Home GP gives Fernandez podium potential
Following on from his ‘local’ GP last weekend in Agueda, Portugal, Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez now heads to Arroyomolinos near Madrid in Spain for his home race where he will be attempting to make it onto the podium for the second time this season. This comes after two MXGPs in a row where the Spaniard has finished fourth, so he knows he is close and that this would be the perfect venue to put the record straight.
Since coming into the series in 2020, the Arroyomolinos event has grown into one of the most well-attended races on the calendar, with the location, just a few miles outside the capital city of Madrid and next to the big Intu-Xanadu shopping centre providing a great venue for fans to visit. The grandstand seating and the excellent weather also help to create a crazy atmosphere, with Fernandez hoping to capitalise on that support and win his second MXGP event of the year and put him even closer to breaking into the top four spots in the championship race.
An excellent second place in the second moto in Portugal showed he has the speed to do so, so now it is a case of putting it all together in both motos and giving the passionate fans something to cheer about. Having finished inside the top three in three of the last six races (including the points-scoring qualification races) he is proving he belongs amongst the elite riders and a victory here would cement that, after also winning the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina in round one.
Weather conditions for the weekend are looking perfect so the hard-pack terrain should be prime for when the best motocross riders on the planet take to the circuit. Each day has three sessions, with the free practice, timed practice and qualification race on the Saturday, before the Sunday warm-up and the two GP-scoring motos on the Sunday.
Ruben Fernandez 70
I didn’t quite make it on the podium in Portugal so it would be very nice to get up there this weekend in Spain. Both races are kind of my home races as I live nearer to Agueda than here, but I definitely want to do well in front of all the Spanish supporters and I feel I’m very close to getting to the level I need to be at. It’s just a couple of mistakes in the races that are causing me to miss out, so if I can stop doing those, I know my speed is good enough. Hopefully there will be a lot of fans at the track like there were in previous years and we can have another awesome GP!
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Ruben has been a bit unfortunate to have not been on the podium these past couple of rounds, but that just shows the level you need to be riding at all the time to make the step. Still, it also shows how far he’s come that he’s disappointed not to be in the top three and that is very impressive and something we are all hoping to put right in Spain this weekend. There will be a lot of pressure on him, as this is his home GP but he has handled everything thrown at him so far and we don’t expect this to phase him either. He seems to thrive with all the support and we hope he continues this high level of racing in Arroyomolinos.
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prado Garcia Jorge | 61 | SPA | 246 | Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas |
| 2 | Herlings Jeffrey | 84 | NDL | 229 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 3 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 214 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
| 4 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 202 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 5 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 182 | Team HRC - MXGP | Honda |
| 6 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 162 | Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing | Yamaha |
| 7 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 959 | NDL | 152 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 8 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 148 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
| 9 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 139 | Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas |
| 10 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 116 | SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery | KTM |
| 11 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 108 | Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
| 12 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 87 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
| 13 | van Doninck Brent | 32 | BEL | 83 | JM Honda Racing | Honda |
| 14 | Paturel Benoit | 6 | FRA | 79 | De Baets Yamaha MX-Team | Yamaha |
| 15 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 66 | Standing Construct Honda MXGP | Honda |
| 16 | Jonass Pauls | 41 | LAT | 56 | Standing Construct Honda MXGP | Honda |
| 17 | Östlund Alvin | 161 | SWE | 49 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda |
| 18 | Lupino Alessandro | 77 | ITA | 48 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
| 19 | Spies Maximillian | 71 | GER | 19 | KTM Kosak Team | KTM |
| 20 | Koch Tom | 226 | GER | 18 | KTM Kosak Team | KTM |
| 21 | Rubini Stephen | 38 | FRA | 15 | Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
| 22 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 11 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha |
| 23 | Goupillon Pierre | 57 | FRA | 10 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
| 24 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 9 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
| 25 | Tonus Arnaud | SWI | 8 | |||
| 26 | Roosiorg Hardi | 75 | EST | 7 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda |
| 27 | Poli Joaquin | 179 | ARG | 5 | Wildcard Rider | Kawasaki |
| 28 | Mewse Conrad | 426 | GBR | 4 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 29 | Alberto Paulo | POR | 4 | |||
| 30 | Evans Mitch | 43 | AUS | 3 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
| 31 | Ivanov Michael | 97 | BUL | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
| 32 | Poli Agustin | 98 | ARG | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Kawasaki |
| 33 | Van Berkel Lars | 107 | NDL | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 34 | Jasikonis Arminas | 2 | LTU | 1 | Wildcard Rider | GasGas |
| 35 | Clochet Jimmy | 520 | FRA | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
| 36 | Sandner Michael | 766 | AUT | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
| 37 | Outeiro Luis | 147 | POR | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
