First 2025 podium in Portugal for Fernandez

Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez put himself on the podium for the first time in 2025, after a pair of third place finishes gave him third overall at the MXGP of Portugal, in what was a wet and muddy event at the Agueda circuit.

Riding as the sole representative of the team, Fernandez showed really grit, determination and speed to negotiate the treacherous conditions and kept his Honda CRF450R under control at all times in the mud and ruts that developed after heavy rain hit the track all weekend. Knowing that starts were crucial, he powered out of the gate and was able to round the first bend in the top five in both motos. From there, he just put in consistent laptimes, keeping the pace of the leaders and resisting the pressure from behind to score his first podium this year and move himself up into fifth place in the MXGP World Championship. It was a great performance and sets himself up nicely for his home GP in Lugo next weekend at a track he really likes.

In the MX2 class, conditions were probably even worse for the riders as the first moto was taking place in a monsoon. After his performance in Cozar, Spain in muddy conditions – where he won a moto and stood on the podium – Ferruccio Zanchi was motivated to try and back it up with a strong result here and things were looking good early on as he ran as high as fourth at one stage. Unfortunately, the slippery surface caused problems for nearly everyone and the #73 didn’t escape unscathed, eventually slipping back to seventh. It was still a solid result and gave him motivation to do better in the second moto, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to match it, ending up in ninth and giving him sixth place overall. It wasn’t a bad result but the CRF250R rider is still looking for more and he’ll be hoping that can happen when he lines up in Lugo, Spain next weekend.

Teammate Valerio Lata is also hoping for improvements after a tough outing here in Agueda. Mud definitely isn’t the youngster’s best conditions, but he kept fighting and after every mistake, he was still making passes until the very end. It isn’t easy to prepare for a circuit that got hit with as much rain as here in Portugal, but the team will work hard to make sure that if it happens again, he can better his 9-15 scores for 11^th overall.

Unfortunately the early weather forecast for next weekend isn’t the best as rain continues to hit the Iberian peninsula, but Fernandez is excited to race his home GP and try to step on the podium once again.

MX2 Race 1
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 37:06.238; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:12.695; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:13.987; 4. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +0:52.418; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:07.460; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.396; 7. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:31.473; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, TM), +1:57.299; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +2:17.675; 10. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +2:20.281;

MX2 Race 2
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 36:42.637; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.354; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:27.673; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:29.999; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:49.120; 6. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:51.145; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:00.184; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:22.713; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:32.143; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +1:42.814;… 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Overall
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 31 p.; 5. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 26 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 22 p.; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 18 p.;

MX2 World Championship
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 328 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 324 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 318 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 269 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 225 p.; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 222 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 210 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 189 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 168 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 160 p.;