The Motocross World Championships reached the halfway stage in Italy at the weekend, with the 10th round of 20 at Maggiora Park, and there Tim Gajser extended his MXGP class lead.
By winning the qualification race on Saturday and then going first and second in his two races on Sunday, Team HRC team rider Gajser took his second overall win of the season.
After a rain-hit track victory in qualification on the Saturday, the track crew did a tremendous job to get the circuit ready for the two motos on Sunday (Monday morning NZ time), where Gajser also showed his prowess on a dry, rutted track to take the GP overall.
A huge rainstorm hit the circuit at around 7pm on Saturday evening, which threatened the Sunday timetable, but by the time the riders hit the circuit for their sighting lap before moto one, everything was in fine working order.
Getting his customary start inside the top five, the Slovenian made a few quick passes to get his way into second, before he stalked the leader for the rest of the first lap. As they approached the finish line, he made his move into first place and didn’t look back.
He had some pressure from behind, but he didn’t let it phase him and instead took an impressive race win to move a further three points ahead in the title race.
Knowing that starts were critical on this Maggiora track, the Honda rider took the second moto holeshot and avoided all the chaos behind him.
With second-place close behind, the pair pulled away from the rest of the field and had their own private duel for the fans to saviour.
Unfortunately, just as it looked like Gajser had weathered the storm, he made a small mistake in a banked corner and had to remount in second place.
Knowing that it would still be good enough for first overall and, knowing he had almost a 40 second buffer to third place, he cruised home.
These one-two results, combined with the win in the qualification race the day before means that he now reaches the halfway point of the series with an imposing 34-point lead over his nearest challenger, GASGAS rider and defending world champion Jorge Prado.
Spain’s Prado finished sixth in the qualification race on Saturday and then runner-up and an unaccustomed 24th (after crashing and getting injured soon after the start, before eventually withdrawing from the race) on Sunday’s main race day at Maggiora, good enough only for 10th overall for the weekend, a major set-back for the multi champion.
It has been a great run of form for Gajser and he now heads to Indonesia for the Lombok double-header full of confidence and looking to increase that gap even further, in a country that he enjoys visiting, even if the actual Lombok circuit will be a new experience for the five-time world champion.
“It is great to win another GP and put in three good races,” said Gajser afterwards.
“I’m a little bit disappointed to have that small tip-over otherwise I’d have gone one-one-one and that would have really been great, but still, I can’t complain about how this weekend went.
“Everyone in the whole of Team HRC works so hard and they do it for days like this so a big thanks to everyone and now we have a weekend off before going to Indonesia which I think is an important couple of rounds for the series. I am looking forward to them because they will also be at a new track for me, and that is always nice.”
Photo courtesy HRC Honda
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RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10:
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 33:55.146; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:01.374; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:02.321; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:29.700; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:34.573; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:51.398; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:59.333; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:04.229; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:06.397; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:07.617.
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:14.215; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:11.833; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:53.624; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:04.318; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +1:05.932; 6. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:06.716; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:15.299; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:19.816; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:22.262; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +1:33.866.
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 36 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 33 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 25 p.; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 23 p.; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 22 p.
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 511 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 477 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 440 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 339 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 332 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 302 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 213 p.; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 206 p.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 34:57.023; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:06.951; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:14.257; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:21.726; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +0:32.473; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:41.740; 7. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:57.784; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:59.669; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:00.960; 10. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:02.160.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34:07.146; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:02.064; 3. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +0:04.869; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:05.400; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:06.014; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:07.992; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:14.858; 8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:35.888; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:36.190; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:54.822.
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 43 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 35 p.; 6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 33 p.; 7. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 27 p.; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 23 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 22 p.
MX2 – World Championship Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 473 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 425 p.; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 421 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 394 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 368 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 314 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 300 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 278 p.; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 197 p.