ World Championship is now out, with 18 riders set to contest another season of electric action. Reigning Champion Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP) returns to defend the crown alongside a host of longtime frontrunners and newer race winners, and some interesting rookies join the fold. They include Moto2™ race winner Lorenzo Baldassari (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Road to MotoGP™ alumni Jacopo Hosciuc (MSI) from Romania and Tibor Erik Varga as the young Hungarian joins the new Rivacold Snipers Team.
The Empty Quarter has to be earned. Dakar entrants had to wait until stage 10 to frolic on its dunes. The field rolled out of Haradh before the sun peeked over the horizon to tackle a road section of more than 500 kilometres en route to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. The time had come to surf a sea of dunes, where the Big Kahunas rule the waves, for 117 kilometres of sand, sand and more sand. Michael Docherty, free of strategic concerns, tapped his raw speed and intimate knowledge of the dunes —he lives next door— to open his account at the Dakar.
Accurately predicting that the main contenders would keep their powder dry, Docherty went for broke today. The South African Rally 2 biker danced gracefully over the dunes to take his very first Dakar stage win by 1′20″ over Rui Gonçalves and 2′21″ over Tobias Ebster.
As expected, the title contenders kept their cards close to their chests in anticipation of the second stage in the Empty Quarter, which will take place tomorrow. Daniel Sanders remains perched at the top of the ranking with 16′31″ in hand over Tosha Schareina and 22′24″ over Adrien Van Beveren. The starting order, which will keep fans and pundits busy, will encourage the rivals of the man from Oz to try and stage a sensational comeback.
(Editors Note: Americans Skyler Howes, Ricky Brabec and Jason Argubright finished the stage sixth, 13th and 22nd.)
Trackhouse Racing’s 2025 MotoGP riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura are taking different approaches to the upcoming season, but for both the goal is the same: To learn, adapt and improve.
Fernandez and Ogura spoke to members of the international MotoGP media as Trackhouse unveiled its 2025 liveries for NASCAR and MotoGP, with each talking about their preparations for the upcoming season.
Raul Fernandez (25) in testing at the post-season Barcelona test. Photo by Michael Gougis.
The two are approaching 2025 from different perspectives. For Fernandez, it’s his first year starting out with the same team he raced for in the prior season, and the first time he’s starting with a factory bike at his disposal. Fernandez raced for KTM Tech3 in 2022, rode for the CryptoData RNF MotoGP Team on an Aprilia RS-GP in 2023, and when Trackhouse bought up the remnants of the imploded RNF team, Fernadez stayed on board for 2024, but started the season with a 2023-spec bike. Fernandez switched to a 2024-spec machine halfway through the season, a change that left him struggling; he cut a despondent figure in the post-race media debriefings after the season finale in Barcelona.
The post-season test saw Fernandez further evaluating the 2024 bike and learning to work with new crew members, and he said he spent a lot of time over the break working with Team Principal Davide Brivio on his mental fitness.
“We changed the staff. We didn’t try the new bike, we wanted to see how the new people would (work) with the team,” Fernandez said. “It was a different preseason for me. I was really focused on myself. I changed the personal trainer to try to feel fit. I was working on myself in the mentality area. Never in MotoGP have I started the season with a factory bike. Overall, I am really happy.
“I want to be fit, focused and try to do my best. Davide helped me a lot. Maybe this is my problem. I want more than we have in the moment.”
Raul Fernandez. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Fernandez is the only rider continuing with Aprilia into the 2025 season. World Champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi are joing the factory Aprilia squad from Ducati, while Ogura arrives as the reigning Moto2 World Champion. Yet Fernandez says he does not consider himself a leader of the team, and he is most interested in learning from his teammates. Martin and Ogura are World Champions and Bezzecchi is a three-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner.
“It is super clear to me. I have a lot of things to learn from them,” Fernandez said.
Ogura is at the beginning of a steep learning curve. The Michelin slicks in MotoGP are dramatically different than the Pirellis used in Moto2, and the RS-GP makes twice the horsepower of his Triumph-powered Moto2 Boscoscuro.
But in his first outing, Ogura said he didn’t find the bike over-taxing, and said he was spending the off-season training mostly by riding on the track. During the Barcelona test, Ogura did 10 to 12-lap stints, and his times were comparable to Somkiat Chantra and Fermin Aldeguer, the other Moto2 rookies moving up to MotoGP for 2025.
Ai Ogura. Photo by Michael Gougis.
“If it’s really necessary to work on the physical side, I will. I don’t really feel – it sounds strange, but it didn’t feel so hard on the physical side in Barcelona,” Ogura said, while acknowledging that the upcoming tests in Malaysia and Thailand will be more physically challenging.
“There’s still a lot to understand. I have eight (testing) days until I start on the first race,” Ogura said. “Clearly, I’m in the position to learn from all of the three (Aprilia) riders.”
Great riders are recognized by their ability to navigate a stage alone and thus win two consecutive stages. That is what Luciano Benavides managed to do, as he improved his roll of honour with the 5th stage victory of his career on the Dakar and moved up to 4th place in the general rankings for his best ever position.
The Argentinean beat Adrien Van Beveren by 1’54’’ over the route of the day’s special. It was also a good day for the Frenchman as he closed in on his Spanish team-mate Tosha Schareina, who was off the pace due to a fall at the beginning of the special. The battle for second place is occurring some way behind race leader Daniel Sanders, who will tackle the decisive stage 10 with a lead of 14’45’’ and from 3rd position in the starting order.
(Editors Note: Americans Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes finished fourth and fifth.)
The 2025 Trackhouse Racing MotoGP livery. Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
Trackhouse Racing has, today, presented, a new livery for its NASCAR Cup Series and its MotoGP campaigns, together with the line-up of drivers and riders for both its teams. Incorporating vibrant blue and black base colors that have been a feature of the Trackhouse style since it first started racing in 2021 and adding accents in dayglo yellow, the covers came off one of its NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 cars and one of its Aprilia GP-RS MotoGP bikes at the team’s headquarters in Concord, North Carolina, revealing a distinctive and consistent design scheme for its 2025 season.
The Athlete line-up introduced the three Trackhouse NASCAR Cup drivers – #1 Ross Chastain, #99 Daniel Suarez and new for 2025, #88 Shane van Gisbergen, alongside its two MotoGP riders – #25 Raul Fernandez and rookie #79 Ai Ogura.
Moto2 World Champion Ai Ogura moves up to MotoGP in 2025 with Trackhouse Racing. Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
Trackhouse Racing NASCAR Cup line-up:
#1 Ross Chastain: Age 31 – Hometown: Alva, Florida
Ross Chastain became the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. Wins at Talladega and the Circuit of Americas Road Course were highlights of the year eclipsed in the penultimate race of 2022 at Martinsville when Ross made the miracle move, subsequently named the “hail melon” to secure a spot in the Championship 4, capping off a remarkable inaugural year with Trackhouse Racing, finishing second overall. In the 2023 season he scored two Cup Series wins and in 2024 a further two victories brought his tally to five. For 2025, he continues in the #1 car for Trackhouse.
