Honda HRC flying high as they take on the final round in Australia

The 2025 MXGP World Championship has reached its final round in Darwin, Australia, with the Honda HRC trio flying high after an excellent China GP where Tim Gajser (2nd) and Ruben Fernandez (3rd) stood on the podium after putting in some great performances in the hot and humid conditions in Shanghai.

With temperatures looking to be similar in Darwin, the trio – including Valerio Lata who also showed sparks of his early season form – are excited to try and end this campaign on a high with some positive results at what is a brand-new facility at the Hidden Valley Motorsports circuit near the city.

Not only is this a new circuit, but it’s also a new racing-country for all three riders as they get to experience everything that the Northern Territories has to offer after making the long trip from Shanghai on Monday. This week they’ve spent their time acclimatising to the weather, after receiving a rude awakening to it in China last weekend, but given how well they performed, it shouldn’t hold any fear for the trio.

Gajser made his return to the podium after battling back from his shoulder injury and gradually improving with every round. In fact he very nearly won the overall, crossing the finish line less than a second behind the winner after a final lap charge. Now, he has two motos on Sunday to try make the last improvement, and the Slovenian is full of confidence that he can make that step and finish the season on a high.

In what was their first podium together, Fernandez was in excellent form in Shanghai, going five-three and making the necessary passes to get himself on the podium behind his teammate. It was the first podium for the prototype CRF450R and shows the excellent work that the team has done to make it so successful, so quickly. Having had a taste of it now, he is also hoping he can head back up the steps for this final round in Australia.

And in the MX2 class, there were encouraging signs for Lata, who showed with a fifth in the first moto that he is adding the stamina to his race-speed. Unfortunately a collision with another rider in race two thwarted any attempts to back up that effort, but he coped with the demands of China – which was a brand new experience for him – and is excited for doing even better in Darwin, and round out his rookie MX2 campaign with a successful outing.