Tim Gajser finished second overall at the MXGP of France today with two fantastic rides on the CRF250RW.
In the first race he was running a strong second before a small crash dropped him to fourth, but it was still a solid ride just seven days after a crash at the MXGP of Great Britain ruled him out of the race with a concussion.
Regrouping for race two, he set about chasing down Championship leader Jeffrey Herlings, applying great pressure and at times having closed the gap to under half a second. In a very measured and strong ride, the young Slovenian kept Herlings firmly in his sights until the very last laps, by which time he’d secured second position overall, and cemented his return to form after last weekend’s disappointment.
Also continuing to progress well was Jorge Zaragoza who again showed his potential after more time on the bike and in training. Fifteenth in race one was followed by an impressive tenth in race two. With more time to train since the Grand Prix last weekend, his bike- and race-distance fitness is improving all the time and this is showing in his ascension through the field in only his third event with the Honda Gariboldi team.
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“Second today for Tim is a really good result and we’re very happy. Tim had a fantastic second race today following Jeffrey and setting the fastest lap so I’m happy to see that even after the crash of last week he is really fast. Even if he’s not 100 per cent fit yet physically, he gave a very big effort and now we have two good races coming up in Italy and Germany that he likes so this is a good position to build from.
“Jorge also had a very good second race today. He’s showing improvement every time he gets on the bike and enters the track which is what we expect of him so I’m pleased. He’s growing race by race and it’s very good to see him again in the top ten.”
Tim Gajser, no.243
“It was really tough since England because I didn’t test all week long as I had to rest because of the crash. In the second race today I was feeling tired so in the last couple of laps I closed the gas just to finish second and take second overall. After such a big crash it’s a really good weekend so I’m really thankful for that. There were a couple of corners in the second race where I was faster than Jeffrey so we were riding together the whole race but it was really heavy to pass and he was riding really strongly. Now I’m just really looking forward to Maggiora.”
Jorge Zaragoza, no.101
“I’m happy again with my performance this weekend, especially in race two because I could race in the top ten for the whole time. I had a good week between England and here with training, and I am happy that I can continue to improve step by step at each event.”