#99 Daniel Suárez: Age 32 – Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
The only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Daniel made racing history in 2022 as the first Mexican-born and just fifth foreign-born driver to take the checkers, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing. The 32-year-old driver from Monterrey, claimed this history-making victory at the Toyota Save Mart 350, at Sonoma Raceway adding the accolade to those of being the first international champion in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as the 2017 and 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race Open Winner. In 2024, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Suárez made history again winning in a three-wide finish with a 0.003 second lead, giving Daniel his second visit to Victory Lane. Now a dual US- Mexican citizen, he starts his 5th Cup season with Trackhouse in 2025.
#88 Shane van Gisbergen: Age 34 – Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Shane joined Trackhouse Racing for his first full season of NASCAR in 2024, running the full Xfinity Series schedule along with seven NASCAR Cup Series races. The New Zealander made an instant splash in 2023, winning the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his first NASCAR start. He became one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup Series race and the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first Cup Series start. Van Gisbergen is no stranger to success. He earned three Supercars Championships for Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016, 2021 and 2022, plus 80 wins and 47 pole positions making him the fourth most successful driver in the Australian series. He’s also won the legendary Bathurst 1000 in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
Trackhouse’s unique Project 91 guest driver project propelled van Gisbergen onto the U.S. racing scene in 2023. The program is designed to expand the organization’s global reach by fielding a Cup Series entry for renowned international racing drivers. Formula One icon and 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen first drove under the Project 91 flag at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2022 and again at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 26. In 2025, Project 91 brings Indycar legend, Helio Castroneves, to the Daytona 500.
Trackhouse MotoGP Team line-up:
#25 Raúl Fernández: Age 24 – Hometown: Madrid – Spain
Raúl Fernández arrived in the Trackhouse Team at the beginning of the MotoGP project, as one of the youngest, most exciting, riders in the World Championship. Since the age of 11 years old, when he learnt his early racecraft on the tracks around Madrid, he has been ‘one to watch’. Rarely have rookies shaken up the intermediate Moto 2 class like Raul in 2021 when he blitzed the field with eight victories and only just missed out on the Championship crown, injury preventing him from securing vital points towards the end of the campaign. Having stepped up to the Premier class in ’22, his 2023 season, in MotoGP, ended strongly with a top 5 finish in the final race. In 2024, with Trackhouse, he led the Sprint race at the Catalunya Grand Prix and scored a top 6 finish in the Australian Sprint race. Heading into his 4th season in MotoGP, his third on the Aprilia RS-GP prototype making him the longest serving rider for the Noale marque, Raúl will pilot the #25 for Trackhouse.
#79 Ai Ogura: Age 23: Tokyo – Japan
Mid-year, in its first season, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team demonstrated its commitment to young developing talent and its ambitions for the future by signing Ai Ogura on a two-year deal. The brightest star to emerge from Japan in over a decade, Ai started on MotoGP’s first rung of the talent ladder as 14-year-old in the Asia Talent Cup and progressed up through Red Bull Rookies and Moto3 until, in 2024, he emphatically sealed the Moto2 World Championship crown. Ai calls Kiyose in Japan, home and will join the MotoGP grid at the age of 24, carrying the #79 on the front of his Trackhouse Racing RS-GP25
NASCAR v MotoGP:
The NASCAR Cup Series is the premier league of stockcar racing. The three Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 racecars weigh in dry at 3,200 lbs (1,451 kgs), push out up to 670 hp from their 5.86 liter (358 cubic inches) V8 engines and race wide-open on superspeedway oval tracks and shorter, tighter bowls, also visiting five road courses in the Cup Series schedule of 39 race weekends. Kick-off is on February 2nd, with the NASCAR CLASH, followed by the ‘big one’ at Daytona for the 500 – a race that this year will feature a fourth Trackhouse car, entered as Project 91 and piloted by the 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves.
The MotoGP World Championship is the ultimate in two-wheel circuit racing. Trackhouse fields two Aprilia RS-GP25 prototypes, each of which weigh in at a minimum 346 lbs (157 Kilograms) and develop over 280 HP from their V4, 1000cc engine. The Championship in 2025 features 22 rounds, at road course tracks spread over 5 continents, each weekend including a Sprint race on Saturday and full distance Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Trackhouse MotoGP Team will start testing in Malaysia, initially with the Shakedown test for Ai Ogura, January 31 to February 2nd and then Raul will join him for the full test, starting on February 5th. The team will take part in the MotoGP 2025 Season Launch event in Bangkok on Sunday, February 9 and will unveil the final version of the Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP25 at Buriram ahead of Round 1 – the Grand Prix of Thailand – February 28 – March 2nd.
RAUL FERNANDEZ
“The new bike looks amazing. I’m really happy to go out with these colors and I’m sure we will be well seen on tv and from the grandstands. It’s quite different to the rest of the grid. Also, it’s nice to have a huge brand like Gulf on board now. We have a new challenge, it’s a new year and we have new goals. This year will hopefully be a really nice one. We are all working hard – I was working on myself a lot during the winter and I think it’s going to be a great season. Let’s go and enjoy it!”
AI OGURA
“First of all, I would like to say thanks to everybody at Trackhouse. I’m really happy that we can get the season started soon and I’m just excited about this year. It will be a big challenge for me, but I have my guys in the team, they are all motivated, the atmosphere inside the team is great. I can’t wait to start the first test in Sepang! Our design is absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to ride this beautiful bike and I’m excited to see what we can do this season.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM PRINCIPAL
“This is another important moment because we are introducing our second year as Trackhouse Team. The first one has been a learning year and we will try to use everything we learned before in this second season, where we have many new things coming up. Of course, a new design of the bike, which goes more towards the Trackhouse image direction and we have an in place agreement with Gulf which means another exciting design. It’s a real privilege to be involved in a team with such an iconic brand – a brand, which I personally always admired in the motorsport environment. We can’t wait to show our special livery, which I believe will be something great and unique in MotoGP.”
“Speaking about our riders, Raul remains with the target to be stronger and stronger and then we have the big change with Ai, our rookie in MotoGP. He is Moto2 World Champion, which is raising expectations. We start this season with ambitions to improve what we did last year and also the team and not just the riders are learning more and more. I’m confident that we will see Raul stronger, with more experience and it will be nice seeing Ai growing up, improving race by race, which is the target. We are really looking forward to it and are very excited. We are well prepared, from physical and technical point of view. Let’s see what we can expect from this season.”
JUSTIN MARKS – TEAM OWNER
“I am really excited. In that first year in a new championship there were a lot of learnings for me and for a number of people on the team. It’s like now we are starting to figure out how the MotoGP program fits into the big Trackhouse picture. Everybody is just so excited that we are competing in this championship. I’m excited for 2025. I think the Aprilia bikes are going to be fast, Raul continues to get better, super excited about Ai coming onboard. We’re ready to go testing and get the ball rolling on the season.”
“We are super excited to have Raul. There were times in 2024 where he showed incredible speed. He is taking a big step this off season in his preparation, in his mentally, kind of understanding where he needs to be on the race weekend in his mind. We are excited about that and I think there’s podiums in our future. If the bikes are there, the speed is there, certainly there’s a lot of talent, with mechanics and engineers. We showed already that we have the pieces and Raul’s got the talent to be able to compete at the front in MotoGP. So, certainly, we are looking for more of that.”
