Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser started off the 2025 MXGP World Championships with a solid third place finish in the Saturday qualification at the brand-new, impressive Cordoba circuit in Argentina.
Posting the fastest time in free practice was a great start to the day for the Honda CRF450R rider, and he backed it up in the timed session by placing second. This gave him a great chance in the qualification race and utilising the good gate-pick, he was quickly into second place. After pressuring the leader in the opening laps, he made a couple of small errors that allowed the third-placed rider to overtake him and from there he just settled into a solid-pace that enabled to come home in a comfortable third position.
Things didn’t quite so smoothly for fellow CRF450R rider Ruben Fernandez, with the Spaniard picking up one point after battling through after an easy crash when in fifth, ruined his chance of fighting nearer the front of the pack. A fourth place in the timed practice was a better representation of his speed and he’ll be looking to show that off in the two GP-scoring races tomorrow.
It was a tough day in the office for the Honda HRC duo of Ferruccio Zanchi and Valerio Lata as they both suffered falls in the qualifying race at the end of the day, after both posting good laps in timed practice. Lata fell in the second turn, when well-placed and remounted well down the field. He eventually got back to 16th, but it wasn’t what he hoped for on his Honda HRC debut.
Zanchi survived all the chaos on the opening laps, but while moving himself into the top 10, he veered slightly off-track and had a fall. Unfortunately, this forced the young Italian to pull out of the race, but he should be fine for tomorrow where he’ll be lining up on the outside of the starting gate.
Overall, a tough beginning to the season, but one that can be built upon, and all four riders will be hoping for more when they line up for the two motos tomorrow.
SUNDAY SCHEDULE: 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 12:15 MX2 Race 1, 13:15 MXGP Race 1, 15:10 MX2 Race 2, 16:10 MXGP Race 2.
MX2 Qualifying Race
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 24:03.631; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.538; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:10.739; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:12.727; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.989; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.857; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:28.854; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:34.032; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:37.426; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +0:48.006;… 16. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:13.225; 30. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), -8 lap(s);
Tim Gajser 243
I felt good early on in the day, but when the racing started I just couldn’t find a good rhythm and decided it was safer to let the two guys fight it out ahead. I had a big gap to fourth so I didn’t want to push too much on the very first day, especially on a track that could easily catch you out if you weren’t concentrating. Tomorrow we’ll try a few things and hopefully battle for the win and start this season off right.
Ruben Fernandez 70
It was annoying to have that tip-over on the first lap, because I was well-placed and thought I could get a good number of points. Instead, the start will be tougher because I’ll be a bit further out, but I still feel like I can do well tomorrow. It is a very nice circuit that they’ve built here in Cordoba, and I’d love to give the fans something to cheer about.
Valerio Lata 18
I’m very disappointed to have made that mistake after getting a good start. I was right there at the front of the field and if I could have just stayed upright, I’m sure I could have had a solid result and a good gate-pick for tomorrow. Things don’t always go to plan though, and now I will have to work really hard to have the debut GP that I wanted. It is a shame, because I have enjoyed my first overseas experience so far and I really want to start off strongly.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
I was having a good moto, moving through from outside the top 10 into eighth place with the possibility of more passes to come. Instead, I went slightly off the racetrack and landed in some mud which completely stopped my momentum and I went over the bars. I had some bumps and bruises and the bike wasn’t rideable in a safe way so I decided it was better to retire and fight another day. I will be ready for tomorrow though and motivated to start the season with a good points haul.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
The start of the season is finally here and as expected, it threw up a lot of challenges. All four guys are probably leaving the track today, not happy with their performances. But that’s a good thing because we know they want more and we’ll be doing our best to try and make that happen. The Cordoba track is a very well-made circuit, but the conditions were hard for all the guys out there and with it being the first race, there is always a lot of pressure and adrenaline to control. Hopefully the weather stays good, because if it does, it really should be a spectacular day tomorrow, where I fully expect all of our riders to rise to the occasion.
MXGP 2025 Saturday, March 1st 2025
Qualifying Round 1 MXGP of Argentina
Qualification Race
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 10 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 25:25.836
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 9 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki 0:03.559
3 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 8 Honda HRC – MXGP Honda 0:23.000
4 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 7 Ducati Factory MX Team Ducati 0:30.328
5 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 6 Honda SR Motoblouz Honda 0:33.851
6 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 5 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic 0:37.058
7 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 4 Ducati Factory MX Team Ducati 0:40.494
8 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 3 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:42.676
9 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 2 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki 0:45.514
10 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 1 Honda HRC – MXGP Honda 0:59.076
11 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 0 Wildcard Rider Yamaha 1:01.083
12 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic 1:10.772
13 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic 1:13.622
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 0 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team KTM 1:17.389
15 Koch Tom 226 GER 0 MRT Racing Team Beta Beta 1:21.828
16 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 0 Wildcard Rider Husqvarna 1:30.649
17 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 0 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 1:32.222
18 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 0 Honda SR Motoblouz Honda 1:33.642
19 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 0 JWR Honda Racing Honda 1:46.139
MXGP 2025 Saturday, March 1st 2025
Rider standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 10 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 9 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki
3 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 8 Honda HRC – MXGP Honda
4 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 7 Ducati Factory MX Team Ducati
5 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 6 Honda SR Motoblouz Honda
6 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 5 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic
7 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 4 Ducati Factory MX Team Ducati
8 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 3 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
9 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 2 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki
10 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 1 Honda HRC – MXGP Honda
11 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 0 Wildcard Rider Yamaha
12 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic
13 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP Fantic
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 0 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team KTM
15 Koch Tom 226 GER 0 MRT Racing Team Beta Beta
16 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 0 Wildcard Rider Husqvarna
17 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 0 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
18 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 0 Honda SR Motoblouz Honda
19 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 0 JWR Honda Racing Honda
