Justin Marks is in the house – pun intended – at Silverstone, and the team owner of SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP caught up with pitlane reporter Jack Appleyard on Friday. The result was a a brief but no less comprehensive debrief on the team’s rise, their present and their future – including the recent re-signing of Raul Fernandez.

“Raul is like the OG original here at Trackhouse,” begins Marks. “He's put in a lot of work over the years, trusted the team, he's matured a lot, and it takes time to do these contracts. There was a period of time for him with the uncertainty this year of whether or not he was going to be renewed, then we started conversations. During that time of uncertainty he was able to compartmentalise that, get on the race track and do his job, which shows resilience, it shows maturity. He's a great member of this team. He's really coming into his own as a rider now, there are big things for his future, so he deserves to stay at Trackhouse.”

His tenure will now extend to 2028, into the new era of MotoGP regulations, having been with the team since their debut in 2024. He also took the team’s first Grand Prix win in Australia last year, and has taken two Sprint wins in 2026 so far. His impressive progress somewhat mirrors that of the team. But that topic of patience – with Fernandez facing a few races without having it really confirmed where he’d be racing past 2026 – is one Marks goes back to.

“I was curious to see how he was going to react,” continues the American. “It wasn't intentional, we didn't do it on purpose, there was just a period where we couldn't give him the answers, figuring out the future of our team, what was going to come after Ogura, all of that. And just seeing him take that stress and uncertainty and channel that into performance on the race track – that's what the great riders have to do. If we're going to win a championship at this level, the stress and pressure are only going to go up and up and up, and you have to continue to deliver. He's a great guy, he's become a great friend and a member of the family here at Trackhouse.”

That ‘family’ has made quite an impression since they joined the grid in 2024. That first win with Fernandez in Australia last season was joined by another with Ai Ogura this year – the Japanese rider’s first MotoGP win – and their tally of Sprint victories and Grand Prix podiums is already quite a CV. Marks likens it to the team’s early record in NASCAR, where their sister squad likewise made a quick impression.

“It’s not a lot different from how our NASCAR team was early in the process because the excitement, enthusiasm and inspiration about a new project unlocks potential in people. The challenge is maintaining it over a long period of time. The Aprilia bikes are great right now, we've got two riders who are riding as well as they ever have in their careers, and we've got mechanics and engineers who have fully bought into the opportunity, so when all that comes together in a way that we come to the race track and smile, and enjoy, and be excited about the opportunity, that's where the magic is and that's where we are right now.”

Where they are is, specifically, second overall in the riders’ championship with Ogura, and sixth with Fernandez. They’re second in the teams’ championship too – and have contributed to Aprilia’s lead in the constructors’. Still, Marks underlines there’s a long way to go from the British GP to the end of the season in Valencia.

“We're not thinking really about the championship, there's so much racing left to go. This is about execution; it's about showing up at the track well prepared, executing well on the track. So if we take every weekend, every day, every session for what the objective is at that moment, then hopefully this team will be in a position going into Valencia that we can say ‘okay, we can go fight for a championship’ but we won't think about that until the Monday before Valencia.”

Meanwhile, Valencia will also be the swan song for Ogura with the team. It’s now confirmed that the Japanese rider will move to Yamaha from 2027, and Marks is proud of their time together – but sad it has its end already confirmed.

“I don't want Ai to leave our team. I'm bummed out about it. I'm happy for him, these riders have to make the best decisions for their careers, we're excited that he's at the point in his career he is and is on our bike. He's a real even keel guy and somebody that when the pressure ramps up he can go to a place in his head where it's all about doing the job, and the rest is just noise. It's an important and unique character aspect, he's definitely got it. He's a champion, maybe one day he'll come back and do it on our bikes, but right now we're just trying to take the advantage of having an incredible young rider.”

Already near the front in Silverstone, another 37 points are on the table again at the British GP – and the Trackhouse riders are both good candidates to be that 12th different winner in 12 editions. Neither Fernandez nor Ogura have won in MotoGP here, so tune in to see if they can get be the ones to keep that stat rolling.