“On the other side, I love rookies. I love taking this undefined, raw talent, putting them in these new positions, putting the support in around them and be able to mature into top level professional athletes. When we signed Ai and announced that he was joining the team, I don’t think he was leading in Moto2. He was in this battle for the championship and as soon as it was public that he’s going to join our team, he just went on to tear it up and won the Moto2 World Championship. This really shows what he is made of. If you look at the crop of rookies, when you look at the new guys coming into MotoGP in 2025, what else can you want than the reigning Moto2 World Champion? We are super excited about his talent.”
“The greatest milestones for our company is aligning ourselves with some of the greatest brands of the world. We have done this for the Nascar side. Getting these iconic brands like Gulf to the Trackhouse journey, to invest in us and to grow with us, is hugely important to me. I was telling the Gulf executive going through this process, there’s these amazing moments in the history of motorsport and for a brand like that to be aligned with Trackhouse having the Gulf logos on the bike is humbling, amazing and we can’t wait to get that bike on the racetrack. It’s pretty special.”
Trackhouse MotoGP Team:
Trackhouse Entertainment Group owner Justin Marks announced, back in December 2023, that his organization will field a MotoGP World Championship team in 2024, a move expanding its reach across the global motorsports world and building on its success in the NASCAR series. Just six weeks later the Team pulled back the curtains on its season-opening design with two of its Aprilia MotoGP prototype bikes and introduced #88 Miguel Oliveira and #25 Raul Fernandez as its pilots. One week later, Trackhouse Racing MotoGP rolled out onto its pit-road debut at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.
Entering its sophomore year in the premier league of two-wheel racing, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team continues with 24-year-old #25 Raul Fernandez who, from the age of 11 years old, learnt his early race-craft on the tracks around Madrid. As a rookie in the intermediate Moto 2 class Raul took eight victories and only just missed out on the 2021 Championship crown. Moving up to MotoGP in 2022, Raul signed for the Aprilia Factory in 2023 and joined the new Trackhouse team at its launch in 2024. After another learning year on the RS-GP Aprilia, Raul signed for two further years with Trackhouse and will be the only rider with previous racing experience of the bike as the 2025 season commences.
Mid-year of its first season, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team demonstrated its commitment to young developing talent and its ambitions for the future by signing Ai Ogura on a two-year deal. The brightest star to emerge from Japan in over a decade, Ai started on MotoGP’s first rung of the talent ladder as 14-year-old in the Asia Talent Cup and progressed up through Red Bull Rookies and Moto3 until, in 2024, he emphatically sealed the Moto2 World Championship crown. Ai calls Kiyose, Japan, home and will join the MotoGP grid at the age of 24, carrying the #79 on the front of his Trackhouse Racing RS-GP25
About Trackhouse Racing:
Trackhouse Entertainment Group, centered in Nashville, Tennessee, is the owner of Trackhouse Racing’s NASCAR team and MotoGP World Championship team based out of Concord, North Carolina. After a full-time driving career in sports cars and NASCAR, Justin Marks founded Trackhouse Racing in 2020 and fielded an entry for #99 Daniel Suárez in 2021. Having acquired the NASCAR assets of Chip Ganassi Racing, midway through the 2021 season, Trackhouse fielded a pair Chevrolet Cup cars in 2022 for #1 Ross Chastain and Suárez – continuing in the #99.
The new team has enjoyed success on track – Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win a Cup Series race when he visited victory lane in 2022 and American Ross Chastain posted two victories to finish second in the standings in 2022. The team has scored victories throughout its time in the Cup series and Marks made more headlines bringing 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen to NASCAR and Trackhouse Racing in 2022 and 2023 as part of the team’s PROJECT91 program. Created to give international stars a chance to compete in the sport, PROJECT91 led to New Zealander and three-time Supercar champion, Shane van Gisbergen’s dramatic rookie win at the first Chicago street race in 2023.
Off the track, Trackhouse Racing as a brand has proven itself as a progressive, marketing-minded team, reimagining how the sport is presented to its fans, media partners and sponsors. It has brought international entertainment superstar Pitbull to the organization as a team partner, increased digital presence and created live entertainment at racetracks and in 2024 announced the Avenue Sports Fund had acquired a significant minority stake in Trackhouse Entertainment Group. Trackhouse Racing acquired a third NASCAR charter and will run Van Gisbergen fulltime in the 2025 Cup series, joining Suárez and Chastain on the grid. The team also signed 18-year-old Connor Zilisch who will compete full-time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports.
Rich Oliver’s Mystery School Course 2025 Spring & Summer Dates
All courses are conducted at the school’s dedicated dirt track facility in Prather, California. Regardless of skill, the Mystery School has a course for anyone age 8 or older.
1/14 Private Training Day
1/15 Private Training Day
1/16 Private Training Day
1/18 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
1/19 Off-Road Challenge Course
1/23-26 Pro Camp
2/22-23 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
3/7 7 Private Training Day
3/8 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
3/9-Road Challenge Course
3/12-13 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
3/15-16 Fun Camp
3/28 Private Training Day
3/29-30 Fun Camp
3/2-3 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
4/5-6 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
4/11 Private Training Day
4/16Practice & Skill Reinforcement Day
4/18 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
4/19 Off-Road Challenge Course
4/23-24 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
4/26-27 Fun Camp
5/2 Private Training Day
5/3-4 Fun Camp
5/8-29 Kids Ride and Wrench Advanced Weekly Camp
5/10 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
5/13-14 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
5/17-18 Fun Camp
5/31- 6/1 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
6/7 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
6/8 Off-Road Challenge Course
6/9-10 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/12-13 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/16-17 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/19-20 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/23-24 Advanced Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
For more info, call (559) 855-3089, Text (559) 970-1928, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.richoliver.net
From left, Paolo Bonora, Marco Bezzecchi, Massimo Rivola, Jorge Martin and Fabiano Sterlacchini. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
The Aprilia RS-GP25. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
The dawn of a new era: Aprilia Racing unveils the RS-GP25 and the new rider line-up
After an initial taster on the track during the Montmeló tests, Jorge Martín, reigning World Champion of MotoGP, and Marco Bezzecchi, officially unveiled the Aprilia RS-GP25. This project marks the beginning of a new chapter for Aprilia Racing, characterised by a strong technical identity, proudly Italian.
The 2025 season represents the dawn of a new era for Aprilia Racing, with the arrival of two young, fiercely talented young riders: Jorge Martín, who will race as world No.1 after winning the MotoGP title, and Marco Bezzecchi, who is ready to express his enormous potential in the premier class. To provide support to the official riders, Lorenzo Savadori has also been confirmed as a test rider, after his significant contribution to the growth of the RS-GP in recent years.
The Aprilia RS-GP25 represents an important evolution for Aprilia Racing’s MotoGP project. Each detail has been overhauled with a view to delivering the highest levels of performance, in order to consolidate Aprilia Racing’s status as one of the leading lights of MotoGP. All zones of the bike have been improved, from the aerodynamics to the chassis, right down to the electronics and the V4 engine, which has been subject to a great deal of development with regard to all components not affected by the freeze imposed by the regulation. The Noale technical department, led by Fabiano Sterlacchini, has met this new challenge, remaining faithful to the brand’s DNA and developing a highly innovative bike that can compete at the highest levels.
Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi will be supported by a strong, close-knit team, as well as by official test rider Lorenzo Savadori. They will be joined by the riders from the Team Trackhouse: Raúl Fernández and Ai Ogura, MotoGP debutant and Moto2 World Champion in 2024. The Trackhouse project, established to serve as a strategic partner to Aprilia and not simply a satellite team, is a key resource in the ongoing development of the RS-GP25, providing useful data and contributing to the process of innovation. For the first time in its history, Aprilia Racing will make its MotoGP début with four bikes with the most advanced specification.
JORGE MARTÍN ALMOGUERA
“I am super excited by this new challenge: to win with Aprilia. My goals are very clear; now we must concentrate on being the best version of ourselves – that goes for Aprilia and for me personally. I’m in the right place to do great things, it will be an exciting challenge, we are all very determined. I really feel the warmth of being part of this team, and I think that this is the perfect place for me. We are all thrilled to be starting this new season.”
MARCO BEZZECCHI
“I’m really happy I joined this team, and Aprilia as a whole. It’s going to be fantastic, and I’m really happy to be representing such an important brand. It’s a great source of pride for me, both as a person and as a rider, to become an official rider. I can’t wait to get onto the track, to work hard and to give it some gas, and try to achieve good results. We are all really motivated, and that’s something that I really value. I’m really fired up – see you in Sepang for the test!”.
FABIANO STERLACCHINI
“It’s a real pleasure for me to start this new adventure with Aprilia Racing. The goal for 2025 is to be remain competitive at all times, both in the sprints and in the longer races, aiming to achieve the best possible results throughout the season. It’s crucial that we continue to grow, working with two new, very talented riders. This really does represent a new era for us, with a significant change after many years, both in terms of technical management and the line-up of our riders. We are particularly motivated for the new season and proud to have two top new MotoGP riders in our team, including the World Champion.”
MASSIMO RIVOLA
“For Aprilia Racing, the 2025 season represents the start of a new era, and our aim is to be leaders and not just followers. Our goal is clear – to stay competitive at all times, in every race. With two strong, talented and motivated riders like Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, and an equally determined team and company, we can create something special. The RS-GP25 has enormous potential, and our task will be to ensure that this is expressed to the maximum in each of the 22 races in the championship.”
Sylvain Guintoli tests a BMW M 1000 RR with factory rider Michael van der Mark's No. 60 on the swingarm at the post-season Jerez tests. Photo by Michael Gougis.
First Person/Opinion:
By Michael Gougis
BMW’s 2024 Superbike World Championship season was an exercise in domination. World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu won 13 races in a row, 18 in total and won the title by 43 points even after missing six races due to injury.
But in 2025, the team apparently will have to make do without the special chassis that it developed for the M 1000 RR that it raced in 2024.
World Superbike’s “superconcessions” rules allow for substantial changes for teams that are not doing well. In 2023, BMW did not win a single World Superbike race, with Alvaro Bautista dominating on the Ducati Panigale V4 R. Under the rules, BMW was allowed to race with a “superconcessions” chassis in 2024, which Razgatlioglu took to his second world title.
Right now, BMW is preparing to race in 2025 with the standard chassis from its new 2025 M 1000 RR, said Shaun Muir, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal.
“We started a plan for this as late as September last year, we knew this was going to disappear,” said Muir at the team’s 2025 team launch. “The chassis was our only concession, and we had already been testing the bike in its full, complete 2025 package in December in Jerez, so I’d say we’re confident.”
Shaun Muir, left, and Sven Blusch at the launch of the 2025 BMW racing team. Photo courtesy BMW.
However, BMW’s Superbike Technical Director Chris Gonschor said it has not yet been completely settled whether the team can race with the 2024 chassis.
“Based on the regulations, we can carry on (with) our concession parts. There are some discussions about fine-tuning the regulations. In case the regulations will change, our bike will be according to the regulations. Let’s see and wait for the final outcome of the regulations,” Gonschor said.
A final decision on the 2025 homologation for the M 1000 RR configuration is due in two weeks, he said.
BMW Superbike Technical Director Chris Gonschor. Photo courtesy BMW.
With data acquisition an increasingly critical part of road racing success, Gonschor says he is not concerned that BMW will be handicapped by the loss of the Bonovo Action team, which ran American Garrett Gerloff and Scott Redding on satellite M 1000 RR racebikes in 2024. BMW will have only the two factory bikes on the grid, while chief rival Ducati will have eight. But Gonschor said the team would rely on the feedback from the test team and the racing by other BMW riders. Former Superbike World Champion Sylvain Guintoli and former European Superstock 1000 Champion Markus Reiterberger will race an M 1000 RR in the FIM Endurance World Championship series as well as perform testing duties for the World Superbike team.
“I can focus on my bikes and our riders. We have two strong racebikes on the grid and we have the test team in the background. So we can do the work we need to do. Anyway, only one rider can win the race. Only one rider can win the Championship,” Gonschor said.
2024 Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu with BMW Motorrad team president Sven Blusch at the introduction of BMW's 2025 racing team in Berlin. In the background, from left, are Michael van der Mark, Sylvain Guintoli and Markus Reiterberger. Photo courtesy BMW.
From their team launch event in Berlin, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK hosted a team launch event at which the team spoke on their feelings and aspirations for the upcoming 2025 season.
Much is new ahead of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s 2025 campaign, a new version of the M 1000 RR, the #1 mounted on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bike, and new regulations are set to impact BMW’s package as the German manufacturer hopes to not only defend their Riders’ title, but double down, and claim the Manufacturers’ title as well. Further complicating all this buzz, while he will be fully recovered by the start of the season, it was confirmed Razgatlioglu will miss at least the Jerez test, and potentially the Portimao test as he suffered an injury to his right index finger, crucial for his signature braking style.
TOPRAK #1 AGAIN, BMW #1 FOR THE FIRST-EVER TIME: aiming high in 2025
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bombshell decision to change teams from Yamaha, which he had won a World Championship with in 2021, to BMW, who in their history had never propelled a rider to a Championship was a huge talking point heading into 2024. A year later, ‘El Turco’ has flipped the narrative on its head, he is the defending Riders’ Champion and it is BMW who are projected among the title frontrunners this year. Hot off the best season in the manufacturer’s history, BMW will look to keep that momentum ahead of the preseason tests in Jerez and Portimao which precede round one in Phillip Island, Australia.
“Normally I wouldn’t use #1, but I did this for BMW, this is a really big team accomplishment, we worked really hard and now we are World Champions,” said Razgatlioglu. “I can feel improvements in the grip, it doesn’t feel super different, but with the new fairing I feel the bike being even more agile, to me this is a big step.”
VAN DER MARK RESURGENT: The Dutchman looks to keep building on a strong 2024 campaign
Shoulder-to-shoulder, he is joined by friend and teammate Michael Van der Mark, who enjoyed a very positive comeback season. Free of injury after struggling to maintain his race fitness throughout 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw him place 6th in the rider championship, winning race day one at the French Round, third at race day two in the Spanish Round, and a fastest lap at race day two at the Motul Czech Round.
