MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser will make his racing return this Saturday for the Supermotocross Riders’ Cup, aboard the new 2017 Honda CRF450RW.
Riding for Team Honda under the awning of the Honda Gariboldi Racing team, he will line up for this new event alongside fellow HRC riders Gautier Paulin and Evgeny Bobryshev.
Whilst the event itself is new for the MXGP calendar, pitting manufacturer teams of three riders against each other in a three-man, three-race stadium spectacular, Gajser isn’t a stranger to riding supercross-style tracks because he often trains on one at his home in Slovenia.
Under the floodlights of the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the action will be fast and furious in an evening of racing as the best in the world vie for personal and team spoils. The first practice session gets underway at 1530hrs local time, with the superpole shootout at 1930hrs and race one at 2045hrs.
Tim Gajser
“I’m really looking forward to being back to racing this Saturday at SMX, especially because I’ll be on the new Honda CRF.
“I think SMX will be nice – it’s something new for us in Europe. We never did events like that over here so I’m really excited about it and looking forward to racing alongside all the big names from MXGP and Supercross.
“It’s nice to see that events like this will happen in Europe. We are used to seeing shows like this happen in the USA, so it’s going to be really good for us to have it in our home here in Europe. The track looks nice too – a good mix of Supercross and motocross.”
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“We’re glad to have Tim back racing this weekend at the SMX, especially as he’ll be using the new 2017 CRF so we’re all looking forward to see how he goes. Of course, it’s a team event so with Bobby also on the new bike, and Gautier having won the Nations with Team France two weeks ago, the Honda team looks very strong. It’s the first time for such an event for the MXGP paddock, so everyone is very interested to see how it works, but as a stadium race with the best riders from Europe and the US, I think there will be some great racing.”