Behind The Gate – The Interviews: Ruben Fernandez

Our Behind The Gate series on MXGP-TV.com is designed to give fans a deeper look into the world of MXGP, meeting the characters that make the paddock what it is and revealing the personalities behind the athletes that give all they have towards attaining success on track. 

While the programme is full of insight, incredible action videography, and deep analysis of each Grand Prix, it would be impossible to show the complete interviews with riders who give up some of their free time on a Friday to come and talk to us.  A lot of these interviews reveal an even deeper look into their mindsets and backgrounds, so for 2026 we will be featuring the full transcript of the conversations we have with the stars of our sport.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do in the studio.

For Episode Three, “Ruling The Waves”, we followed Ruben Fernandez at his home GP for this year, the MXGP of Andalucia, and he was interviewed on the Friday before the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS, at our mobile studio on the edge of the circuit at Frauenfeld.  Ruben finished 11^th overall at Almonte, with 12-11 finishes while suffering with a stomach bug. Here’s what he had to say:

 

BTG: At the MXGP of Andalucia, did you know of the track before the weekend, or was it something you knew about?  Did you know it was sandy, or were you surprised when you saw it?

RF70: Yeah, I didn't know anything about the track, I had never raced there, it was my first time actually.  I only saw a few videos on the internet, on social media and stuff. Especially, I heard there was a race last year, they did a race.  It wasn’t a part of a Championship, it was just one international race, and a lot of Spanish guys were riding there. Like I said, I only saw a few videos and I hear it was a little bit sandy, which was strange because we are not used to sand tracks, or even less sand races, in Spain.  But yeah, I thought it was going to be a nice track and it actually was, something different to what we are used to in Spain.

 

BTG:  I mean, we can't ignore the fact that, yeah, you had physical problems at Almonte, so can you please describe what your problems were, how tough was it for you, and the fact that this hit you at your home GP, when everything is so busy for you, how bad was that all for you?

RF70:  Yeah, it was a really difficult weekend for me, it was really, really tough, being sick and I had some problems with the stomach, had to go to the toilet a lot and stuff like that.  I really had a bad time going through the weekend, especially because, you know, racing in Spain you have your home GP and you want to do good! You want to show a good level there in front of all the Spanish fans, and you also want to pay attention to all of the people that come to see you, which I did as much as possible, but the energy levels were really low.  I even struggled to do the GoPro Lap, I was even suffering there.  The fever and stuff didn't really allow me to be on my maximum potential, let's say, but yeah, like I said, you know, I just got to do the best with the situation I had, and that's what we did.  You know, I did the maximum I could, but yeah, of course, obviously I had a bad time and I suffered a lot during the weekend. 

 

BTG:  Just talk us through the GoPro lap if you could please.  I mean, you've done these a few times now, do you normally enjoy doing them?  Please tell us what it's normally like to do the GoPro Lap, and then how much worse was it for you because of your issues this time?

RF70: Yeah, I mean, it's normally not a problem, you know, to do a GoPro lap, it's just one extra lap for the camera.  It's never a problem, you know, you just end the Free Practice and you go straight there and do one, maybe two laps and that's it.  This time, you know, I was struggling in the Free Practice already and then I had to stop to do the GoPro lap.  You know, my head was kind of turning a little bit, so I just really wanted to take my helmet off and go and take some rest under the tent of the team.  It was not ideal, but you know, it's just something quick actually.  I got through it, that's the main thing.

 

BTG:  We can only thank you so much for that, as well! So then in the races, race one you got caught up in the start, the first corner crash?  What happened there from your side?  What did you see?

RF70: Yeah, I was struggling every time I went out on track, so my times in practice were not the best, they were not ideal, so I was already behind on the start gate, I didn't really have a great position.  So I got a bad start, and then when a rider crashed in front of me, I just couldn't avoid his bike so I had to crash as well with him, and yeah it was also not ideal, because you know, I didn't have energy at all.  So, I had to use it ongoing, as much as possible to get to the front and passing all the riders. It was not ideal for me in that situation but I had to get the best out of the situation.

 

BTG:  Nice one, and when you got to the second race, you got to 11th, so you got through the race, how was the second race for you?

RF70: The second race was better, I had a better start and I was riding with some of the guys in front and actually it was an OK sensation, but I think I came up to seventh, and when I was riding there, I think with a few laps to go, I just couldn't hang up there.  I dropped positions back to eleventh, I think.  I had a group of riders behind me, four riders, and the pack was quite close, one from each other, and I just couldn't fight with them so yeah, I was going well until the last five minutes.  I couldn't give any more so I had to drop positions.  I knew it was a tough weekend for me, so I just wanted to take as many points as I could, and I didn't want to take any risk because actually my condition was not the best.

 

BTG: Could you please explain a little bit more, what it's like to actually ride a bike at this level of competition, when you are sick like you were in Spain.

RF70: Yeah, you can imagine it's not ideal. I think we can all agree, Motocross is one of the toughest sports, maybe on Earth, and actually it takes a lot of work and a lot of physical condition.  So, when you are not 100%, especially when you have to race against other riders that are healthy, you know already before the beginning that you are not well.  So already in your head, you know, it's a lot going on.  Especially when you are not healthy and you're feeling bad, you go on the bike and your head is not on the track.  When I jumped into Free Practice, like I didn't know what I was doing really, then later during the day I got to feel a little bit better, but the beginning on Saturday especially, I was very lost on track. My head was not there also, because physically I was not feeling well, and you know it's tough, just to jump on the bike is tough, but even more to compete on a high level. So yeah, it's what it is, when it’s like that you just gotta take what you can and then move onto the next one. 

 

BTG: So how bad were the pants afterwards?

RF70: (Laughs) No the pants were good, just had to be quick going to the toilet, that's all.  I kept it cool.

 

BTG:  How impressed were you with the fans in Almonte?  I mean, there was such a good atmosphere there, how was it for you as a Spanish rider with the fans?  Did you feel the support and, with the event in general, what did you think of it?

RF70:  Yeah, I knew there was going to be a lot of people going there.  You know, in the south of Spain, I believe the people are a little bit more passionate, let's say?  And I heard there was going to be a lot of people there.  They sell a lot of tickets, I think.  Of course, it was going to be full and actually it was, a lot of people there.  Actually, I didn't get to enjoy it as much.  I didn't get to realise it at all because a lot of stuff was going on during the weekend.  Of course, I felt the support from the people and the fans, but it was difficult for me to... get to enjoy it, yeah. 

 

BTG:  This year the team had big changes, obviously the bike looks massively different, you've got the new big sponsors on board and of course, two big riders have joined you, you're used to running with Tim but now you have Jeffrey and Tom, what's it like for you as the guy that's staying there with all these changes, and do you think it's going to be tough to get yourself to a higher level amongst those guys?

RF70: I don't think anything has changed, really.  I used to be with Tim, he's obviously a high-class rider.  So yeah, it's nothing different.  At the end I just got to focus on myself.  I just try to keep on doing that.  Of course, a lot of change has been made on the team, new sponsors as well, and a lot of things going on.  Bike has changed, everything has changed.  Just trying to focus on myself and just trying to build from here.  We just started this season and you know, the second round in Spain I was also sick, so that was not ideal to build on.  But yeah, hopefully this weekend I can start getting myself into a better position, and each of us coming better and better. 

 

Since the interview: Ruben did indeed get better results in Switzerland, taking sixth overall with third in race one and tenth in race two. He was then fifth overall in Sardegna and eighth in Trentino, and he currently sits in seventh place in the MXGP World Championship.