See the move that got a flying Ruben Fernandez second overall but left René Hofer on the deck on the last lap of moto two in Russia! Fernandez was the story of MX2 with two superb performances on the 114 Honda team, showing he has upped his level this season and that Honda have their bikes sorted! Fernandez even give Vialle a run for his money on the opening lap as he tried to rattle the Frenchman – but even some aggressive moves failed to disrupt the defending world champion!
Replay⏪Drama on the final lap of the second MX2 race as Ruben Fernandez and Rene Hofer come together! #MXGPOrlyonok #MXGP #Motocross pic.twitter.com/RLzST4uYzN
— MXGP (@mxgp) June 14, 2021
Fernandez said: “I’m really happy, it’s my first ever podium. I had two good races, I had good starts. In the first one I tried to battle with Tom Vialle from the first laps but I started to make a few mistakes and had to take my own pace. I tried to make no more mistakes. The second race, I managed to get into first and had a good battle with Tom, later I made two mistakes in the same corner, then I struggled with my rhythm, got passed and then on the last lap I had to go for the pass on Rene for the second place on the podium, so I took my last chance. I’m really happy about the race. I can say I’m really happy. We [the team] have been putting in some work, overall the team is good, I’m really happy with the new bike”.
While Hofer commented: “Definitely a good start to the season. I wasn’t that far forward in the first moto but moved up from 11th to 6th on the first lap. I rode quite good in the first half of the race but then ran into some arm-pump and was holding on as much as I could for that 5th place. My riding wasn’t great but top five was OK. A holeshot in the second moto! But a little mistake meant I went back to third. I could keep up with Fernandez quite well until he crashed. I was making time on Tom, so the middle of the race was really good. Some small errors meant Boisrame could get me, and then I went down on the last lap with Fernandez. A shame but I’m still happy to finish top five in the first GP. A lot of chances still remain to get on that podium.”