Tim Gajser and the Honda Gariboldi Racing team were left frustrated and disappointed today when Gajser was prevented from starting the second race.
As the temperature soared to 38 degrees Celsius, Gajser delivered a fantastic first race to finish third. In the early laps he was chasing leader Jeffrey Herlings, but as the race unfolded he didn’t quite have enough to stay with the two-time World Champion though still crossed the line third.
Many succumbed to the conditions and extreme heat, leading to the organisers deciding to cut the second race short by five minutes to 25mins + two laps, and to several riders being given treatment for dehydration. Gajser was one of those riders who received rehydration fluids on an intravenous (IV) drip after race one, but during the break between races of almost two hours he reported making a full recovery and being ready for race two.
So much so that he prepared himself on the start line for race two, feeling more than capable of repeating his podium result from earlier this afternoon. Nevertheless, the FIM medical guidelines state that receipt of IV fluids precludes the rider from starting any races immediately after, so it was not possible for Gajser to participate.
It’s a big blow for Gajser’s championship campaign as he was once again a very strong top-three contender here in Thailand, but he and the team will regroup for the MXGP of Argentina, round three of the series, on 28-29 March.
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“Of course this result is hugely disappointing for us as Tim showed in the first race today that he certainly had the pace to finish on the podium and take a good number of points for the championship, where he could have been fighting for second. Instead, the situation is very different as we lost a lot of points today. He rode very well this weekend, so to finish like this means we leave Thailand very disappointed. Now we must instead focus on the next round in Argentina, another new track for everyone, and hope that circumstances are kinder to us there.”
Tim Gajser, no.243
“Today was really heavy; the heat was unbelievable and many riders had problems including the guys at the front, so it was not easy.
“When I was riding in race one it was quite ok, but when I stopped I don’t know what happened but I couldn’t feel my legs properly and I had a really strange feeling. I went to the medical centre here and then after half an hour everything was ok and I was ready again. But then when we came to the waiting zone before the start they told me I couldn’t ride.
“In one case we are really disappointed because we didn’t race and lost many points in the championship, but in the other case it gives me even more motivation to train more and work even harder when we come back to show everyone what we can do.”