Old shoulder injury plagued one Thai MotoGP podium finisher

Trackhouse Aprilia MotoGP rider Raul Fernandez says the shoulder injury he sustained last November is continuing to give him “some problems” despite his Thailand podium.

The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the 2025 Portuguese Grand Prix after suffering a partial dislocation of his shoulder in a fast crash.

He returned a week later to narrowly miss out on victory at the Valencia Grand Prix, but was in visible discomfort still on Sunday morning at the 2026 Thai Grand Prix after warm-up.

Raul Fernandez later revealed that he tweaked his injured shoulder during the session and admits he still doesn’t feel fully fit.

“Still, since Portugal last year, I have some problems on the shoulder,” said Fernandez, who was third in the Thai Grand Prix.

“I don’t feel at 100% with my left shoulder.

“Anyway, this morning I had some strange movement on the corner and I felt something strange [on my shoulder].

“Immediately, when I ended the warm-up, I went to the doctor to check that everything was under control.

“We did a taping on the shoulder, and I felt super good in the race. I had no problems.”

Podium not Trackhouse’s expected position

Fernandez was rapid all weekend at Buriram on the satellite Aprilia, qualifying third and bagging a brace of third-place finishes.

He was on course to finish runner-up to factory counterpart Marco Bezzecchi, but suffered major tyre degradation late on.

However, he admits the expectation for him right now is to simply be a top-eight contender, which meant his Buriram podium was not the target he was aiming for.

“The race was good. We managed it so well. I feel comfortable with the bike.

“Still, I don’t have everything under control, but we are on the way to having everything under control.

“And, of course, I felt a little bit strange because I had, until the last six laps, the second place there. I tried, but I had a lot of problems with the rear tyre; the tyre was almost done.

“We tried, we didn’t get the result we expected, to be honest, because we expected to be in the top five, not on the podium.

“But, as I explained during all of the pre-season, we are a rider who has to think on the top eight during the year.

“And if we have the possibility, we can fight for the podium, we have to try. But it’s not our real target.”