“We’ve been building a lot of momentum the last year, we ended the season so strong, and now with the bike new and improved, we should be there from the start,” said Van der Mark. “I have a lot of confidence, and of course Phillip Island is different, but I think we are stronger than last year. I’m really looking forward to it.”
BLUSCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW CHALLENGE: He and his BMW Team set their eyes on the rider and manufacturer title double
Sven Blusch, BMW Motorrad Director was enthusiastic to get the season rolling, while to him the pressure is higher, symptomatic of having the prestigious #1 on the fairing of one of their riders, he also expanded on the higher goals the team is striving for.
“It’s a different mindset we have now, from being the hunters, to now being the hunted, so far it feels really good,” said Blusch. “I think if you come in as the Champion you always want to be the Champion again, there’s the Manufacturers’ Championship as well, which we were not able to win last year, and now we are going for sure for both, we are going all-in.”
TITLE DEFENCE: BMW’s take on this season’s opposition
Team Principal, Shaun Muir made clear that while his BMW garage is highly confident in the talent of their riders and team, goals as high as winning both the Riders’ and Manufacturers’ competitions will be no easy task with the other teams they will be facing off against on the track.
“The fuel flow regulation is going to make in impact for everybody, we don’t underestimate the opposition at all, we know the strength of the other manufacturers,” said Muir. “ We know specifically riders like Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro [Bautista] (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) are going to be very strong, so we don’t underestimate our competition and have full respect for their abilities.”
GETTING AN UPGRADE: BMW will compete with a new and improved M1000RR in 2025
Chris Gonschor, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Technical Director illustrated how his team are adjusting to a new bike as well as new regulations and the absence of last year’s superconcessions which his team was granted.
“The 2025 M 1000 RR benefits from homologations made to the street bike, including six more horsepower, new aerodynamics, a new fairing and new electronics, adding potential for even more improvements.” Said Gonschor, “At the end of January, FIM officials are coming to Berlin to fully homologate the bike, and we have no doubt that everything will be sorted, and by Phillip Island we will be ready to race.”
Deion Campbell (194) leads Corey Alexander (1) and Bryce Prince (17) in the Stock 1000 Shootout on Sunday at Chuckwalla. Prince won. Photo by caliphotography.com/courtesy CVMA.
Over 200 racers from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico registered for the January 11-12 fourth round of the CVMA 2024-2025 Winter Series at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, but due to tragic fires in Southern California, some were unable to join, while others had to leave the track to safeguard their properties or assist friends and family in the Los Angeles area. The organization extends its thoughts and support to everyone impacted by the devastating fires.
The weekend was action-packed, with ultra-competitive racing in all classes, and on Friday the New Racer School welcomed three riders who obtained their racing licenses and will be joining the amateur ranks with the club.
Saturday Qualifying
Saturday morning dawned clear and cool, but things heated up quickly when riders took to the track for the start of qualifying. Cool temperatures enabled the bikes to make big power and track conditions aided riders in turning some blisteringly fast lap times in qualifying.
The fastest of all in Saturday morning qualifying, Bryce Prince topped the field of open-class bikes turning a 1:43.128 lap time on his MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Yamaha YZF-R1.
David “Aussie Dave” Anthony was the fastest on a middleweight, turning a 1:45.455 lap time on his Next-Generation MotoAmerica Supersport Suzuki GSX-R750.
Gio Alvarez was fastest on a lightweight bike with a 1:51.98 lap time; Alex George was fastest on an ultra-lightweight bike with a 1:54.208 lap time; Danny Spina was fastest on an American Twin with a 1:58.341 lap time; and Jeff Lane was fastest on a CVMA Hooligan bike with a 1:56.110 lap time.
Saturday Races
The races on Saturday were as close as ever. There were some awesome battles in several classes with a couple of lap records falling as well. Highlights from Saturday’s racing included: Farrah “Bandit” Landers winning both the Amateur 500 Supersport and Femwalla Ultra Lightweight races.
Rafael Chavez won the Amateur Formula Open and Amateur Supersport Open races.
Marlon Gonzalez won both Amateur Middleweight class races, Formula and Supersport.
Jayson Uribe set a new lap record in the CVMA Hooligans class, turning a 1:49.112 lap time.
Sunday Shootouts
Sunday dawned clear and cold with the sun battling the wind to keep the track temperatures up. The cold weather gave the bikes more power, but riders had to fight the wind to turn fast laps.
In the first shootout race of the day, the Middleweight Shootout, Owen Williams was first into turn one and led the first lap followed by David Anthony and Josh Hayes. Anthony got by Williams entering turn six on the second lap to take the lead, demoting Williams to second. Once in the lead, Anthony put his head down and built a gap to Williams in second. Hayes began to close the gap to Williams over the next few laps. At the halfway point in the race, Anthony lost the front in turn 14, crashing out of the race and Williams took over in the lead with Hayes second and Aldo Rovirosa running third. Hayes was able to close the gap to Williams and take the lead on lap six. On the eighth lap, Hayes began to have issues and Williams was able to overtake him and lead the race once again. Also on lap eight, Rovirosa had an issue and allowed Victor Perez de Leon and Kayla Yaakov to pass. On the final lap, Yaakov made a brave pass into turn two to take third. In the end, it was Williams for the win, Hayes holding on for second, and Yaakov third.
At the start of the Formula Ultra Lightweight Shootout, Alex George got the holeshot and led the first lap followed by Treston Morrison and Sawyer Lafayette. Initially, George was able to establish a gap to second place rider Morrison. On lap four Zachary Foster took third position and Morrison closed the gap to George. On the sixth lap, Morrison took the lead into turn fourteen on the brakes. Morrison and George exchanged the lead again and Lafayette took third back as well on lap eight. On the ninth Morrison took the the lead back going into turn two and Foster took third back from Lafayette and the finishing order was set. At the stripe, it was Morrison for the win, George second, and Foster third.
Another shot from the Sunday CVMA Stock 1000 Shootout at Chuckwalla, with Corey Alexander (1), Deion Campbell (194), Bryce Prince (partially hidden behind Campbell), Andrew Lee (140), Justin Gibbs (646), Ryan Shu (149) and others. Photo by Caliphotography.com/Courtesy CVMA.
The Formula Lightweight Twins Shootout started with Gio Alvarez getting the holeshot followed by Naden Balladares and Justin Bordonaro. Bordonaro took second on the second lap and that set the finishing order. Alvarez maintained his lead and won the race with Bordonaro in second and Balladares third.
In the premier race of the day, the Stock 1000 Shootout, Corey Alexander was first into turn one at the start but Deion Campbell was able to take the lead by passing on the exit of turn 13 (The Bowl). At the end of the first lap, Campbell led followed by Alexander and Bryce Prince in third. On lap four Prince took second with a better drive out of turn five, demoting Alexander to third. On the fifth lap, Prince took the lead and then Alexander attempted to pass Campbell in turn 14 but highsided and crashed out of the race with Andrew Lee inheriting third place. Prince put his head down to build a gap and set a new lap record for the class, turning a 1:43.610 lap time. At the finish, Prince won, followed by Campbell in second, and Lee in third.
The next Round of the CVMA 2024/2025 Winter Series will be held February 7-9, 2025.
CVMA offers two full days of racing every race weekend and also includes Saturday qualifying for grid position in all classes, amateur, and expert, as well as a wide variety of classes to choose from.
