Tough day for Honda HRC in Switzerland

After going second and third in race one, Honda HRC duo Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez were primed and ready to fight for the podium spots at the MXGP of Switzerland, however in an unfortunate string of events, both riders’ hopes were dashed, and the pair leave the Frauenfeld circuit extremely dejected with what happened.

In Saturday’s qualification race, Fernandez and Gajser looked in great form, going one-two and giving the whole team a big boost of confidence. However, after taking Easter Sunday off from racing, the Swiss GP resumed today where things took a turn for the worse. In race one, the pair got off to excellent starts, with the Honda CRF450R showing its power as the pair quickly moved into second and third. And on the tight, narrow and technical Frauenfeld circuit, that’s where they crossed the line, with speed and consistency keeping them clear of any major problems or battles.

Excited for race two and the opportunity of podium performances, the pair’s fortunes didn’t hold up as Fernandez was involved in a first turn crash, remounting in last position. Knowing that valuable championship points were at stake, he tried his hardest for the duration of the race, passing an incredible 25 riders in the 30 minutes to cross the line in 12^th place in what was an outstanding display from the Spaniard. Unfortunately unbeknownst to him, mid-way through the race, he had been knocked off the track and had to pass through pit-lane, where due to an incident in Trentino, he was more focused on re-joining the track in the correct position, than remembering one of the rules was that he had to come to a complete stop. This caused him to be disqualified, but due to the system in place, he only found out once he had completed the rest of the moto, meaning all his hard-work was for nothing.

Whilst racing, Fernandez was unfortunately passing his stricken teammate Gajser, who had had a crash early-on while trying to pass for the lead. The red-plate holder was thrown from his bike on a high-speed portion of the track, where due to his location, he had to wait a long time for medical assistance.  Eventually the doctors got to the Slovenian and were able to take him to the on-site facilities where tests and exams took place to assess the situation. At this stage there is no definitive conclusion, but further tests will be done tomorrow, where Gajser – who still leads the 2025 MXGP Championship by 27 points – will be able to prepare himself for Portugal in two weeks’ time.

In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata showed his continued improvement by posting his highest points tally of the season, after ten-six results in a couple of hard-fought motos. After a holeshot in Saturday’s qualification, the #18 once again rocketed out of the gate in race two and gave himself the perfect opportunity to post his best GP results of the season. Despite battling against riders with far more experience, Lata showed great determination to finish in sixth place and give himself eighth overall.

Alongside him, Ferruccio Zanchi wasn’t able to quite match his teammate off the line and instead had to fight his way through the field. In race one, that meant coming from 30^th to 14^th in an impressive display of overtaking on the narrow circuit. In race two, things started off better, but he still had to come back from outside the top 15 to receive the chequered flag in 11^th place. It’s still not where the Italian wants to be, but with a better starting position, the speed suggests he isn’t too far off the best riders in this highly competitive MX2 class.

After three GPs in a row, there is now a welcome break in the schedule as the team get one weekend off before making the trip to Agueda, Portugal in what is one of the better circuits on this 2025 world motocross championship calendar.

MX2 Race 1
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 33:45.698; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:08.412; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:09.029; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:09.570; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:19.642; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:20.475; 7. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:28.467; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:30.123; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:30.848; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:45.074; … 14. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:17.415; 

MX2 Race 2
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 33:38.608; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:09.039; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:10.555; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:19.681; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.029; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:34.368; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:35.799; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:50.467; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:00.685; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:03.422; 11. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:05.786;

MX2 GP Classification
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 32 p.; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 27 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 26 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 26 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 21 p.; … 13. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 17 p.;

MX2 Championship
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 281 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 278 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 258 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 251 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 203 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 191 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 189 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 174 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 142 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 140 p.;