Ruben Fernandez charged through the MXGP field, from last place all the way up to seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough as he finished fourth overall at the MXGP of the Czech Republic – the debut round for the new prototype Honda CRF450R.
The Spaniard rode excellently in race one, waiting patiently in fourth place for the majority of the race, before pouncing as the riders in front struggled to keep their momentum. He crossed the line in second place, following on from the third in yesterday’s qualification moto and showing evidence that the new bike can handle a dry Loket circuit, as well as wet one.
Hopes were high he could continue this string of results in moto two, but just as he looked to round the first bend, he got caught up with a bunch of other riders and had nowhere to go. He managed to just about stay upright, but by the time he got pointing in the right direction, he was right at the back of the field and facing an uphill battle to even score points, let alone think about overall standings. However, despite the hard-pack Loket being as difficult to pass on as ever, the #70 scythed through the field and was amazingly in 13th by the time they completed the first full lap. After six more laps he was inside the top 10 and he kept pushing until the last lap, moving into seventh by the time he received the chequered flag. It was a valiant effort, and definitely one he can be proud of despite missing out on the podium by two points. Now, he has the deep sand of Lommel to prepare for, which will provide another tough testing ground for the prototype to negotiate.
In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata showed that his Honda CRF250R is up to speed off the line, almost grabbing a second moto holeshot as he slotted in with the lead pack. Unfortunately in both races, he wasn’t able to match their speed and had to drop back, eventually finishing up with eight-ten results for 10th overall. The Italian was definitely hoping for more, especially after his second place yesterday, but it is still a learning year for the youngster and he knows that he has to keep fighting and try and prepare himself for each challenge as best he can.
MX2 Race 1
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 33:58.976; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:16.549; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:21.341; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:28.021; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:29.374; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:34.396; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:39.983; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:47.753; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:54.650; 10. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +0:59.949;
MX2 Race 2
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33:59.404; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:07.559; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.871; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:15.232; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:26.131; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:27.511; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.822; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:45.497; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:49.087; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:01.485;
MX2 GP Overall
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 47 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 41 p.; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 33 p.; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 33 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 24 p.; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 24 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 665 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 618 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 606 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 520 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 492 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 417 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 330 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 306 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 299 p.;
Ruben Fernandez 70
Definitely a tough pill to swallow, finishing fourth and coming so close to the podium once again. After the second place in race one, I really felt good and was excited for race two, unfortunately, before I reached the first corner my chances of victory were over. I remounted almost last and tried as hard as I could to pass as many riders as possible and got all the way up to seventh, just two points short of the podium. Still, I think we showed that the prototype bike is excellent and can handle world championship racing, so now we’ll keep working and try again in Lommel next weekend.
Valerio Lata 18
After yesterday, I really felt like today could be a good day, but I just wasn’t as comfortable, and I couldn’t match the pace of the top riders. The only positive was that my starts were good once again, but I know I need to improve and even though Lommel will be tough, I need to start challenging higher up the field.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
Ruben showed that the prototype is already at the highest possible level, finishing second in moto one and riding superbly. It was really unlucky to get caught up in the first turn pile-up in race two so he wasn’t able to challenge up front again, but his charge was really impressive on this track that wasn’t easy to pass on, so we are really pleased with that performance too. Unfortunately Valerio wasn’t on the pace today and that is disappointing, so we’ll work with him to make him feel better and get him nearer the front of the field.
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 35:32.054
2 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 22 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:16.117
3 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 20 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 0:19.881
4 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 18 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:20.888
5 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 16 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:22.800
6 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 15 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:25.383
7 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 14 JK Racing Yamaha Active 0:25.981
8 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 13 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:26.501
9 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 12 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:03.463
10 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 11 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:04.851
11 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 10 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:05.258
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 9 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:08.278
13 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 8 KTM Kozak Team 1:11.143
14 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 7 KTM Kozak Team 1:12.010
15 Koch Tom 226 GER 6 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:17.689
16 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 5 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:27.657
17 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 4 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:30.099
18 Teresak Jakub CZE 3 1:30.797
19 Ludwig Noah GER 2 1:31.634
20 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 1 Wildcard Rider
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 25 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 35:30.158
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 22 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:02.468
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 20 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:18.191
4 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 18 JK Racing Yamaha Active 0:20.189
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 16 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:21.644
6 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 15 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:36.631
7 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 14 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:42.434
8 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 13 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:46.001
9 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 12 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:01.960
10 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 11 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:07.290
11 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 10 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:08.920
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 9 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:10.503
13 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 8 JM Honda Racing 1:26.710
14 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 7 KTM Kozak Team 1:30.761
15 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 6 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:34.402
16 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 5 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:42.555
17 Koch Tom 226 GER 4 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:46.397
18 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 3 KTM Kozak Team 1 lap
19 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 2 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
20 Ludwig Noah GER 1 1 lap
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 678 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 668 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 494 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 451 Honda HRC – MXGP
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 392 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
6 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 370 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
7 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 368 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 327 Ducati Factory MX Team
9 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 325 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
10 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 305 Honda HRC – MXGP
11 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 243 Honda SR Motoblouz
12 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 237 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
13 Watson Ben 919 GBR 236 MRT Racing Team Beta
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 226 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 220 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
16 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 183 JK Racing Yamaha Active
17 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 173 Ducati Factory MX Team
18 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 162 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
19 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 123 KTM Kozak Team
20 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 119 JM Honda Racing
21 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 98 KTM Kozak Team
22 Koch Tom 226 GER 79 MRT Racing Team Beta
23 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 72 Wildcard Rider
24 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 72 Honda SR Motoblouz
25 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 53 Wildcard Rider
26 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 38 Wildcard Rider
27 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 37 Ducati Factory MX Team
28 Spies Maximillian GER 36
29 Gilbert Josh GBR 27
30 Ludwig Noah GER 22
