Ruben Fernandez might be the longest standing rider in the HRC PETRONAS team, but it would be easy to miss him with the star-power of Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle. That doesn’t mean the Spaniard is forgotten in amongst the red walls of Honda, in fact, his position in the team is very much respected and admired.

Photo Bavo Swijgers

Always a friendly smile, always working hard and always ready to do whatever is possible to put the team performance in first place. Fernandez, who started the season in Argentina with a sixth place in the Saturday qualifier in Bariloche, and rounding out the weekend with 10-5 score, he lays in eight place in the MXGP standings, with 32 points, some 18 points back from his team-mate, and GP legend, Herlings.

Last year in Cozar, which was also the second round of the championship, but held in mud, Fernandez finished fourth overall with 2-12 and then in Lugo, another home race for the Honda man, he went with 3-4 for third overall, so he has plenty to be confident entering this weekends home GP.

On his pre-season

I’ve had a really good preseason and was really excited to get down to Argentina and start this campaign. Obviously the first two rounds are in Spanish-speaking countries so that’s always a nice boost, so I’m confident that I can start off strongly and just keep that going. Last year I was consistent, but not on the podium as much as I would have liked, so now the goal is to just really aim for the top three and make another step forward.

His Time With HRC

I think that it might be the fourth season on the—the team HRC. So yeah, it’s been a long journey but very enjoyable as well. Obviously last season was okay but I still wasn’t really satisfied with it, you know I think I’m capable of more and I definitely want more, so this season I’ve been changing some stuff on my preparation, I’ve been training at home, I have a new training mechanic and a lot of things have changed, new bike as well. We just came out of the first test with the team and a lot of improvements have been made there, so yeah feeling confident, feeling motivated, feeling happy which I think is an important part of the job, so, definitely looking forward to this season and to see how it develops.

Heading Into His Home GP

I wasn’t completely satisfied with my performance in Argentina, but there were some positives, especially in the second moto – both before and after the restart. Now the aim is to build upon those positives and get myself battling with the top guys in Andalucia, which of course is a home GP for me. I haven’t ridden there before, but being Spanish, I know I’ll have a lot of support and that is always a cool thing and something I look forward to.

Argentina 10-5 Performance

I felt the second moto was a lot better than the first one, and it was a shame we had a red flag because I was in second before we had to line-up again. Still, I felt my riding was good and it is nice to have a positive feeling. I think I showed my speed and I feel like I have to more to come and now we head to Spain and I’m excited for that because it is a home GP. I was always excited to go to Argentina, even though I have had good and bad memories there. I always say it is like a home away from home, with all the Spanish-speaking fans there and just a similar vibe to being in Spain. It is a long way to come but I enjoy it, and I was really excited to get this season started.

Saturday Qualification in Argentina

Solid start, but not as good as I truly would have liked. Sixth is okay but it was a tough moto out there on a tricky track. I really want to do well here for all my fans, and for the team so tomorrow I will be aiming to get myself further up the field and hopefully battling for a podium. Sunday is a new day, and I will be very motivated to improve.