CVMA offers free reciprocity as a means of encouraging racers from other clubs to come out and compete. CVMA also offers a New Racers School for those starting in racing on the Friday before each race weekend. Log on to www.cvmaracing.com to sign up or for more information.
CVMA. Built for racers by racers and offering the best racing experience around!
CVMA would also like to thank the 2024/2025 Winter Series Sponsors: Support Moto Racing, Apex Assassins, Ryder Gear, CaliPhotography, Racers Edge/Dunlop, RoadRace City/Bridgestone, Del’s Flooring, The California Superbike School, Ride HMVC, First Team IT, Yamaha, CT Racing/Pirelli, Compact Octane Trackdays, Galfer USA, Criterion Plumbers
NRS Sponsors: Alpinestars, 6D Helmets, Five Gloves, and Racers Edge/Dunlop.
The Entry List for the FIM MotoE™ World Championship is now out, with 18 riders set to contest another season of electric action. Reigning Champion Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP) returns to defend the crown alongside a host of longtime frontrunners and newer race winners, and some interesting rookies join the fold. They include Moto2™ race winner Lorenzo Baldassari (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Road to MotoGP™ alumni Jacopo Hosciuc (MSI) from Romania and Tibor Erik Varga as the young Hungarian joins the new Rivacold Snipers Team.
Michael Docherty won the tenth stage of the 2025 Dakar rally. Photo courtesy Dakar.com.
The Empty Quarter has to be earned. Dakar entrants had to wait until stage 10 to frolic on its dunes. The field rolled out of Haradh before the sun peeked over the horizon to tackle a road section of more than 500 kilometres en route to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. The time had come to surf a sea of dunes, where the Big Kahunas rule the waves, for 117 kilometres of sand, sand and more sand. Michael Docherty, free of strategic concerns, tapped his raw speed and intimate knowledge of the dunes —he lives next door— to open his account at the Dakar.
Accurately predicting that the main contenders would keep their powder dry, Docherty went for broke today. The South African Rally 2 biker danced gracefully over the dunes to take his very first Dakar stage win by 1′20″ over Rui Gonçalves and 2′21″ over Tobias Ebster.
As expected, the title contenders kept their cards close to their chests in anticipation of the second stage in the Empty Quarter, which will take place tomorrow. Daniel Sanders remains perched at the top of the ranking with 16′31″ in hand over Tosha Schareina and 22′24″ over Adrien Van Beveren. The starting order, which will keep fans and pundits busy, will encourage the rivals of the man from Oz to try and stage a sensational comeback.
(Editors Note: Americans Skyler Howes, Ricky Brabec and Jason Argubright finished the stage sixth, 13th and 22nd.)
Moto2 World Champion Ai Ogura (79) on the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia RS-GP at the post-season test at Barcelona. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Trackhouse Racing’s 2025 MotoGP riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura are taking different approaches to the upcoming season, but for both the goal is the same: To learn, adapt and improve.
Fernandez and Ogura spoke to members of the international MotoGP media as Trackhouse unveiled its 2025 liveries for NASCAR and MotoGP, with each talking about their preparations for the upcoming season.
Raul Fernandez (25) in testing at the post-season Barcelona test. Photo by Michael Gougis.
The two are approaching 2025 from different perspectives. For Fernandez, it’s his first year starting out with the same team he raced for in the prior season, and the first time he’s starting with a factory bike at his disposal. Fernandez raced for KTM Tech3 in 2022, rode for the CryptoData RNF MotoGP Team on an Aprilia RS-GP in 2023, and when Trackhouse bought up the remnants of the imploded RNF team, Fernadez stayed on board for 2024, but started the season with a 2023-spec bike. Fernandez switched to a 2024-spec machine halfway through the season, a change that left him struggling; he cut a despondent figure in the post-race media debriefings after the season finale in Barcelona.
The post-season test saw Fernandez further evaluating the 2024 bike and learning to work with new crew members, and he said he spent a lot of time over the break working with Team Principal Davide Brivio on his mental fitness.
“We changed the staff. We didn’t try the new bike, we wanted to see how the new people would (work) with the team,” Fernandez said. “It was a different preseason for me. I was really focused on myself. I changed the personal trainer to try to feel fit. I was working on myself in the mentality area. Never in MotoGP have I started the season with a factory bike. Overall, I am really happy.
“I want to be fit, focused and try to do my best. Davide helped me a lot. Maybe this is my problem. I want more than we have in the moment.”
Raul Fernandez. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Fernandez is the only rider continuing with Aprilia into the 2025 season. World Champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi are joing the factory Aprilia squad from Ducati, while Ogura arrives as the reigning Moto2 World Champion. Yet Fernandez says he does not consider himself a leader of the team, and he is most interested in learning from his teammates. Martin and Ogura are World Champions and Bezzecchi is a three-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner.
“It is super clear to me. I have a lot of things to learn from them,” Fernandez said.
Ogura is at the beginning of a steep learning curve. The Michelin slicks in MotoGP are dramatically different than the Pirellis used in Moto2, and the RS-GP makes twice the horsepower of his Triumph-powered Moto2 Boscoscuro.
But in his first outing, Ogura said he didn’t find the bike over-taxing, and said he was spending the off-season training mostly by riding on the track. During the Barcelona test, Ogura did 10 to 12-lap stints, and his times were comparable to Somkiat Chantra and Fermin Aldeguer, the other Moto2 rookies moving up to MotoGP for 2025.
Ai Ogura. Photo by Michael Gougis.
“If it’s really necessary to work on the physical side, I will. I don’t really feel – it sounds strange, but it didn’t feel so hard on the physical side in Barcelona,” Ogura said, while acknowledging that the upcoming tests in Malaysia and Thailand will be more physically challenging.
“There’s still a lot to understand. I have eight (testing) days until I start on the first race,” Ogura said. “Clearly, I’m in the position to learn from all of the three (Aprilia) riders.”
Great riders are recognized by their ability to navigate a stage alone and thus win two consecutive stages. That is what Luciano Benavides managed to do, as he improved his roll of honour with the 5th stage victory of his career on the Dakar and moved up to 4th place in the general rankings for his best ever position.
The Argentinean beat Adrien Van Beveren by 1’54’’ over the route of the day’s special. It was also a good day for the Frenchman as he closed in on his Spanish team-mate Tosha Schareina, who was off the pace due to a fall at the beginning of the special. The battle for second place is occurring some way behind race leader Daniel Sanders, who will tackle the decisive stage 10 with a lead of 14’45’’ and from 3rd position in the starting order.
(Editors Note: Americans Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes finished fourth and fifth.)
Raul Fernandez in the 2025 livery of Trackhouse Racing. Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
The 2025 Trackhouse Racing MotoGP livery. Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
Trackhouse Racing has, today, presented, a new livery for its NASCAR Cup Series and its MotoGP campaigns, together with the line-up of drivers and riders for both its teams. Incorporating vibrant blue and black base colors that have been a feature of the Trackhouse style since it first started racing in 2021 and adding accents in dayglo yellow, the covers came off one of its NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 cars and one of its Aprilia GP-RS MotoGP bikes at the team’s headquarters in Concord, North Carolina, revealing a distinctive and consistent design scheme for its 2025 season.
