With a stunning second moto victory, Ruben Fernandez took the overall win at the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina, sparking scenes of delight as he crossed the line in what was his debut ride for Team HRC.
The Villa La Angostura track is well-known as being one of the best venues on the world championship calendar and with a massive Spanish-speaking fanbase in attendance, Fernandez had plenty of support throughout this opening weekend of the season.
Starting with the Saturday practice sessions, the #70 showed he was right up there with the top guys, always challenging the top five and putting himself in a strong position when they lined up for the qualification race, which this year will count for points in the championship standings, but not the GP overall. First place receives 10 points, second place nine and then that continues all the way down to 10th place gaining one point, so with a solid fourth place, he gained seven points and set himself up nicely for the Sunday motos.
In race one, a great start meant he swept into the lead around the first corner, much to the delight of the Argentinian supporters. Keeping a good pace, he led for five laps before the second-placed rider made an impressive pass. Still, he kept with him and was riding well and looking good for a podium spot before a small mistake dropped him down to fifth near the end.
Knowing that he’d have to ride well to even get himself onto the podium, the Honda CRF450R once again showed its power as Fernandez took the lead after the first turn. This time, there he had no intention of relinquishing that lead and instead he went about his moto with 30 minutes of flawless riding. It was a very impressive performance and one that fully deserved to give him his first ever MXGP race win, and his first ever GP overall. It was a proud moment for the Spaniard, and one that he will never forget, and he now heads to Sardinia in a couple of weeks’ time looking to continue his good form in the deep sand of Riola Sardo on March 25-26.
Ruben Fernandez 70
It is unbelievable to have won this race and overall. When they told me I had won the GP, it was crazy, especially after the crash in race one when I was in second. It has been a long journey to get here, and I couldn’t be happier with how things have gone. It has been great working with all of Team HRC and it feels like a family already and to get all their support throughout means a lot to me. Winning the GP is a special feeling and I am really just so happy.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
What a start to Ruben’s time with Team HRC! He has worked so hard over the winter to be in this position so he deserves a lot of credit, and then to put it together here is amazing. He certainly didn’t make it easy after race one, but he came out and rode flawlessly in race two, taking the victory and the overall. It was just such an impressive performance, and a great way to start his year and a great moment for the whole team who all work so hard to make moments like this possible.
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 PRADO GARCIA Jorge 61 SPA 25 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas 34:24.711
2 FEBVRE Romain 3 FRA 22 Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki 0:04.320
3 RENAUX Maxime 959 FRA 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:06.803
4 HERLINGS Jeffrey 84 NDL 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0:08.753
5 FERNANDEZ Ruben 70 SPA 16 Team HRC - MXGP Honda 0:10.511
6 JONASS Pauls 41 LAT 15 Standing Construct Honda MXGP Honda 0:15.396
7 COLDENHOFF Glenn 259 NDL 14 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:17.925
8 VAN DONINCK Brent 32 BEL 13 JM Honda Racing Honda 0:32.878
9 FORATO Alberto 303 ITA 12 SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery KTM 0:34.810
10 GUADAGNINI Mattia 101 ITA 11 Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii Husqvarna 0:37.044
11 VLAANDEREN Calvin 10 NDL 10 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha 0:40.176
12 WATSON Ben 919 GBR 9 MRT Racing Team Beta Beta 0:42.014
13 PATUREL Benoit 6 FRA 8 Wildcard Rider Yamaha 0:53.112
14 GUILLOD Valentin 92 SWI 7 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz Honda 1:02.254
15 ÖSTLUND Alvin 161 SWE 6 JWR Honda Racing Honda 1:25.482
16 BOGERS Brian 189 NDL 5 Standing Construct Honda MXGP Honda 1:28.345
17 SEEWER Jeremy 91 SWI 4 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 1 Lap
18 POLI Joaquin 179 ARG 3 Wildcard Rider Honda 1 Lap
19 ROOSIORG Hardi 75 EST 2 JWR Honda Racing Honda 1 Lap
20 VAN BERKEL Lars 107 NDL 1 Wildcard Rider Honda 1 Lap
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 FERNANDEZ Ruben 70 SPA 25 Team HRC - MXGP Honda 34:43.013
2 HERLINGS Jeffrey 84 NDL 22 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0:07.320
3 SEEWER Jeremy 91 SWI 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:09.699
4 JONASS Pauls 41 LAT 18 Standing Construct Honda MXGP Honda 0:22.775
5 FEBVRE Romain 3 FRA 16 Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki 0:28.978
6 PRADO GARCIA Jorge 61 SPA 15 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas 0:30.167
7 BOGERS Brian 189 NDL 14 Standing Construct Honda MXGP Honda 0:31.994
8 GUADAGNINI Mattia 101 ITA 13 Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii Husqvarna 0:33.420
9 RENAUX Maxime 959 FRA 12 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:43.957
10 VLAANDEREN Calvin 10 NDL 11 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha 0:45.954
11 PATUREL Benoit 6 FRA 10 Wildcard Rider Yamaha 0:52.519
12 GUILLOD Valentin 92 SWI 9 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz Honda 0:56.395
13 FORATO Alberto 303 ITA 8 SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery KTM 1:00.805
14 COLDENHOFF Glenn 259 NDL 7 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 1:10.273
15 WATSON Ben 919 GBR 6 MRT Racing Team Beta Beta 1:41.169
16 ÖSTLUND Alvin 161 SWE 5 JWR Honda Racing Honda 1:44.228
17 LUPINO Alessandro 77 ITA 4 MRT Racing Team Beta Beta 1 Lap
18 ROOSIORG Hardi 75 EST 3 JWR Honda Racing Honda 1 Lap
19 POLI Joaquin 179 ARG 2 Wildcard Rider Honda 1 Lap
20 POLI Augustin 198 ARG 1 Wildcard Rider Husqvarna 1 Lap
Championship Points (inc. Qualifying Race)
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 PRADO GARCIA Jorge 61 SPA Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas 50
2 FERNANDEZ Ruben 70 SPA Team HRC - MXGP Honda 48
3 FEBVRE Romain 3 FRA Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki 44
4 HERLINGS Jeffrey 84 NDL Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 41
5 RENAUX Maxime 959 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 40
6 JONASS Pauls 41 LAT Standing Construct Honda MXGP Honda 36
7 GUADAGNINI Mattia 101 ITA Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii Husqvarna 33
8 VLAANDEREN Calvin 10 NDL Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha 26
9 COLDENHOFF Glenn 259 NDL Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 25
10 SEEWER Jeremy 91 SWI Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
Honda Racing