Max Nagl and Tim Gajser made it a double podium for Honda at the MXGP of Germany as the Japanese manufacturer rid their recent poor fortune.
German Nagl rode well above expectations to collect the race one win and despite being compromised away from the gates second time around, he fought his way through the field to secure an overall second place finish.
17 year-old Gajser was equally impressive as he collected back-to-back second places for Team Honda Gariboldi Racing to secure his best ever overall finish in the MX2 championship.
In almost perfect conditions in Teutschenthal, Gajser was comfortable in both motos as he rode to second place overall and subsequently closed the gap on those above him in the championship standings.
From the Jtech Honda stable – Vsevolod Brylyakov was an overall 14th in MX2 with Maxime Desprey 26th and Thomas Olsen 28th.
24 MX Honda’s Klemen Gercar was 20th in the first MXGP race before retiring in the second moto, while Filip Thuresson dropped out with eight laps to go in race one and sat out the second moto.
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Honda Gariboldi Racing Manager:
“Another big step forward for Tim this weekend, he has put together for the first time the 3 races with fantastic rides and without any mistake, Tim is growing so fast that nobody expected to see him in mid season following the footsteps of Champion Herlings. He has got the confidence to repeat this at every weekend now. A great thank goes to Honda and HRC for the fantastic bike they have prepared for Tim, the CRF250RW is improving race after race with all the HRC and team hard work and all the tests made all along the season.”
Klemen Gercar, 24MX Honda:
“On Saturday I was really surprised by how performant the bike is! We did all the necessary steps to adjust the bike for me and it was going better and better every time I went out. Although I didn’t have a good start in the first moto the riding was quite good. I was right in the mix in the group between 15th and 20th place. My crash in the second moto was a stupid mistake from my part but overall the weekend was a lot more positive than what results showed. It was my first ime on a new bike, and we were progressing all the time. Now I have two weeks time to practice more with this new set-up and to be fully prepared for the Swedish GP.”
Steven Lettani, 24MX Honda team manager:
“It was quite unbelievable and very sad also to lose Jérémy Delincé with an injury, especially because we know he’s strong in the type of conditions we had this weekend. Klemen worked hard with the team over the weekend and I was pleased with his effort. We just need to work on his starts, get more rhythm on the bike and keep on pushing. This week we received encouraging news from Xavier Boog who is doing well with his recovery. Things are looking up but the time away from the bike will be quite long. For Jens (Getteman) we will know more after the visit to his doctor later this week.”