The Athlete line-up introduced the three Trackhouse NASCAR Cup drivers – #1 Ross Chastain, #99 Daniel Suarez and new for 2025, #88 Shane van Gisbergen, alongside its two MotoGP riders – #25 Raul Fernandez and rookie #79 Ai Ogura.
Moto2 World Champion Ai Ogura moves up to MotoGP in 2025 with Trackhouse Racing. Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
Trackhouse Racing NASCAR Cup line-up:
#1 Ross Chastain: Age 31 – Hometown: Alva, Florida
Ross Chastain became the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. Wins at Talladega and the Circuit of Americas Road Course were highlights of the year eclipsed in the penultimate race of 2022 at Martinsville when Ross made the miracle move, subsequently named the “hail melon” to secure a spot in the Championship 4, capping off a remarkable inaugural year with Trackhouse Racing, finishing second overall. In the 2023 season he scored two Cup Series wins and in 2024 a further two victories brought his tally to five. For 2025, he continues in the #1 car for Trackhouse.
#99 Daniel Suárez: Age 32 – Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
The only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Daniel made racing history in 2022 as the first Mexican-born and just fifth foreign-born driver to take the checkers, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing. The 32-year-old driver from Monterrey, claimed this history-making victory at the Toyota Save Mart 350, at Sonoma Raceway adding the accolade to those of being the first international champion in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as the 2017 and 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race Open Winner. In 2024, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Suárez made history again winning in a three-wide finish with a 0.003 second lead, giving Daniel his second visit to Victory Lane. Now a dual US- Mexican citizen, he starts his 5th Cup season with Trackhouse in 2025.
#88 Shane van Gisbergen: Age 34 – Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Shane joined Trackhouse Racing for his first full season of NASCAR in 2024, running the full Xfinity Series schedule along with seven NASCAR Cup Series races. The New Zealander made an instant splash in 2023, winning the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his first NASCAR start. He became one of six foreign-born drivers to win a Cup Series race and the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first Cup Series start. Van Gisbergen is no stranger to success. He earned three Supercars Championships for Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016, 2021 and 2022, plus 80 wins and 47 pole positions making him the fourth most successful driver in the Australian series. He’s also won the legendary Bathurst 1000 in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
Trackhouse’s unique Project 91 guest driver project propelled van Gisbergen onto the U.S. racing scene in 2023. The program is designed to expand the organization’s global reach by fielding a Cup Series entry for renowned international racing drivers. Formula One icon and 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen first drove under the Project 91 flag at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2022 and again at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 26. In 2025, Project 91 brings Indycar legend, Helio Castroneves, to the Daytona 500.
Trackhouse MotoGP Team line-up:
#25 Raúl Fernández: Age 24 – Hometown: Madrid – Spain
Raúl Fernández arrived in the Trackhouse Team at the beginning of the MotoGP project, as one of the youngest, most exciting, riders in the World Championship. Since the age of 11 years old, when he learnt his early racecraft on the tracks around Madrid, he has been ‘one to watch’. Rarely have rookies shaken up the intermediate Moto 2 class like Raul in 2021 when he blitzed the field with eight victories and only just missed out on the Championship crown, injury preventing him from securing vital points towards the end of the campaign. Having stepped up to the Premier class in ’22, his 2023 season, in MotoGP, ended strongly with a top 5 finish in the final race. In 2024, with Trackhouse, he led the Sprint race at the Catalunya Grand Prix and scored a top 6 finish in the Australian Sprint race. Heading into his 4th season in MotoGP, his third on the Aprilia RS-GP prototype making him the longest serving rider for the Noale marque, Raúl will pilot the #25 for Trackhouse.
#79 Ai Ogura: Age 23: Tokyo – Japan
Mid-year, in its first season, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team demonstrated its commitment to young developing talent and its ambitions for the future by signing Ai Ogura on a two-year deal. The brightest star to emerge from Japan in over a decade, Ai started on MotoGP’s first rung of the talent ladder as 14-year-old in the Asia Talent Cup and progressed up through Red Bull Rookies and Moto3 until, in 2024, he emphatically sealed the Moto2 World Championship crown. Ai calls Kiyose in Japan, home and will join the MotoGP grid at the age of 24, carrying the #79 on the front of his Trackhouse Racing RS-GP25
NASCAR v MotoGP:
The NASCAR Cup Series is the premier league of stockcar racing. The three Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 racecars weigh in dry at 3,200 lbs (1,451 kgs), push out up to 670 hp from their 5.86 liter (358 cubic inches) V8 engines and race wide-open on superspeedway oval tracks and shorter, tighter bowls, also visiting five road courses in the Cup Series schedule of 39 race weekends. Kick-off is on February 2nd, with the NASCAR CLASH, followed by the ‘big one’ at Daytona for the 500 – a race that this year will feature a fourth Trackhouse car, entered as Project 91 and piloted by the 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves.
The MotoGP World Championship is the ultimate in two-wheel circuit racing. Trackhouse fields two Aprilia RS-GP25 prototypes, each of which weigh in at a minimum 346 lbs (157 Kilograms) and develop over 280 HP from their V4, 1000cc engine. The Championship in 2025 features 22 rounds, at road course tracks spread over 5 continents, each weekend including a Sprint race on Saturday and full distance Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Trackhouse MotoGP Team will start testing in Malaysia, initially with the Shakedown test for Ai Ogura, January 31 to February 2nd and then Raul will join him for the full test, starting on February 5th. The team will take part in the MotoGP 2025 Season Launch event in Bangkok on Sunday, February 9 and will unveil the final version of the Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP25 at Buriram ahead of Round 1 – the Grand Prix of Thailand – February 28 – March 2nd.
RAUL FERNANDEZ
“The new bike looks amazing. I’m really happy to go out with these colors and I’m sure we will be well seen on tv and from the grandstands. It’s quite different to the rest of the grid. Also, it’s nice to have a huge brand like Gulf on board now. We have a new challenge, it’s a new year and we have new goals. This year will hopefully be a really nice one. We are all working hard – I was working on myself a lot during the winter and I think it’s going to be a great season. Let’s go and enjoy it!”
AI OGURA
“First of all, I would like to say thanks to everybody at Trackhouse. I’m really happy that we can get the season started soon and I’m just excited about this year. It will be a big challenge for me, but I have my guys in the team, they are all motivated, the atmosphere inside the team is great. I can’t wait to start the first test in Sepang! Our design is absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to ride this beautiful bike and I’m excited to see what we can do this season.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM PRINCIPAL
“This is another important moment because we are introducing our second year as Trackhouse Team. The first one has been a learning year and we will try to use everything we learned before in this second season, where we have many new things coming up. Of course, a new design of the bike, which goes more towards the Trackhouse image direction and we have an in place agreement with Gulf which means another exciting design. It’s a real privilege to be involved in a team with such an iconic brand – a brand, which I personally always admired in the motorsport environment. We can’t wait to show our special livery, which I believe will be something great and unique in MotoGP.”
