MXGP riders Ruben Fernandez and Tim Gajser will be joined inside the Team HRC MXGP camp by Team Australia’s Jett and Hunter Lawrence as the four riders will be riding their respective Honda machinery at the 2023 Motocross of Nations, held at the epic Ernee track in France.
Words & Images: Team Honda HRC
Fernandez and Gajser finished the 2023 season off strongly with the #70 getting on the podium in Maggiora at the penultimate round in Italy, while the #243 was able to win in Turkey and at the season-finale in Matterley Basin, Great Britain last time out so both riders will be hoping for one more strong outing at this prestigious event.
Riding in the MXGP class, Fernandez is part of a very strong Spanish trio that will have their eyes set on the Chamberlain Trophy, and with five top-six race finishes in a row, he is peaking at just the right time to help lead the team for what could be a historic weekend for the nation.
While Slovenia won’t likely be challenging for overall honours, Gajser would love to repeat his achievement from the 2019 MXON, when he won the MXGP class with one-two scores, and having won two of the last three GPs, that is certainly a distinct possibility for the five-time world champion.
Also pitting out of the Team HRC MXGP structure will be the Team Honda HRC duo of Jett and Hunter Lawrence, who will be looking to make history and lead Australia to its first ever victory. The brothers have had an extremely successful year and victory in France would cap off a remarkable 2023 for the prodigious youngsters. They will bring with them key members from the American-based Honda HRC team, who will work alongside the MXGP members for this unique event.
Each class will have qualification races which will take place on the Saturday, with the best countries qualifying for the three Sunday motos, where the classes will each run in two of the races. The lowest five scores from the three riders will then decide the winners of the Chamberlain Trophy, in front of what should be an epic crowd in the northern region of France.
Ruben Fernandez:
I’m really looking forward to this event and representing Team Spain. We have a strong team that I believe can challenge for the Chamberlain Trophy, and I’m excited to go out there and try and make that happen. I finished the MXGP season off well in Maggiora and Matterley and this would be the perfect ending for 2023 and it’d be great to be up on that podium one more time.
Tim Gajser:
It’s been a few years since I was able to race this event so I’m excited to go out there and ride for Team Slovenia. I think we have a good team and after winning in Great Britain, I really want to keep that form going by putting in a strong weekend of races in Ernee, France. It should be a really good atmosphere with a massive crowd so I’m excited to ride my Honda CRF450R for this last event in 2023.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas (HRC General Manager – MXGP):
The Motocross of Nations is always a special event and a nice race for everyone involved. It is good that we have Tim and Ruben racing so everyone will be busy, and we are also making room for Team Australia, which just adds to the atmosphere. There will be a few people coming across from Team Honda HRC in America to help their riders, so we will try to be perfect hosts and make sure they have everything they need. It will be good to see so many Honda CRF450Rs challenging for wins and putting on a strong showing at this final event of the season.
