Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez showed their strength as they both placed on the podium at the MXGP of China. In probably the hottest conditions of the season, the Honda HRC duo pushed until the very end to finish second and third respectively and delight all the Honda supporters who’d made the trip to Shanghai.
In the first moto, with the temperature at it’s highest, Gajser was third off the start, but kept the front two sight for the first half of the moto. Then, as fitness became as important as speed, he closed up and made the move into second place. Although he pressured the leader, he couldn’t quite make a pass and crossed the line just 2.5 seconds behind.
In race two, Gajser powered out the gate on his Honda CRF450R and grabbed the holeshot to lead them around the first corner. Unfortunately, he did run a little wide in turn two to allow another rider to sneak through into the lead, but he quickly pursued and then proceeded to stalk the leader for the duration of the moto. With the gap never going over 2.6 seconds, the #243 put in a late charge to try and take the race win and the overall, but he came up just 0.6 seconds short and had to settle for second. It was still another positive step for the Slovenian as this was the first podium since his shoulder injury so he was very happy with his performance and knows that he has another round to improve even further and finish this 2025 campaign on a high.
Behind him, teammate Fernandez continued his strong streak of results to go five-three for third overall. On a track that wasn’t easy for passing, the #70 made some good moves in the first race to get fifth and then in race two, he made a critical move early on to move into fourth and cement his spot on the podium. The Spaniard has had some tough moments this year, but he has never stopped fighting and in the blistering temperatures he dug dig to get third place, showing the prototype bike belongs at the front of this World Motocross Championship.
In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata also showed some much more positive results, putting in a great fifth place in the first moto. The youngster hasn’t had an easy time of things recently so it was really impressive for him to come back and show that he is still highly capable of battling with the best 250cc riders in the world. Hoping to back up that result in race two, he unfortunately had an early collision with another rider that left his bike damaged and him unable to match his earlier pace. He did bring it home in 11th place, giving him eighth overall, which is a good return to form for the Italian and should give him a lot of confidence that Australia – the last round of the championship – will go well.
MX2 Race 1
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33:59.017; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:03.294; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:24.322; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:29.759; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:31.284; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:50.788; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:58.789; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:05.116; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:28.396; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:32.029;
MX2 Race 2
- Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33:59.017; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:03.294; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:24.322; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:29.759; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:31.284; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:50.788; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:58.789; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:05.116; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:28.396; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:32.029; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +2:03.125;
MX2 GP Overall
- Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 45 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 30 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 29 p.; 7. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 28 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 26 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 25 p.; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 22 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 884 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 868 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 817 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 756 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 612 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 606 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 603 p.; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 461 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 447 p.; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 434 p.;
Tim Gajser 243
Very happy to make a return to the podium and ride well in all three races over the weekend. It was tough out there, especially in the first race, but I felt good and I tried my hardest at the end to make the pass for the win but I knew it was difficult. It is another good step for my recovery and we have one round left to try and go for the win and really end the season in a good way.
Ruben Fernandez 70
It is great to be back on the podium after a long time, and it is great for the team and for the new bike to show that it is capable of battling at the highest level. It’s been tough recently with a few different things but I kept fighting and I think, in the toughest conditions we’ve faced this year, to get a podium is a strong statement about my racing and fitness. It is good to share it with Tim as well and now I hope we can do the same in Australia at the final round.
Valerio Lata 18
It was a tough day today, but I am pleased with my first moto result of fifth. I am also happy with the starts in both races because it was important on this track. Unfortunately, I had a collision early on in race two and that damaged the bike and made things very difficult in the second race and although I tried my best, I couldn’t maintain the speed I wanted, and I dropped down the field. Although that was disappointing, I am happy with how I coped with the hot and humid temperatures so we have one more round in what will probably be similar conditions, so I want to finish the season strongly.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
Very good performances by all three riders today. It was great to see Tim and Ruben on the podium together and it is rewards for all their hard work because this was a really difficult GP. The temperature over the weekend was high and with a lot of humidity, it meant that fitness was critical and they definitely showed that as they fought until the very last jump. It was also good to see Valerio get fifth in the first race and I’m sure he would have done even better if that collision hadn’t happened. Overall, a very positive weekend after a lot of travel and now we want to continue that for Australia!
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:38.944
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 22 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:02.502
3 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:05.815
4 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 18 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:33.205
5 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 16 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:34.804
6 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 15 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:37.896
7 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 14 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:38.977
8 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 13 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:41.285
9 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:56.713
10 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 11 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:01.210
11 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 10 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:06.013
12 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 9 JK Racing Yamaha Active 1:10.858
13 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 8 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:19.380
14 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 7 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:22.317
15 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 6 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:23.389
16 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 5 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:41.546
17 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 4 Wildcard Rider 1:52.800
18 Koch Tom 226 GER 3 MRT Racing Team Beta 2:08.899
19 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 2 Honda SR Motoblouz 1 lap
20 Watson Ben 919 GBR 1 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 lap
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:31.201
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 22 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:00.605
3 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 20 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:28.530
4 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 18 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:39.495
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 16 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:42.100
6 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 15 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:48.197
7 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 14 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:54.961
8 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 13 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:01.411
9 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 12 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:03.499
10 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 11 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:05.885
11 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 10 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:09.901
12 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 9 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 1:21.619
13 Watson Ben 919 GBR 8 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:33.756
14 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 7 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:44.940
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 6 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 2:06.591
16 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 5 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
17 Koch Tom 226 GER 4 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 lap
18 Watson Zac 48 AUS 3 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
19 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 2 Honda SR Motoblouz 1 lap
20 Li Yuzhang 599 TUR 1 Wildcard Rider 4 laps
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 929 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 882 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 665 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 599 Honda HRC – MXGP
5 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 582 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
6 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 560 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
7 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 525 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 508 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
9 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 464 Honda HRC – MXGP
10 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 368 Ducati Factory MX Team
11 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 314 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
12 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 297 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
13 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 292 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
14 Watson Ben 919 GBR 290 MRT Racing Team Beta
15 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 262 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
16 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 251 JK Racing Yamaha Active
17 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 243 Honda SR Motoblouz
18 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 225 Ducati Factory MX Team
19 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 191 JM Honda Racing
20 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 168 KTM Kozak Team
21 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 104 KTM Kozak Team
22 Koch Tom 226 GER 103 MRT Racing Team Beta
23 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 87 Wildcard Rider
24 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 72 Wildcard Rider
25 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 72 Honda SR Motoblouz
26 Spies Maximillian GER 47
27 Fredriksen Hakon 427 NOR 41 Wildcard Rider
28 Prugnieres Quentin 319 FRA 40 Honda SR Motoblouz
29 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 38 Wildcard Rider
30 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 37 Ducati Factory MX Team
