Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser kicked off his 2025 MXGP campaign with two solid motos, backing up his third yesterday with another pair of thirds today, for third step on the MXGP of Argentina podium.

Taking place for the first time at a new venue in Cordoba, rain hit the track hard overnight in a heavy thunderstorm, which persisted during the morning, stopping just before the MXGP riders took to the track for the first moto. Having third gate-pick, Gajser was well-placed to try and challenge the top two, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to navigate the first few turns as well as he normally does and had to fight his way through the field in both motos. Each time he did so, the leader(s) had already pulled away by the time he was in third and despite closing right up in the final stages, he had to settle for forty points from today’s proceedings.

Fellow Honda CRF450R rider Ruben Fernandez also struggled to get out of the gate well, getting caught up with a rider in the second turn in the second race and only being able to remount in dead last. The Spaniard did well to charge through to 13^th place on a track that wasn’t easy to pass on, salvaging 10^th overall after a solid ninth in the first moto. He’ll be hoping to put on a better showing at his home GP in Cozar, Spain next time out.

In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata began his Honda career with decent opener, riding better than his results suggest. A seventh in race one, when the track was still muddy was a good beginning, and then in race two he roared out of the gate on his Honda CRF250R to battle inside the top two for the first five laps. He wasn’t able to hold onto that position and slipped down the field, but ninth overall is still a nice debut for the Italian rookie.

After having to pullout of the MX2 qualification race yesterday, Ferruccio Zanchi was always going to struggle to make an impact in today’s races purely because of the last gate-pick that he was having to deal with. However, in both races he fought hard for the duration of both races, making a number of passes – especially in race one – to finish the day 16^th overall after a pair of 15^th place finishes.

There is definitely more to come from all four riders and they’ll be given the opportunity to prove that on March 15-16 when the second round of the 2025 MXGP World Championships take place in Cozar, Spain, a couple of hours south-east of Madrid.

Tim Gajser 243 “Solid day, and we leave Argentina healthy which is the main goal. I felt I had the speed of the top two, but I couldn’t get the starts and battle up front with them. By the time I got into the podium spots in both races, the leader had gone so it hard to try and catch them. Still, I’m happy with the weekend and they did a very good job with the track here and even with all the rain, it was still a fun circuit.”

Ruben Fernandez 70 "Not the day I was hoping for really, but I tried to come through and score as many points as possible in that second moto. I was right at the back of the field, and I think 30th after the first lap so to get to 13th is a good result, even if I wanted more before we came here. I know there is more to come and I will continue to fight to get nearer to those podium spots. Next up is Cozar, which is another Spanish-speaking round, so I’m happy to see all my fans there and hopefully get some better results."

Valerio Lata 18 “It felt really good to be racing in second place in that second moto. It is confirmation that I am on the right path and that I am already feeling good with my Honda CRF250R. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay there for the whole moto, but I am staying positive and this was still a very big step for my first round with Honda HRC. Argentina has been a great experience and I look forward to many more this season.“

Ferruccio Zanchi 73 “Not the weekend I wanted, as nothing seemed to go my way. However, I am still fit and healthy and I know that things will go better in the future. Having last gate-pick really made things difficult and then in the first race I really messed up my start so I was dead last and I was able to come back to 15th. Then in the second race, I wasn’t able to push on as much as I would have liked, despite a much better start. Overall, I know that I need to do better on the Saturday and then that’ll give me a fighting chance to fight with the top guys on the Sunday.“

Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager MXGP “A new circuit always brings new challenges, but I think everyone in the team raised their game and we coped with everything over the course of the weekend, even the change in the weather. I think each of the four riders know that they can get better results, and will be thinking about that on the long-flight home. There were some positives though, and we will pack up here and make sure we’re ready to fight once again in the second round in Spain in a couple of weeks’ time.”