Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser put in a strong second-place finish in race two, to get himself onto the MXGP of Sardegna podium, and continue his excellent start to this 2025 world motocross championship season.

Both motos, the #243 didn’t get the best of starts as he had to avoid fallen rivals, but he made his characteristic first-lap passes to put himself in a position to challenge for the top honours. In race one, he wasn’t able to find the rhythm on the deep-sand Riola Sardo circuit, and could only work his way into fifth position. This left him leaving a big effort in race two and that’s exactly what he was able to deliver, receiving the chequered flag just 0.6 seconds behind the winner. Overall though, third step on the podium and increasing his lead from 29 points to 34 points over the course of the weekend is what the Honda HRC rider is aiming for and he now heads to Trentino – his ‘home’ GP – full of confidence he can keep this podium streak going.

Alongside him Ruben Fernandez showed excellent speed in the sand to get sixth overall, which would have been even better had he not made a small mistake in race two. The Spaniard recovered really well though, moving up from 20^th to 11^th and showing real improvement in conditions that aren’t his favourite. This followed on from a third yesterday in the qualification race, and another good ride in race one, when the #70 worked his way through to a sixth-place finish. It was a weekend to be happy with and further confirmation that he is improving as an MXGP rider.

In the MX2 class, it wasn’t quite such a good weekend for the CRF250R duo of Ferruccio Zanchi and Valerio Lata. Both riders struggled out of the gate, and never really were able to match the speed of best performers and instead had to settle for positions around the top 10. It was a shame for the pair as they were expecting more from the weekend coming onto the island, but the leave for Trentino fit and healthy and motivated to put things right for what should be an exciting home GP next week.

MX2 Race 1
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:07.830; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:01.809; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:08.105; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:10.914; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:29.939; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:30.995; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:50.718; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:51.758; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:12.555; 10. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +1:13.136; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:14.068; 12. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:16.537;

MX2 Race 2
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 34:51.084; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:03.601; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:07.124; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:11.509; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:22.341; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:25.973; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:29.478; 8. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +0:53.423; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:02.548; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:07.145; 11. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +1:08.682; 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:13.792;

MX2 GP Classification
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 50 points; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 42 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), 21 p.; 11. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 20 p.; 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 19 p.; 

MX2 Championship
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 185 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 177 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 175 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 171 p.; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 143 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 128 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 118 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 115 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 97 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 84 p.;

Tim Gajser 243 “After the first moto, when I just didn’t find a good rhythm and struggled to really attack the track, I felt much better in race two and I think it showed. I didn’t get a good start in either race and that doesn’t help, but I made some good passes and had a good second moto for a solid GP. I am in a good position in the championship, and I’m excited to head to Trentino for what should be a very cool event.”

Ruben Fernandez 70 "I think it was really close to being a good weekend here, but this track is very difficult to race without making any mistakes and unfortunately I made one in the second moto and I had to fight back from 20th all the way to 11th. Still, to go three-six-eleven across the three races is a good step and I think I proved to people that I have speed in the sand, and I’m proud of my efforts. I know there is more to come, and I think we’re going to be racing at some tracks I like soon, so I’m excited to progress even further in the coming weeks."

Valerio Lata 18 “I hoped that my first race in the sand with the team would go better, but unfortunately I never really felt a good rhythm on this track and here in Riola, that is really important. The only good thing is that I’m fit and healthy and got through both races without any major mistakes, however my speed wasn’t good enough and that’s what I definitely need to work on.“

Ferruccio Zanchi 73 “I had a good start in race one, but then crashed in the first turn so I had to come through the pack. I started off well, picking off some riders but I couldn’t keep the momentum and in the end I only came 12th. Then in race two I got a horrible start and was once again last so I had to do the same thing. It went a bit better as I finished 10th but I’m not really happy with how this weekend went and it gives me a to work on for the future sand rounds because that isn’t the level I want to be at.“

Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager MXGP “We definitely had a bit of adversity this weekend, on a track that really finds out any weaknesses you have. Tim showed in the second race his true potential and keeps doing what we need of him in the championship race. Ruben had good speed and we are very pleased to see him coming through the field in both races. The two youngsters in MX2 didn’t have the best weekend but that happens sometimes and the important thing is that they bounce back from this and show everyone in Trentino what they are really capable of. Everyone is really looking forward to Trentino as it is a home GP for the team, Ferruccio, Valerio and of course Tim, with all the Slovenian support coming over the border. It’ll be busy, but it’ll be a great atmosphere and we all can’t wait to get going again.”