FERNANDEZ – CHASING A VICTORY

HRC factory rider, Ruben Fernandez is one of the most likeable riders in the Grand Prix paddock, and no doubt this coming weekend, he will be the most popular. The Spanish rider has often shown true brilliance, with GP wins, moto wins and podiums and last weekend in Agueda, Portugal he picked up third place in the muddy round.

Sixth in the MXGP points standings, Fernandez is just a handful of points out of the top five and will head to Lugo in the north of Spain with the intentions is breaking back into the leading five riders in the 2025 season.

Fernandez fought through another muddy day in Portugal to finish sixth in the qualification race, on the Saturday. After horrendous conditions last year, rain once again hammered to track to make survival the number one priority and for the most-part the #70 was able to avoid making any big mistakes to cross the line just outside the top five.

“Not really my best day today,” Fernandez said of his qualifier. “Sixth place isn’t too bad in these conditions where anything can happen. At least, I believe I can get out of the gate better tomorrow with the improved gate-pick and that is the most important thing when the track is like this. It would be great if the track was dry, but it doesn’t look good on the forecast so we will just do our best and prepare as much as possible to be smart and score as many points as we can.”

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.

“I really like Agueda, but when the weather is like this, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but thankfully it went really well. I certainly didn’t expect my first podium to come in these conditions; however I know I’ve been riding well and I just needed to stay consistent across both races, and I’d make it happen. My starts were excellent, which was crucial, and I kept any mistakes to a minimum. A big thank you to the team and my friends, family and fans for all their support and I can’t wait to try to do even better in Lugo next weekend.”

With a Grand Prix win and Race win already in the pocket, you just know that the Spaniard will want to give his beloved fans a huge moment in Lugo, and nobody would be too surprised if he walked away with a victory. That sure would make the next round of the MXGP World Championship special, wouldn’t it?

Photo Credit: Bavo Swijgers