Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser almost looked like he had never been away, as he seamlessly returned to MXGP action in Uddevalla, Sweden, showing his speed in timed practice before putting in a strong ride for third place in the qualifying race.
The #243 has been back on his Honda CRF450R for a number of weeks but delayed his comeback race until he felt completely ready to undergo the rigours of world championship motocross. That decision looked to have paid off as the Slovenian placed third in timed practice, after leading for a good portion of the session with a very impressive sprint lap. That gave him a good gate-pick for the qualification race, which was his first gate-drop in over three months, but he certainly didn’t show any rust as he rounded the first bend in the top five and then proceeded to move all the way up to second by the end of the first lap. Unfortunately, he did lose a position just after the pitlane, but from then on, he kept a strong pace and matched the rider in front for the rest of the moto to bring it home in third place. It was an excellent result and gives him a lot of confidence for tomorrow and for the rest of the season where he’ll be looking for even more.
Coming into Sweden, Ruben Fernandez knew this wouldn’t be his favourite experience, but the Spaniard never lets that affect his performance and was still a strong challenger to the top five in the qualifying race. His laptimes were consistent the entire moto and he withstood a lot of pressure to maintain his seventh place, but he knows that he needs a better jump out of the gate, if he wants to get higher finishes as this track is notoriously difficult to pass on.
Valerio Lata was hopeful coming to Uddevalla, that he’d be able to turn in a strong performance on the hard-pack terrain and have a good end to his rookie MX2 campaign. Things certainly got off to a good start as he was fourth in timed practice, with an excellent lap just over 0.5 seconds behind the fastest time. The Honda CRF250R rider also got off to a good start in the qualification race and things were really looking promising. Unfortunately, the first lap speed from the other riders caught him off guard and he was shuffled down the field. He did regroup quickly and maintained a pace that kept him inside the top 10 but he knows that he is capable of more, and that is precisely what he and the team will be trying to unlock in these last five rounds of the 2025 season.
MX2 Qualification Race
- Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), 24:15.599; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:01.421; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:02.119; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:19.198; 5. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:21.293; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.234; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:23.033; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:24.752; 9. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:24.911; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:46.173;
Tim Gajser 243
It’s really good to be back racing again and today went better than I hoped, to be honest. I wasn’t sure how the race would go because it is so different than training, but my pace was good and even my intensity from the beginning was there as I made my way into second briefly. Unfortunately, I got passed back pretty quickly, because I felt I could have kept the leader in sight, but still, I have to be happy with third place. Now, I need to prepare myself for the motos tomorrow which I’m looking forward to a lot.
Ruben Fernandez 70
A decent day, without being spectacular. This track is very much about the starts and after lap one I was in seventh and that is where I finished. I had some pressure from behind, but I kept my lines and just focused on being consistent and that was all that could be done really. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a better start and mix it up with the leaders a bit more.
Valerio Lata 18
I had a strong qualification, getting fourth and giving myself a good gate pick. I even got a good start, but once again I wasn’t able to match the speed of the others in the early laps and dropped a bit. I recovered and kept myself inside the top 10, but I would still much prefer to be higher up battling with those guys. We have done a lot of work and I really want to show that on the race weekends.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
Tim showed straight away that he is a top-quality rider, showing the speed in qualification and then in the race as well. I think he prepared himself really well to be ready for a race weekend and that just shows what a strong character he is as well because it is never easy to come back from such a long layoff. Ruben isn’t quite as comfortable on this surface, but he still fought hard and I’m sure he’ll do the same tomorrow. We are now trying to help Valerio put the speed from qualification into the races, because that is becoming his main issue, but he keeps trying and giving himself a chance so that is impressive in his first season with this many races.
Qualification Race
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 10 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 24:14.979
2 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 9 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:12.171
3 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 8 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:13.568
4 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 7 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:16.961
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 6 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:18.391
6 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 5 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:19.806
7 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 4 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:23.500
8 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 3 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 0:24.177
9 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 2 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:25.847
10 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 1 JK Racing Yamaha Active 0:26.212
11 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:26.537
12 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 0 JM Honda Racing 0:33.537
13 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:36.949
14 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 0 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:38.671
15 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 0 KTM Kozak Team 0:52.019
16 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:54.150
17 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 0 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:55.279
18 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 0 Honda SR Motoblouz 0:57.204
19 Watson Ben 919 GBR 0 MRT Racing Team Beta 0:58.521
20 Spies Maximillian GER 0 0:59.003
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 744 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 730 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 541 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 471 Honda HRC – MXGP
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 442 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
6 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 405 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
7 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 387 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 362 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 331 Ducati Factory MX Team
10 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 313 Honda HRC – MXGP
11 Watson Ben 919 GBR 257 MRT Racing Team Beta
12 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 249 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
13 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 243 Honda SR Motoblouz
14 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 242 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 229 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
16 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 221 JK Racing Yamaha Active
17 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 174 Ducati Factory MX Team
18 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 164 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
19 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 147 JM Honda Racing
20 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 136 KTM Kozak Team
21 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 99 KTM Kozak Team
22 Koch Tom 226 GER 86 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 61 Wildcard Rider
26 Spies Maximillian GER 39
27 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 38 Wildcard Rider
28 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 37 Ducati Factory MX Team
29 Fredriksen Hakon 427 NOR 30 Wildcard Rider
30 Gilbert Josh GBR 27
