Gajser third as Lata also rounds off 2025 World Championships with first MX2 podium

Tim Gajser (MXGP) and Valerio Lata (MX2) made it another double-podium for Honda HRC at the MXGP of Australia, after weather severely affected the proceedings. Lata took full advantage of the storm that hit the track to power through and finish second in race two before it was red-flagged, while because the second MXGP moto was cancelled, Gajser’s third place in moto one was enough for his third podium in a row, rounding off this 2025 campaign on a high.

For Lata, it was a great ending to what has been a difficult rookie MX2 season. There were some highs earlier on in the year, but recently things haven’t been so easy, so to keep pushing in this final round of the season is testament to his attitude. On a dry race track, things weren’t looking as though it was be easy for the #18 as he struggled to move up the field from his outside gate-pick. Battling around the top 10, he eventually finished ninth, but at that stage there was no sign of the weather that was about to hit the circuit.

Black clouds were looming as the second race started, but that soon turned to torrential rain after a couple of laps. The track quickly flooded and it became a battle for survival as much as a race against other riders, but one which the Honda CRF250R rider was certainly mastering. Moving up from eighth on lap one, the Italian moved all the way into second place by the time they threw the red-flag and despite a nervous wait for the results to be classified, it was announced that he would step up onto the podium for the first time in 2025. It was a great way to finish the season off, and should give him a lot of encouragement as he prepares for next year.

Due to the track conditions after all the rain, it was decided that the second MXGP race two would be cancelled and the overalls would be determined by how they finished in race one. For Gajser that meant a third-place finish, after he stalked the rider in second for the entire moto, unable to make a pass. Teammate Fernandez had a tougher time of things as he had to make a number of passes early-on, but he moved up to fifth and maintained that for the rest of the race. This result meant he secured fourth place in the championship standings, which is just-reward for a strong campaign and also gives him a lot of encouragement that he can do even better in 2026.

Now Gajser (Slovenia) and Fernandez (Spain) have a weekend off, before preparing themselves for the Motocross of Nations where they’ll be representing their countries at Ironman Raceway, Crawfordsville in the USA.

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MX2 Race 1
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 33:42.445; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:04.481; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:08.935; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.146; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:11.969; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:28.086; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:32.265; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:33.989; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:42.533; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:45.306;

MX2 Race 2
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 17:09.073; 2. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:21.452; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:36.523; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:39.592; 5. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:41.121; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:41.546; 7. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:49.311; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:56.026; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +0:57.476; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:15.176;

MX2 GP Overall
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 41 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 37 p.; 3. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 34 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 31 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 29 p.; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 22 p.;

MX2 Championship
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 928 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 919 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 845 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 798 p.; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 636 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 635 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 603 p.; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 500 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 481 p.; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 467 p.;