2023 Season Review: Defending Champion Gajser Wins Two Rounds Despite Long Absence, Fernandez Fifth Overall

The 2023 Motocross World Championship (MXGP) consisted of 19 events / 38 races. Team HRC, Honda / HRC's factory team, kicked off the season with defending five-time champion Tim Gajser, and Ruben Fernandez, a young rider in his second premier class season. Gajser, however, had broken his right femur during the Italian Championships three weeks before the start of the season, requiring a long period of rehabilitation and training.

This season, the point system was changed to include qualifying races. Points earned in qualifying were added to the series ranking, and as before, the points total for each event was the sum of the points earned in the two races.

Fernandez Dominates Opening Round for First Premier Class Victory

In the season-opener in Argentina, Fernandez finished fourth in qualifying. In Race 1, he took the lead at the third turn, but then crashed and dropped back to fifth. He spent the last few laps chasing Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) to the finish line. In Race 2, he had a good start and took the lead mid-race, and with a flawless performance was able to pull away from the pack to win, his first overall win in his second year as a full-time MXGP class rider.

Fernandez steadily improved from Round 3, moving up from seventh in the ranking at Round 2 to fourth by Round 5. In addition, in the qualifying race for Round 5, he finished first to huge fanfare from the crowd.

Round 6 was held in Spain, Fernandez's home turf. He had a brilliant start in Race 2 at  the Arroyomolinos, and finished second, cheered on by his home crowd. Fernandez was third overall for the round.

In rounds 7 through 10, Fernandez struggled on a series of difficult courses, but he kept up his motivation, and in Round 11 Race 2 at Lombok, he overcame a fierce battle to move up from fourth to third in the points.

Gajser Returns, Wins Two Rounds in the Closing Stages

Gajser was back, beginning with Round 12 in the Czech Republic, and with Team HRC now having both its riders competing, Gajser put in a strong performance to finish in the top 10 in both races. In Round 16, the Netherlands, he finished fifth overall, showing that he is on the way to a full comeback.

In Round 17 in Turkey, Gajser got off to a good start and finished second in Race 1. In Race 2, he took the lead, and despite crashing once, was able to overtake the rest of the field to win the race and the first round since his return to fitness.

In Race 1 of the final round in Great Britain, Gajser chased down the leader from second place, took the lead with two laps to go, and won. In Race 2, he took the lead in the early stages and won by a comfortable margin of 6 seconds. He closed out the season with a perfect win, impressing everyone with his comeback.

 Fernandez continued to work hard in the second half of the season, staying within the top 10 overall despite tough tracks and unfortunate crashes. In the 18th round in Italy, he was back on the podium with a solid performance to take third place overall. In the final round in Great Britain, he finished third in Race 2. This season Fernandez was on the podium four times, starting with his victory in Argentina. He finished fifth in the overall ranking, a good result in his first year with the team.

Race Report

Rd.01 Argentina：Fabulous Fernandez wins opening round of the 2023 MXGP World Championship

Rd.02 Sardegna：Riola Sardo proves a tough test for Fernandez

Rd.03 Switzerland：Solid Sixth in Switzerland for Fernandez

Rd.04 Trentino：Fernandez close to Trentino podium

Rd.05 Portugal：Fernandez just misses out on Portuguese podium

Rd.06 Spain：Fernandez fights hard for home GP podium

Rd.07 France：Mature Fernandez maintains strong run with fourth in France

Rd.08 Latvia：Mixed results for Fernandez at a rain-hit MXGP of Latvia

Rd.09 Germany：Determined Fernandez gets deserved podium in Germany

Rd.10 Sumbawa：Fernandez fights back to sixth overall in Sumbawa-Indonesia

Rd.11 Lombok：Fifth for Fernandez after intense battles in Lombok

Rd.12 Czech Republic：Loket proves tough venue for Team HRC duo

Rd.13 Flanders：Brutal Lommel proves toughest test of the year for Team HRC

Rd.14 Finland：Gajser sixth, as Fernandez walks away from Finland

Rd.15 Sweden：Wet Uddevalla tests Team HRC

Rd.16 Netherlands：Best points haul for Gajser as Fernandez battles hard in Arnhem

Rd.17 Turkiye：Gajser victorious after amazing performance in Turkiye

Rd.18 Italy：Podium for Fernandez as Gajser comes close at the MXGP of Italy

Rd.19 Great Britain：Gajser dominates Great Britain, to end the 2023 MXGP season on a high

MXGP - Standings