Fernandez out for Spanish GP and beyond as Gajser and Zanchi prepare for round two

Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez will not be on the gate for the second round of the 2024 MXGP World Championship, as he has not recovered from the leg injury sustained at the first round of the series, however teammates Tim Gajser and rookie Ferruccio Zanchi will be there to make sure that two-thirds of the team will be in action for this Spanish GP, held at the Arroyomolinos circuit near Madrid.

Five-time world champion Gajser will be hoping that he can continue his early-season form that saw him win the qualifying race and the second moto at round one in Patagonia-Argentina, and sees him just three points off the top of the world championship standings. The Slovenian looked excellent across the whole weekend and will now try to turn that speed into an overall victory at a track that he hasn’t always had the best of luck.

Unfortunately, Spanish teammate Fernandez will not be lining up next to him because of the torn ACL injury that he suffered in the first turn incident of the Argentina qualification race. It is a massive shame for him, because not only is this his home GP, it is also a race that he stepped up onto the podium for last year and he was really excited to try and do the same again in 2024. The #70 will now have surgery on Tuesday to fix the problem, with the decision having been made that this was the best course of action, in order to get him back fit and healthy and racing as quickly as possible.

After his sixth overall in South America, 17-year-old youngster Zanchi is raring to go once again, as he looks to try and better his performance at Villa La Angostura. He came through the pack excellently in both races, but now the aim is to try and start a little bit closer to the leaders and see how his pace matches up with those riders who have several year’s more experience than the Italian. While the team are still trying not to put too much pressure on his shoulders, his great start to 2024 is raising the bar and growing expectations and after a couple of weeks of testing, it’ll be a good chance to make an even bigger impact in this exciting MX2 class.