The 2023 MXGP season began with Ruben Fernández taking centre stage, especially for Honda in the absence of Tim Gajser, the previous year’s world champion. However, the rider, who took on that responsibility without problems, went from winning one round to picking up zero points in the next.
Looking back on the first two rounds of the year, in a conversation with the team on his YouTube channel, the spaniard recalled how the championship kicked off in Argentina: ‘I didn’t feel any pressure being the only rider in Team HRC, as Tim was injured. I took it as always: to arrive at the races to do my best, to put in the best performance possible and this time was no different. I felt good going into the first round and I knew I could do well there and even fight for the win. It was with that mentality that I went and it went well, exactly like that and it was all very normal, let’s say‘.
After the success in the opening round of the championship, the result was completely the opposite in Italy:
– In the second round in Riola Sardo I knew it was going to be difficult, there’s very deep sand, the dunes. I wasn’t riding too badly, let’s put it that way, and on Friday I felt I was at a good level but I had a lot of crashes, especially in the morning and I also crashed on the first lap of both heats and that ruined my GP, and I was disappointed: coming from a win to not get any points in my second GP.