Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Ruben Fernandez scored his first podium of the season, in tricky conditions at the MXGP of Germany, held at the tight and twisty Teutschenthal circuit. A deluge of rain before today’s moto made the surface a lot slicker than yesterday, but Fernandez showed his skills as he went three-seven for third overall.
With passing at a premium, starts were all-important and the #70 utilised the power of his Honda CRF450RW rider to maximum effect, rounding the first bend inside the top five in both races. In race one, he held onto third for the duration of the race, fighting off the advances of the guys behind, and race two was going in a similar vein in fifth when an ambitious pass attempt from the rider behind left them both on the ground. Rushing to remount as quickly as possible, Fernandez picked up in seventh place, which was good enough for third overall and his first podium since the penultimate GP of 2025 in China.
After a technical issue forced him to withdraw from race one, Jeffrey Herlings put in a strong race two, to keep himself within touching distance of the championship, in what was a tough day for the Dutchman. Starts were critical all weekend and the #84 wasn’t able to get out of the gate in front of his main rivals, which made life a lot more difficult. The second moto showed he had the speed to win motos, but with hardly any places to pass, catching someone and passing them were two completely separate matters.
Unfortunately, after his crash in race two in France last weekend, Tom Vialle was unable to race today and now has a race to be fit in time for Latvia next weekend. Back-to-back-to-back races are tough for everyone, and this setback couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the Frenchman who was performing excellently in his debut MXGP campaign.
In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata had a pair of strong performances, which could have been even better without some difficult moments near the end of both races. The Italian was running in third and seventh respectively, for the majority of the two motos, but can still be pleased with his seventh overall which showed definite improvement despite the track being at it’s most treacherous, after a storm hit the track before their moto.
In what is a gruelling schedule now until the end of the championship, there is another quick turnaround as the team prepare to head to Latvia, and the sandy circuit of Kegums.
MX2 Race 1
- Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 36:17.071; 2. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.492; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:33.211; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:35.096; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:40.721; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:43.140; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:02.204; 8. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +1:09.283; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:22.819; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:31.319;
MX2 Race 2
- Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:09.458; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:01.049; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:02.549; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:04.136; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:25.711; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:27.042; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:33.726; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:34.693; 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +1:07.330; 10. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), +1:21.070;
MX2 GP Overall
- Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 35 p.; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 33 p.; 7. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 29 p.; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 28 p.; 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 20 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 320 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 317 p.; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 301 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 281 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 278 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 264 p.; 7. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 252 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 189 p.; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 188 p.; 10. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 144 p.;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
This was my first podium since China, so I’m very happy to back on the box here in Germany. It’s been a long time and it certainly wasn’t easy and even now, I still don’t feel like I’m at my very best, but this was a step in the right direction. It was a shame to have that crash in the second moto, otherwise I’d have been second overall, but overall I have to be happy . Now I really want to kick-on for the rest of the season.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Obviously not happy with today. I wanted to keep the pressure on in the championship battle and now I’ve dropped a lot of points today. Germany definitely hasn’t been my friend it seems in recent years but we go again in Latvia next week and just keep pushing hard. Still plenty of racing to go and I like Kegums a lot more than here.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
My riding was a lot better, especially in the first moto so that is a positive to take away from this weekend. Conditions weren’t easy, with the rain affecting the track in that first moto quite a lot, but I got a good start and held my position well to begin with. I will keep fighting hard to improve and I definitely feel there is more to come.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
A great weekend for Ruben, to see him up on the podium with two hard-fought races in tough conditions. Jeffrey dropped some points in race one, and couldn’t quite catch up in race two so that was a shame, but there is still plenty of racing to go in this championship battle.. Starts were critical and we are just missing out on the holeshots, so the team will keep working hard to try and get those. Valerio also showed improvement and with a bit more luck could have had a top five. Unfortunately Tom wasn’t able to line-up so now the goal is to try and get him fit and ready for the next round, but with all these races back to back, it is hard to recover in time.
