Top fives for Fernandez and Gajser, in strong qualifying showing at the MXON
Ruben Fernandez (Spain) and Tim Gajser (Slovenia) helped their respective countries into the A-Final of the 2025 Motocross of Nations, held at Ironman Raceway in Indiana, USA. The Spaniard finished an excellent fourth, after having an awful gate-pick from the ballot, while Gajser continued his good run of form to finish fifth.
After receiving 36th gate-pick out of 37 countries, the Spanish riders knew it would be tough to come out of the first corner near the front.
Utilising the power of his Honda CRF450R, Ruben Fernandez swept round the first turn well inside the top 10, and by the time they crossed for the first complete lap, he was up into fifth. For a brief moment, after a to-and-fro battle, he was up into third place, but eventually he settled for fourth place, giving Spain an excellent platform to qualify in seventh position for the A-Final, where they’ll be trying their best to stand on the podium for first time in their nations’ history.
Finishing just behind his teammate, Gajser was a little bit frustrated a crash cost him a couple of spots, but he was still pleased with how well he diced through the field on the opening lap. The Slovenian narrowly avoided a crashing rider around the first turn, and was probably outside the top 10 initially.
However the five-time world champion showed his skill to move forward and get all the way up to third place by the end of lap one.
Unfortunately, a small mistake on lap three did lose him a couple of spots, so he crossed the line in fifth place, but that was still good enough for Slovenia to qualify for the A-Final in ninth position.
Reigning champions Australia once again included Honda HRC duo Jett and Hunter Lawrence, with the pair showing great form to finish first in the MXGP and Open classes on qualifying day to help Australia to first position and show that they are fully capable of retaining the Chamberlain Trophy after the three motos tomorrow. Jo Shimoda also played a crucial part in Japan qualifying, as his second-place in the Open class moved Japan up into 10th spot.
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MXGP Qualifying Race
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS, Honda), 24:12.424
2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:08.277
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.474
4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:19.399
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:23.550
6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:29.282
7. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:37.641
8. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Ducati), +0:46.545
9. Eli Tomac (USA, Yamaha), +0:49.904
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +1:02.833
11. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:10.936
12. Enzo Lopes (BRA, Yamaha), +1:18.073
13. Josh Gilbert (GBR, Honda), +1:29.787
14. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), +1:39.447
15. Hakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), +1:53.499
16. Jess Pettis (CAN, Yamaha), +2:00.928
17. Anthony Rodriguez (VEN, KTM), +2:02.731
18. Saad Soulimani (MAR, TM), +2:03.783
19. Yuki Okura (JPN, Honda), +2:05.190
20. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, Husqvarna), +2:11.111
MX2 Qualifying Race
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 24:23.950
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:02.891
3. Justin Cooper (USA, Yamaha), +0:05.097
4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:36.448
5. Kyle Webster (AUS, Honda), +0:40.205
6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:49.999
7. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:51.363
8. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:52.036
9. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:54.303
10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:55.143
11. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +1:01.689
12. Albin Gerhardsson (SWE, Husqvarna), +1:43.115
13. Stav Orland (ISR, Yamaha), +1:44.383
14. Soya Nakajima (JPN, Yamaha), +1:45.160
15. Nico Greutmann (SUI, Husqvarna), +1:45.683
16. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:50.653
17. Sebastien Racine (CAN, Yamaha), +1:51.144
18. Bernardo Tiburcio (BRA, Honda), +1:57.162
19. Pelle Gundersen (NOR, Husqvarna), +2:08.894
20. Saku Mansikkamäki (FIN, KTM), +2:10.447
21. Jaka Peklaj (SLO, Husqvarna), +2:10.826
Open Qualifying Race
1. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), 24:36.503
2. Jo Shimoda (JPN, Honda), +0:08.266
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:14.614
4. RJ Hampshire (USA, Husqvarna), +0:18.703
5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:22.012
6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:26.542
7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:28.526
8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:35.766
9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:39.062
10. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:42.545
11. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:43.103
12. Harri Kullas (EST, Yamaha), +0:46.243
13. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +0:58.290
14. Lorenzo Locurcio (VEN, GASGAS), +1:00.098
15. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Triumph), +1:02.864
16. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Honda), +1:06.004
17. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), +1:12.713
18. Fabio Santos (BRA, Yamaha), +1:24.137
19. Cameron Anthony Durow (RSA, KTM), +1:28.292
20. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:31.788
Nations Qualification
1. Australia – 2pts
2. Netherlands – 5
3. Belgium – 6
4. Germany – 6
5. USA – 7
6. France – 10
7. Spain – 11
8. Italy – 14
9. Slovenia – 15
10. Japan – 16
11. Latvia – 18
12. Switzerland – 18
13. Sweden – 19
14. South Africa – 25
15. Norway – 28
16. Great Britain – 29
17. Brazil – 30
18. Venezuela – 31
19. Denmark – 31
*Bold denotes Honda HRC MXGP
*Italics denotes Honda HRC USA
Tim Gajser 243
It was a good day, and I’ve really enjoyed myself here in America. They have done a great job with the track, because I think every rider has liked riding here. It got quite rough towards the end of the day and I think they’ll fix it up for tomorrow and then leave it and that’ll really be a good test. I’m happy with my riding and I’m really pleased with how well all three of us did for Slovenia in qualifying. I’m excited for tomorrow and it’s really been fun meeting so many of the fans here!
Ruben Fernandez 70
I loved the track, and it is great to finish the season here. I think Spain has done a great job so far and all three of us are excited to go out there tomorrow and try and finish on the podium. We are enjoying ourselves a lot, and we have had a lot of fans come up to us and wish us well, so that is cool and it has just been a really fun atmosphere so far.
Big credit to the team for all their work, and thanks to all the Honda USA guys for their hospitality Tim and Ruben have done well so far, finishing fifth and fourth and helping their countries into the A-Final, and together with Japan and Australia, Honda is showing everyone how good they are. Now we are focusing on tomorrow and making sure the final day of this 2025 season is a good one.