Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez put himself on the podium for the first time in 2025, after a pair of third place finishes gave him third overall at the MXGP of Portugal, in what was a wet and muddy event at the Agueda circuit.
Riding as the sole representative of the team, Fernandez showed really grit, determination and speed to negotiate the treacherous conditions and kept his Honda CRF450R under control at all times in the mud and ruts that developed after heavy rain hit the track all weekend. Knowing that starts were crucial, he powered out of the gate and was able to round the first bend in the top five in both motos. From there, he just put in consistent laptimes, keeping the pace of the leaders and resisting the pressure from behind to score his first podium this year and move himself up into fifth place in the MXGP World Championship. It was a great performance and sets himself up nicely for his home GP in Lugo next weekend at a track he really likes.
In the MX2 class, conditions were probably even worse for the riders as the first moto was taking place in a monsoon. After his performance in Cozar, Spain in muddy conditions – where he won a moto and stood on the podium – Ferruccio Zanchi was motivated to try and back it up with a strong result here and things were looking good early on as he ran as high as fourth at one stage. Unfortunately, the slippery surface caused problems for nearly everyone and the #73 didn’t escape unscathed, eventually slipping back to seventh. It was still a solid result and gave him motivation to do better in the second moto, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to match it, ending up in ninth and giving him sixth place overall. It wasn’t a bad result but the CRF250R rider is still looking for more and he’ll be hoping that can happen when he lines up in Lugo, Spain next weekend.
Teammate Valerio Lata is also hoping for improvements after a tough outing here in Agueda. Mud definitely isn’t the youngster’s best conditions, but he kept fighting and after every mistake, he was still making passes until the very end. It isn’t easy to prepare for a circuit that got hit with as much rain as here in Portugal, but the team will work hard to make sure that if it happens again, he can better his 9-15 scores for 11th overall.
Unfortunately the early weather forecast for next weekend isn’t the best as rain continues to hit the Iberian peninsula, but Fernandez is excited to race his home GP and try to step on the podium once again.
MX2 Race 1
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 37:06.238; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:12.695; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:13.987; 4. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +0:52.418; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:07.460; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.396; 7. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:31.473; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, TM), +1:57.299; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +2:17.675; 10. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +2:20.281;
MX2 Race 2
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 36:42.637; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.354; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:27.673; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:29.999; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:49.120; 6. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:51.145; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:00.184; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:22.713; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:32.143; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +1:42.814;… 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);
MX2 Overall
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 31 p.; 5. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 26 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 22 p.; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 18 p.;
MX2 World Championship
- Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 328 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 324 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 318 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 269 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 225 p.; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 222 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 210 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 189 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 168 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 160 p.;
Ruben Fernandez 70
I really like Agueda, but when the weather is like this, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but thankfully it went really well. I certainly didn’t expect my first podium to come in these conditions, however I know I’ve been riding well and I just needed to stay consistent across both motos and I’d make it happen. My starts were excellent, which was crucial, and I kept any mistakes to a minimum. A big thank you to the team and my friends, family and fans for all their support and I can’t wait to try to do even better in Lugo next weekend.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
Sixth overall looks good but I know I could have scored more points in both races and done even better. Conditions weren’t great but I knew I had the opportunity to have a good GP, and I just couldn’t perform to the level that I want to. We will keep working though and I will keep pushing to improve so that I can work my way back to the podium as that’s where I want to be.
Valerio Lata 18
When the track was nice and dry, I felt I was riding well, but mud makes things really difficult and I’m just not able to match the other guys when it gets so wet. It is something I need to work on, and I really want to get better because it seems like we are having a bad run of weather, so I want to fight for the higher positions whatever the track conditions are.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
This was another brutal GP, with so much rain falling that they had to change the schedule and make things even harder for all our crew. Thankfully, they once again rose to challenge and kept the level high and gave the riders everything they needed. It was great to see Ruben on the podium, especially in Tim’s absence, as he’s been riding so well and I think now he’s done it once, he can keep on doing it. The MX2 guys didn’t have their best round and we need to figure that out and try to help them because the forecast doesn’t look good for next weekend.
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 37:05.111
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 22 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:06.214
3 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 20 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:57.873
4 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 18 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 1:08.227
5 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 16 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:15.921
6 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 15 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:17.935
7 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 14 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:22.965
8 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 13 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:34.164
9 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 12 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:40.208
10 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 11 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:50.129
11 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 10 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:54.442
12 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 9 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 2:12.823
13 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 8 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 2:18.544
14 Watson Ben 919 GBR 7 MRT Racing Team Beta 2:24.751
15 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 6 Ducati Factory MX Team 2:31.369
16 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 5 KTM Kozak Team 1 lap
17 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 4 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
18 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 3 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1 lap
19 Gilbert Josh GBR 2 1 lap
20 van Doninck Brent BEL 1 1 lap
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 36:41.817
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 22 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:10.991
3 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 20 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:28.685
4 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 18 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:32.578
5 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 16 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:36.145
6 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 15 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:37.655
7 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 14 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:40.649
8 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 13 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 1:16.611
9 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 12 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:42.021
10 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 11 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:52.353
11 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 10 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:55.385
12 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 9 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 2:24.080
13 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 8 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 2:37.838
14 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 7 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
15 Koch Tom 226 GER 6 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 lap
16 van Doninck Brent BEL 5 1 lap
17 Gilbert Josh GBR 4 1 lap
18 Watson Ben 919 GBR 3 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 lap
19 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 2 KTM Kozak Team 1 lap
20 Adamson John 212 GBR 1 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 330 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 305 Honda HRC – MXGP
3 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 287 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
4 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 255 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
5 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 223 Honda HRC – MXGP
6 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 217 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
7 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 194 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
8 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 177 Honda SR Motoblouz
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 162 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
10 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 156 Ducati Factory MX Team
11 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 117 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 112 MRT Racing Team Beta
13 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 109 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
14 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 107 Ducati Factory MX Team
15 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 103 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
16 Herlings Jeffrey NDL 94
17 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 78 JK Racing Yamaha Active
18 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 72 Wildcard Rider
19 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 64 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
20 van de Moosdijk Roan NDL 60
21 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 50 Wildcard Rider
22 Sterry Adam GBR 40
23 Koch Tom 226 GER 30 MRT Racing Team Beta
24 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 23 Wildcard Rider
25 Ludwig Noah GER 19
26 Gilbert Josh GBR 19
27 Spies Maximillian GER 13
28 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 10 Ducati Factory MX Team
29 Lupino Alessandro 177 ITA 9 Ducati Factory MX Team
30 Tonus Arnaud 4 SWI 8 Wildcard Rider
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