Fernandez fourth in Finnish qualification
Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez capped off a solid day of action at the sandy KymiRing near Kouvola, Finland to finish fourth in qualification and give himself a good gate-pick for tomorrow’s GP-scoring motos.
A seventh in free practice showed that he wasn’t too far off the top guys, which then improved to sixth in timed practice. A great start on his Honda CRF450R then put him in the battle for the podium spots as he rounded the first couple of laps inside the top three. Unfortunately, a small mistake on lap three cost him a position, and although he was able to close back up to the rider in third, he couldn’t make the pass and instead had to settle for fourth. Those seven points have meant that the gap to third in the MXGP championship standings is now just 21 points, so he has good momentum and more riding like that could really make it close for the final third of the season.
While the number #70 got to grips with the sandy terrain of this brand-new circuit, MX2 rider Valerio Lata struggled all day to find the speed necessary to challenge with the best 250cc riders in the world. The young Italian is coming off an injury at the previous round in Great Britain but would still have hoped to be much nearer to the top 10 positions in all three of today’s sessions. Instead, a finishing position of 15th leaves the #18 with a lot of work to do if he wants to score some good points and head into another weekend off with a bit more confidence.
Although there is potential for rain to hit the circuit tonight. The sandy terrain should be able to cope with anything that drops on the facility, so the riders should expect similar conditions for the two longer motos, where a maximum of 50 points are at stake.
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MX2 Qualification Race
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 23:51.073; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:06.407; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:12.197; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:13.841; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.337; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:28.847; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:29.626; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.339; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:54.748; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:56.883; … 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:33.103;
Ruben Fernandez 70
It was a good day, on what is a fast but tricky track. Any mistakes can be costly here because the track is so fast, but I feel like my speed is good and if I can minimise any errors, a podium is within my grasp. It was also nice to be riding in sunshine so hopefully we get more of that tomorrow.
Valerio Lata 18
I’m definitely not happy with how things went today. I wasn’t comfortable with the track and just couldn’t find any rhythm or flow out there. It was nice to get a good start in the qualification race, but I need to ride better tomorrow and challenge inside the top 10 because right now that wasn’t good enough.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
It is a new experience for everyone here at the KymiRing and overall it has been positive. It is a nice setup, with the paddock on the tarmac, similar to tracks like Qatar and Assen, which has been helped by the weather, which has been good today. Ruben has shown good speed in all three sessions, and we are hopeful he can keep that going tomorrow and close the points gap to third place in the championship even more. Valerio hasn’t been on the pace though, so we need to try and help him as much as possible and get him inside the top 10 because he isn’t looking himself right now.
Qualifying Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 10 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 23:35.419 |
| 2 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 9 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:09.363 |
| 3 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 8 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:18.094 |
| 4 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 7 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda | 0:28.816 |
| 5 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 6 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:34.579 |
| 6 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 5 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki | 0:40.506 |
| 7 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 4 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM | 0:43.415 |
| 8 | van Doninck Brent | BEL | 3 | 0:46.423 | |||
| 9 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 2 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta | 0:49.576 |
| 10 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 1 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati | 0:52.025 |
| 11 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 0 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda | 0:53.122 |
| 12 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 0 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:54.614 |
| 13 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati | 1:06.454 |
| 14 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 0 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda | 1:08.146 |
| 15 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 0 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 1:10.800 |
| 16 | Koch Tom | 226 | GER | 0 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta | 1:12.669 |
| 17 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 0 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM | 1:16.460 |
| 18 | Varjonen Miro | 248 | FIN | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM | 1:48.895 |
| 19 | Pumpurs Mairis | 610 | LAT | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | 1 lap |
| 20 | Nissinen Pekka | 29 | FIN | 0 | Wildcard Rider | GasGas | 1 lap |
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 589 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
| 2 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 562 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 3 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 411 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
| 4 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 390 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
| 5 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 347 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 6 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 328 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 7 | Herlings Jeffrey | 84 | NDL | 325 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 8 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 320 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
| 9 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 305 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
| 10 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 275 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
| 11 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 229 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
| 12 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 199 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
| 13 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 192 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM |
| 14 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 190 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 15 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 173 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
| 16 | Jonass Pauls | 41 | LAT | 162 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
| 17 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 149 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha |
| 18 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 142 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
| 19 | van de Moosdijk Roan | 34 | NDL | 113 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM |
| 20 | van Doninck Brent | BEL | 77 | |||
| 21 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 72 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
| 22 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 71 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM |
| 23 | Koch Tom | 226 | GER | 57 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
| 24 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 50 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
| 25 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 44 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
| 26 | Stauffer Marcel | 411 | AUT | 38 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
| 27 | Cairoli Antonio | 222 | ITA | 37 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
| 28 | Spies Maximillian | GER | 36 | |||
| 29 | Gilbert Josh | GBR | 27 | |||
| 30 | Tondel Cornelius | 17 | NOR | 20 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda |
| 31 | Ludwig Noah | GER | 19 | |||
| 32 | Lupino Alessandro | 177 | ITA | 9 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
| 33 | Boisrame Mathys | FRA | 9 | |||
| 34 | Tonus Arnaud | 4 | SWI | 8 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
| 35 | Monticelli Ivo | ITA | 6 | |||
| 36 | Nickel Cato | GER | 6 | |||
| 37 | Aparecido dos Santos Fabio | BRA | 5 | |||
| 38 | Guyon Tom | 49 | FRA | 5 | Wildcard Rider | Triumph |
| 39 | Talviku Jorgen-Matthias | 261 | EST | 4 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
| 40 | Carpenter James | GBR | 3 | |||
| 41 | Pape Romain | 53 | FRA | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
| 42 | Alonso Victor | 196 | SPA | 2 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 43 | Evans Mitch | 43 | AUS | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 44 | Haavisto Jere | FIN | 1 | |||
| 45 | Adamson John | 212 | GBR | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 46 | Scheu Mark | GER | 1 | |||
| 47 | Pumpurs Mairis | 610 | LAT | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
| 48 | Valentin Ander | SPA | 0 | |||
| 49 | Varjonen Miro | 248 | FIN | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
| 50 | Purdon Tristan | RSA | 0 | |||
| 51 | Nissinen Pekka | 29 | FIN | 0 | Wildcard Rider | GasGas |
