Fernandez fourth as Lata suffers misfortune at Matterley Basin

Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez battled through the field at the MXGP of Great Britain to finish fourth, closing up to fourth place in the MXGP championship standings in the process. Unfortunately in MX2 timed practice, Valerio Lata was caught up in another rider’s mistake and although he tried to race the qualification race, he had to pull off after one lap.

It was really harsh on the young Italian, who was just completing a hot-lap that would see him get fourth gate-pick, but as he crossed the finish-line jump, the rider in front bailed from his bike in the direct line of Lata’s Honda CRF250R and the #18 had nowhere to go. A collision between the two machines left Lata thrown onto the ground where he recovered himself before receiving medical assistance. Tests were carried out due to the size of the impact and although they came back negative, it was far from ideal for the Lata, who was looking really strong on this dry, hard-pack Matterley Basin circuit. Giving himself every opportunity, he then lined up for the qualification race and made an excellent start, rounding the first bend in second position. However, he quickly dropped down the field as the pain became too much and after completing one lap, he swiftly rode back to the truck. Physio work has since been carried out, but the decision to race will be taken tomorrow when hopefully he’ll be feeling a lot better.

Thankfully Fernandez’ day went a lot better as the Spaniard showed he is back to his fast-aggressive self after battling through the pain in Latvia last time out. Third in free practice, then an excellent second in timed practice meant the Honda CRF450R rider had a great chance of doing well at a track he loves riding. Unfortunately, he couldn’t capitalise out of the gate and instead had to quickly make a number of passes to move himself into the top five. Settling into a good rhythm, he tried to close-up to third place, but he ended up crossing the line in fourth. He would have hoped for more before the race, but he still has a great chance of a podium spot when the action resumes tomorrow for the GP-scoring motos.

—–

MX2 Qualification
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 24:17.709; 2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:11.458; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:12.706; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:13.129; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:27.272; 6. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:28.382; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:37.461; 8. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +0:39.033; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:40.592; 10. Maxime Grau (FRA, KTM), +0:48.640;