Gajser misses Portugal as Honda HRC head to Agueda with three riders

Honda HRC are down to three riders at the MXGP of Portugal, as five-time world champion and current red-plate holder Tim Gajser will not make the trip to Agueda. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the rider and all the medical personnel helping the Slovenian since leaving Switzerland, the injury hasn’t improved enough to cope with the rigours of world motocross racing.

After a tough Monday of racing in Switzerland – which followed an excellent Saturday where Ruben Fernandez and Gajser went one-two in qualification – there were question marks surrounding the status of the Gajser, after a nasty crash involving a solid man-made mound of dirt that was meant to be marking the track boundary but was instead inside the markers. And after some excellent treatment once he left the on-site facility, the Slovenian was hoping that he would be fit enough to attempt to battle the demands of MXGP motocross and continue his fight for title number six. Sitting 27 points clear of second place, the #243 knew he would have his work cut out to ready to make the start-line, but an intense week of physiotherapy saw his condition reach a level where there was optimism that he would be able to jump on a plane for round seven. Instead, he, along with his qualified medical team decided that sitting it out was the necessary call and now there will be further tests to determine the best course of action. It is a massive disappointment for Gajser as before the crash, he was 49 points ahead of his rivals, having won three of the first six rounds, and been on the podium for all of them.

Now running solo in the MXGP class is Fernandez, who always looks forward to racing in Agueda, as it is a local track for him, where he is cheered on by lots of fans from the region. The Spaniard doesn’t live too far from this Portuguese track and raced there a lot when growing up and loves the loose nature of the soil and the exciting layout that always delivers top racing. The #70 is also highly motivated to get himself onto the podium after some unfortunate results which has seen his speed not get rightfully rewarded with points. He won the qualification race in Switzerland but wants to turn that into similar results on Sunday, so he can stand on the podium and payback all the fans and team members who support him.

In the MX2 class, both Zanchi and Lata competed in the Italian Championship race in Montevarchi, where Zanchi came out on top with a pair of wins, ahead of his teammate. The duo are separated by just two points in the championship standings and are determined to rise higher as they try to put themselves and their Honda CRF250Rs in positions to fight it out with the best MX2 riders. Lata has had a couple of good starts in recent weeks, including a holeshot in the Swiss qualification race and is trending upwards as he grows into this competitive class.  Zanchi hasn’t been able to reach the levels of his early-season form where he won a moto and stood on the podium in Spain, but he hopes the win in Montevarchi will give him the boost necessary to battle for the top spots once again.

Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking good, with rain scheduled throughout the weekend, which brings back painful reminders of the horrible conditions which the riders’ faced in 2024. However, whatever the status of the Agueda track, all four Honda HRC riders are motivated for the job at hand and will try their upmost to maximise their points haul.