Loket, Czech Republic is host to round 14 of the 2025 MXGP World Championship and starts a run of the last four mainland European races on the calendar. Lommel quickly follows next weekend, then Sweden and the Netherlands follow one after a one week break, before the final run of overseas races in Turkey, China and Australia.

It is a tough period, but one the riders are used to and prepared for as they have to negotiate all manner of terrain in this last quarter of the season. The hard-pack, gravel, nature of the Loket hills is the next challenge and although Fernandez doesn’t favour this venue, he still hopes to do well and get the momentum back on his side as he tries to finish in third place in the MXGP standings.

Also looking to get back into the higher rankings is Valerio Lata, who had a tough weekend in Finland last time out. The Italian should feel much more comfortable on the rocky hillsides of the Czech Republic though, and given a weekend off to recuperate, the #18 will be highly motivated to improve upon his season-best finish of fourth overall, which he achieved in Germany a few rounds ago.

Unfortunately, Tim Gajser isn’t quite ready to rejoin the series as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery. The Slovenian is pounding out laps at his Tiga243land track as he builds himself up to race fitness, so that when he does return, he is 100% ready to take on the gruelling demands of the world motocross championship.

Ruben Fernandez: Motocross is such an up and down sport, where you really have to have everything go right all the time. I was feeling good in Finland and in a good position, especially after the first moto and things just went wrong from the first lap onwards. Still, I’m healthy and motivated to put things right in Loket, which although isn’t my favourite track, is still a place I feel I can get some good results.

Valerio Lata: I’ve only ever raced here on small bikes, so this will be a new experience for me to race in Loket on the Honda CRF250R. Things definitely didn’t go well in Finland, but I’ve been working hard in this weekend off to improve and I believe that Loket will suit me better and give me a chance to show my real speed. There is work to be done afterwards because we have some sand races coming up, but I am focused on this weekend and getting back towards the top five.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager - MXGP: It’s been a weekend off from the races, but the work never stops. We’ve been very busy since Finland and are excited to get to Loket and get back to having some gate-drops. Unfortunately it seems as if we’ll be back to dealing with some rain but fingers crossed it doesn’t affect the track too much and we can have a positive weekend for both Ruben and Valerio.