Despite the rain and mud, Honda HRC had an excellent weekend in Cozar, Spain as Tim Gajser won his 50th GP, Ferruccio Zanchi got his first moto win and podium, and Ruben Fernandez followed Gajser across the line in the first MXGP moto for an excellent second place. There were a lot of positives to come out of the MXGP of Castilla La Mancha, and the aim is to continue that moving forward into the MXGP of Europe at St Jean D’Angely, France.
For Gajser, he’ll be aiming to repeat his 2024 result, when he won in St Jean in torrential rain, although he – along with the rest of the paddock – will be hoping to be racing in bright sunshine come the weekend, so he can show-off the championship leading red-plate to the packed hillside of French fans.
Fernandez will be hoping to continue his upward trend, after that impressive second place in the mud. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to back that up in race two, but he showed enough speed to suggest that the Honda CRF450R rider will be a podium-threat at more rounds coming up.
In the MX2 class, Zanchi is also highly motivated to back-up his performance from Cozar when his race one victory sparked jubilant scenes in Honda HRC. It was the teams’ first win since reintroducing the bike to world championship level last year and laid down a marker that the CRF250R is amongst the top bikes in the class. Together with Valerio Lata, the pair were an exciting prospect coming into this season’s championship, but this result has really spring-boarded the programme and given everyone a major boost for these upcoming races.
Currently the forecast is mixed, with the possibility of some rain, but perhaps not the amount we saw last weekend. St Jean D’Angely is a well-established track and has shown in the past that it can cope with all sorts of weather, but whatever greets the riders as they take to the circuit, it shouldn’t faze them as they are fully focused on the mission at hand.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY:
07:35 EMX125 Group 1 Free Practice, 08:00 EMX125 Group 2 Free Practice, 08:25 EMX250 Group 1 Free Practice, 08:50 EMX250 Group 2 Free Practice, 09:15 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 09:50 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 10:25 MX2 Free Practice, 10:55 MXGP Free Practice, 11:55 EMX250 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 12:35 EMX250 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 13:15 MX2 Time Practice, 13:50 MXGP Time Practice, 14:35 EMX125 Race 1, 15:25 EMX250 Race 1, 16:20 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17:10 MXGP Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY:
08:45 EMX125 Race 2, 09:25 MX2 Warm-up, 09:45 MXGP Warm-up, 10:30 EMX250 Race 2, 12:15 MX2 Race 1, 13:15 MXGP Race 1, 15:10 MX2 Race 2, 16:10 MXGP Race 2.
Tim Gajser 243
It was really important to have such a good weekend in Spain. Argentina was solid, but to show everyone my speed and ability in Cozar is an important thing for me, and for everyone to see what I am still capable of. It is a good vote of confidence to confirm that I am still on the right track and we as a team are doing the right thing. Last year I won St Jean in some weird circumstances, so I’m looking forward to going back and trying to win in more normal conditions.
Ruben Fernandez 70
Last weekend was a good one, despite the horrible conditions. To get second place behind Tim was a great moment for me and the team and it was great to just do that so early in the championship. Unfortunately I couldn’t make that same result in race two, so I still need to improve there, but overall I am happy with the progress and I’m excited to move forward, starting in France.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
Obviously Cozar was a great weekend for me. Winning a moto and then getting to stand on the podium is what I was aiming for, coming to this season, and to get it done in round two is an amazing achievement and now I’ve got the taste of it, I can’t wait to try and do it again. A big thanks to all the work by the team and I’m really excited to go racing in France now.
Valerio Lata 18
I didn’t have the best round in Spain, and that is frustrating, because I had good starts, but I just made too many errors. Of course, the conditions weren’t great, but I don’t want to blame that, and instead I prefer to focus on improving and being ready for St Jean D’Angely. I didn’t have the best time there last year, in similar conditions, but I know what I am capable of, and I really want to show everyone my speed.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
I have to once again commend all of the team for all their work in what were just really awful conditions. To work as hard as they did, in all the rain and the mud and getting all our bikes across the line and with the results they did, is testament to the high level that they all work at. And congrats to Tim, Ruben and Ferro for their results. Valerio didn’t have the best, but it wasn’t easy and he will learn and I’m sure all four will be up there in France this weekend.
