Fernandez heads to Portugal for local GP

Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez will be lining up for this weekend’s MXGP of Portugal, held at the Agueda circuit just a couple of hours from his house, with the track having undergone some changes that will see it being run in reverse for this event.

Last week, the organiser invited a select number of riders to take part in a trial run for the new layout, with Fernandez being amongst those chosen. He said the changes have been well-made and it’s always good to switch things around a bit every now and again, just to keep things interesting. The track still flows well and that is the important thing because it has always been an excellent circuit in that regard and there should be a lot of fans making the trip who are used to fast, close racing.

Many of those fans will be cheering for the #70 who comes from the Galicia region of Spain, just a few hours north of this track, but who has always brought a good number of supporters across the border. And due to his recent success of winning the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina at round one, and just missing the podium last time out in Trentino, the Team HRC rider should be a very popular in the pits and out on track.

Currently sitting in fifth place in the MXGP World Championship, onboard his Honda CRF450R, Fernandez will be hoping to close up to the four riders ahead of him with a good performance this weekend. He has shown on numerous occasions already that he has the speed to run at the front of the field, so if he can avoid the minor lapses, his consistency will improve and that will help him become a more regular podium-contender, with this event being the perfect opportunity to start that off.

The weather forecast is looking solid all weekend, which should give perfect conditions for all the riders. The MXGP guys have free and timed practice on Saturday before the points-scoring qualification race in the evening. Then on Sunday, they have a quick warm-up before the two GP-scoring event motos to determine the overall podium.