Uddevalla, Sweden hosted the 16th round of the 2025 MXGP World Championships, where Tim Gajser rejoined Honda HRC alongside Ruben Fernandez and MX2 rider Valerio Lata.

On a lovely summer day in Scandinavia, Gajser’s DNF-seven don’t tell the full story for the #243, nor does Fernandez’s four-eight give a fair reflection on how close the Spaniard came to the podium in an intense second moto that had everyone on the edge of their seats.

After his third in the qualification race yesterday, Gajser was hopeful of more success today and a great start in race one really gave him a good shot of another top three result. The Honda CRF450R rider was in fourth place, and challenging for third when the rider in front made a small mistake, giving a slight opening for the Slovenian. Unfortunately the door closed as quickly as it opened and the pair collided, leaving Gajser unable to finish the moto due to damage from the impact. Race two started off very similarly, but this time he was able to make the move into third quickly and kept the leaders firmly in sight. However, his time away from race action eventually took its toll and he made a small mistake, dropping him down to seventh, where he finished. There was still a lot of promise shown and it certainly gives him a good base to improve upon in the final four rounds of the series.

Fernandez also showed a lot of speed on a track that certainly isn’t his favourite. Taking an excellent fourth place in moto one, where he rode his own race without too many of the chaotic battles that were taking place elsewhere gave him another opportunity for a podium overall. However, like in previous rounds where the chance was there, he hasn’t quite been able to make the most of the moment and that is probably the biggest disappointment for the #70. An eighth is still a respectable result, but he is definitely after more and will be trying to make that happen in the Netherlands, Turkiye, China and Australia.

MX2 rider Lata will also be hoping for a change of fortune in the final four rounds as he still isn’t showing his full potential in the race environment. The Italian got a good start in race one, but then got shuffled back in the opening laps and ended up in 10th place. Then in race two, he didn’t get out the gate so well and was only just inside the top 20 on lap one. He did manage to move up to 15th, but it still isn’t the level that he showed earlier on this year and that will be his goal starting next weekend in the sand of Arnhem.

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MX2 Race 1
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 35:22.999; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:03.047; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:08.062; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:08.659; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:09.401; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.886; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:13.502; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.045; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:37.757; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:00.877;

MX2 Race 2
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:10.519; 2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:04.133; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:08.637; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.038; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:15.259; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:19.230; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:20.941; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:41.869; 9. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:43.374; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:57.741; … 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:16.369;

MX2 Overall
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 41 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 35 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 33 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 30 p.; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 30 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 27 p.; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 17 p.; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 17 p.;

MX2 Championship Standings
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 754 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 714 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 695 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 599 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 558 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 504 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 497 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 366 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 357 p.; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 347 p.;

Tim Gajser 243 “Overall, a good comeback weekend, I rode a good pace for a lot of the races but there were obviously some moments that I wish had turned out differently. It’s a shame what happened in race one because I saw Isak make the mistake and I thought I could get past him, but I think he thought he could block me and we obviously collided. It would have been good to have got 35 minutes under my belt, as then in race two, I got a bit of arm pump and crashed in one of the corners after changing my lines. Like I said though, a lot of good points and I’m definitely ahead of where I thought I would be, so now we have to keep that momentum up in the Netherlands.”

Ruben Fernandez 70 "A solid day, although I’m not totally happy with the second moto especially. The fourth in race one was good, I kept things consistent with a good pace and I thought that I was in with a chance of a podium once again. However, I didn’t get the best start in race two and on this track that made things very difficult, but I got into eighth and that’s where I finished. I need to try to make sure that I have two good races across the weekend because there are a lot of top riders in this class and you can’t afford to let points slips through your fingers."

Valerio Lata 18 “Another weekend where I’m not really happy with how things went. The first moto was okay, because I got a good start and was able to maintain my position, and not having too many riders in front or behind me. The second moto wasn’t good enough though, as I didn’t get a good start and dropped a couple of spots early on. I made it back to 15th, but I’m still not satisfied and I know I have a lot of work to do before Arnhem next weekend.“

Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager MXGP “Mixed weekend across the three riders, with good and bad for all of them. I think the main thing is that all of them are healthy and riding and showing fighting spirit in their races. Ruben looked solid and we had some hope that he could make it up on the podium before race two, but it didn’t work out that way so we are going to try and help him to get over this feeling. And for Tim, it was great to have him and back and see him fighting at the front of the field in both races. The first moto had an unfortunate incident with another rider which thankfully ended up with no injuries, but the speed and starts were there. And the same in race two, good speed, just a small mistake and getting used to racing 30 minutes. Valerio is still struggling a bit to carry his one lap speed into the races, so we hope we can work on that and get him nearer the front in these last GPs of the year. There is definitely more to come from all three and we are excited to make that happen.”