“Speaking about our riders, Raul remains with the target to be stronger and stronger and then we have the big change with Ai, our rookie in MotoGP. He is Moto2 World Champion, which is raising expectations. We start this season with ambitions to improve what we did last year and also the team and not just the riders are learning more and more. I’m confident that we will see Raul stronger, with more experience and it will be nice seeing Ai growing up, improving race by race, which is the target. We are really looking forward to it and are very excited. We are well prepared, from physical and technical point of view. Let’s see what we can expect from this season.”
JUSTIN MARKS – TEAM OWNER
“I am really excited. In that first year in a new championship there were a lot of learnings for me and for a number of people on the team. It’s like now we are starting to figure out how the MotoGP program fits into the big Trackhouse picture. Everybody is just so excited that we are competing in this championship. I’m excited for 2025. I think the Aprilia bikes are going to be fast, Raul continues to get better, super excited about Ai coming onboard. We’re ready to go testing and get the ball rolling on the season.”
“We are super excited to have Raul. There were times in 2024 where he showed incredible speed. He is taking a big step this off season in his preparation, in his mentally, kind of understanding where he needs to be on the race weekend in his mind. We are excited about that and I think there’s podiums in our future. If the bikes are there, the speed is there, certainly there’s a lot of talent, with mechanics and engineers. We showed already that we have the pieces and Raul’s got the talent to be able to compete at the front in MotoGP. So, certainly, we are looking for more of that.”
“On the other side, I love rookies. I love taking this undefined, raw talent, putting them in these new positions, putting the support in around them and be able to mature into top level professional athletes. When we signed Ai and announced that he was joining the team, I don’t think he was leading in Moto2. He was in this battle for the championship and as soon as it was public that he’s going to join our team, he just went on to tear it up and won the Moto2 World Championship. This really shows what he is made of. If you look at the crop of rookies, when you look at the new guys coming into MotoGP in 2025, what else can you want than the reigning Moto2 World Champion? We are super excited about his talent.”
“The greatest milestones for our company is aligning ourselves with some of the greatest brands of the world. We have done this for the Nascar side. Getting these iconic brands like Gulf to the Trackhouse journey, to invest in us and to grow with us, is hugely important to me. I was telling the Gulf executive going through this process, there’s these amazing moments in the history of motorsport and for a brand like that to be aligned with Trackhouse having the Gulf logos on the bike is humbling, amazing and we can’t wait to get that bike on the racetrack. It’s pretty special.”
Trackhouse MotoGP Team:
Trackhouse Entertainment Group owner Justin Marks announced, back in December 2023, that his organization will field a MotoGP World Championship team in 2024, a move expanding its reach across the global motorsports world and building on its success in the NASCAR series. Just six weeks later the Team pulled back the curtains on its season-opening design with two of its Aprilia MotoGP prototype bikes and introduced #88 Miguel Oliveira and #25 Raul Fernandez as its pilots. One week later, Trackhouse Racing MotoGP rolled out onto its pit-road debut at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.
Entering its sophomore year in the premier league of two-wheel racing, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team continues with 24-year-old #25 Raul Fernandez who, from the age of 11 years old, learnt his early race-craft on the tracks around Madrid. As a rookie in the intermediate Moto 2 class Raul took eight victories and only just missed out on the 2021 Championship crown. Moving up to MotoGP in 2022, Raul signed for the Aprilia Factory in 2023 and joined the new Trackhouse team at its launch in 2024. After another learning year on the RS-GP Aprilia, Raul signed for two further years with Trackhouse and will be the only rider with previous racing experience of the bike as the 2025 season commences.
Mid-year of its first season, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team demonstrated its commitment to young developing talent and its ambitions for the future by signing Ai Ogura on a two-year deal. The brightest star to emerge from Japan in over a decade, Ai started on MotoGP’s first rung of the talent ladder as 14-year-old in the Asia Talent Cup and progressed up through Red Bull Rookies and Moto3 until, in 2024, he emphatically sealed the Moto2 World Championship crown. Ai calls Kiyose, Japan, home and will join the MotoGP grid at the age of 24, carrying the #79 on the front of his Trackhouse Racing RS-GP25
About Trackhouse Racing:
Trackhouse Entertainment Group, centered in Nashville, Tennessee, is the owner of Trackhouse Racing’s NASCAR team and MotoGP World Championship team based out of Concord, North Carolina. After a full-time driving career in sports cars and NASCAR, Justin Marks founded Trackhouse Racing in 2020 and fielded an entry for #99 Daniel Suárez in 2021. Having acquired the NASCAR assets of Chip Ganassi Racing, midway through the 2021 season, Trackhouse fielded a pair Chevrolet Cup cars in 2022 for #1 Ross Chastain and Suárez – continuing in the #99.
The new team has enjoyed success on track – Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win a Cup Series race when he visited victory lane in 2022 and American Ross Chastain posted two victories to finish second in the standings in 2022. The team has scored victories throughout its time in the Cup series and Marks made more headlines bringing 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen to NASCAR and Trackhouse Racing in 2022 and 2023 as part of the team’s PROJECT91 program. Created to give international stars a chance to compete in the sport, PROJECT91 led to New Zealander and three-time Supercar champion, Shane van Gisbergen’s dramatic rookie win at the first Chicago street race in 2023.
Off the track, Trackhouse Racing as a brand has proven itself as a progressive, marketing-minded team, reimagining how the sport is presented to its fans, media partners and sponsors. It has brought international entertainment superstar Pitbull to the organization as a team partner, increased digital presence and created live entertainment at racetracks and in 2024 announced the Avenue Sports Fund had acquired a significant minority stake in Trackhouse Entertainment Group. Trackhouse Racing acquired a third NASCAR charter and will run Van Gisbergen fulltime in the 2025 Cup series, joining Suárez and Chastain on the grid. The team also signed 18-year-old Connor Zilisch who will compete full-time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports.
Rich Oliver (right) instructing at a Kids Ride and Wrench Camp at the Mystery School. Photo courtesy Rich Oliver's Mystery School.
Rich Oliver’s Mystery School Course 2025 Spring & Summer Dates
All courses are conducted at the school’s dedicated dirt track facility in Prather, California. Regardless of skill, the Mystery School has a course for anyone age 8 or older.
1/14 Private Training Day
1/15 Private Training Day
1/16 Private Training Day
1/18 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
1/19 Off-Road Challenge Course
1/23-26 Pro Camp
2/22-23 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
3/7 7 Private Training Day
3/8 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
3/9-Road Challenge Course
3/12-13 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
3/15-16 Fun Camp
3/28 Private Training Day
3/29-30 Fun Camp
3/2-3 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
4/5-6 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
4/11 Private Training Day
4/16Practice & Skill Reinforcement Day
4/18 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
4/19 Off-Road Challenge Course
4/23-24 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
4/26-27 Fun Camp
5/2 Private Training Day
5/3-4 Fun Camp
5/8-29 Kids Ride and Wrench Advanced Weekly Camp
5/10 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
5/13-14 POST Motorcycle Officer Update Course
5/17-18 Fun Camp
5/31- 6/1 Kids Ride and Wrench Camp
6/7 Learn To Ride Off-Road Course
6/8 Off-Road Challenge Course
6/9-10 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/12-13 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/16-17 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/19-20 Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
6/23-24 Advanced Kids Ride and Wrench Summer Camp
For more info, call (559) 855-3089, Text (559) 970-1928, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.richoliver.net
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