MXGP
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put in two superb motos to take victory at the MXGP of Switzerland, scoring a maximum 50 points and increasing his lead from nine to 18 points, with three rounds remaining of the world motocross championship. It was the Honda CRF450R riders’ first one-one performance of the season and a timely one, given the fast-approaching end to this highly competitive 2024 series.
After a second place in yesterday’s qualification race, the #243 used this to his advantage to round the first corner of each moto inside the top 10, on what ended up being a much ruttier and more technical track due to overnight rain. From there, he made a number of quick passes on lap one, so that by the time they crossed the line for the first time, he was already into the lead. It was exactly what he needed to do with his competition right behind him, but they ended up having no match for the speed the Slovenian was able to show, and he pulled out a gap very quickly and controlled the moto, receiving the chequered flag 14 seconds ahead.
Knowing the job was only half done, and that every point counts at this stage, he tried his best to replicate the same in race two, but starting from a bit further back, his job was made a bit more difficult. Still, once he found his rhythm, he moved from fourth to first in four laps, putting on a masterclass in passing, before once again pulling out a gap to cross the line and spark scenes of celebration amongst Team HRC.
With rounds in Turkey, China and then finishing in Spain, Gajser knows that he needs to keep this momentum up if he wants to win his sixth world championship, but he is very confident and highly motivated to finish the job after what has been an excellent 2024 so far.
Teammate Ruben Fernandez also showed some great fighting spirit on his return to GP racing, going 17-9 for 11th overall, which could have been a lot better had another rider not collided with him midway through race one. This dropped him from 11th position and meant he was in survival mode for the rest of that moto. It certainly didn’t deter in race two though, as the Spaniard got a top 10 start and kept himself there for the rest of the moto. With a weekend off before Turkey, Fernandez can assess his performance and work on some things before heading east for the overseas double-header that sees the series go back to China directly after the round in Afyon.
