Trackhouse MotoGP: The American Team Explained

Meet Trackhouse, the only American-owned team in MotoGP: where it came from, how its partnership with Aprilia works, and why it matters for fans in the US.

Independent fan site — not affiliated with MotoGP or MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (formerly Dorna). Written by AI from official data and fact-checked: how this article was made.

The Only American Team on the Grid

MotoGP’s teams and manufacturers have mostly come from Europe and Japan. Trackhouse Racing is the exception: it is the only American-owned team in the premier class. It joined MotoGP in 2024 and races motorcycles built by the Italian manufacturer Aprilia.

A wide-angle, atmospheric shot of the MotoGP paddock at sunrise. A massive, sleek race transporter with a prominent but — AI-generated illustration

Where Trackhouse Comes From

Trackhouse started out in American stock car racing. It was founded by Justin Marks, a former racing driver who runs a team in NASCAR, with the singer Pitbull as a partner. Its bikes carry the Trackhouse colours of blue, black and fluorescent yellow, with a white-and-orange Gulf design at some rounds.

The idea behind the MotoGP team is simple: give fans in the US a home team to follow, and help a sport that is still small in America find a bigger audience there.

What is a ‘Satellite’ Team?

Trackhouse is a ‘satellite’ team for Aprilia. In simple terms, it doesn’t design and build its own motorcycles. Instead, it races bikes supplied by Aprilia and gets technical support from the factory.

That is a big help for a young team: it competes on machinery close to what Aprilia’s own factory team uses, without the enormous cost of building a bike from scratch. Our guide to factory and independent teams explains how this works across the whole grid.

A dynamic action shot from the perspective of the pit wall. A crew member in a plain blue firesuit leans over the wall, — AI-generated illustration

The Riders

In 2026 Trackhouse runs two riders:

Raúl Fernández (#25) from Spain, known for his raw speed over a single lap.
Ai Ogura (#79) from Japan, known for a calm, methodical style and for looking after his tyres over a race distance.

Line-ups change from season to season: for 2027 Raúl Fernández stays (he has extended his contract until 2028) and Enea Bastianini joins. The panel at the top of this page always shows the team’s current riders.

A quiet, reflective, behind-the-scenes moment in the Trackhouse garage after the track has gone silent. Two team members — AI-generated illustration

Growing MotoGP in America

Results matter to Trackhouse like any other team, but it also wants to help MotoGP grow in North America. Much of that is about how the team presents itself: behind-the-scenes content and access for fans, pitched at an American audience used to sports such as NASCAR and the NFL.

For a new fan in the US, that makes Trackhouse an easy team to start following.

Quick Takeaways

Trackhouse is the only American-owned team in MotoGP, founded by former racing driver Justin Marks. It joined the grid in 2024.
It is a ‘satellite’ team for Aprilia: it races Aprilia’s bikes with support from the factory, rather than building its own.
Part of its aim is to help MotoGP find a bigger audience in the US.
The panel at the top of this page shows the team’s current riders.

Correction, 15 October 2026: we rewrote this guide after feedback from a reader. It now sticks to the facts about the team rather than the flag-waving. An earlier version wrongly said the team races in red, white and blue; its colours are blue, black and fluorescent yellow. We also removed a claim about where the team is based that we couldn’t confirm. The pictures are AI illustrations, not the team’s real bike.