Tim Gajser finished today’s qualifying for the MXGP of Lombardia in second, chasing Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev to the flag around the Mantova track.
Gajser slotted into third from the start, at his second ‘home’ race of the season; the first being Arco di Trento, based upon proximity to Slovenia. With legions of GT243 fans out in force once more, Gajser set about chasing down Bobryshev and Max Nagl.
With Bobryshev making headway in the lead after passing Nagl, Gajser set about following suit and at the halfway point made the pass for second. With clear track ahead of them, it was then Honda vs Honda, CRF450RW vs CRF450RW, and although the #243 machine closed on #777, reducing the gap to just 2.1seconds by the final lap, the mature Gajser opted to close the throttle a little with half a lap remaining, settling for second.
In MX2, Jorge Zaragoza was looking to consolidate his top ten finish in the second race in Great Britain last weekend. From the start to slotted into ninth, and thereafter had a fairly un-dramatic race until the last lap. After slipping to eleventh, the Spaniard fought back to tenth until a crash on the final lap demoted him to 16th by the flag.
Tim Gajser, no.243
“From the start I was in third and riding behind Max, and after three laps I could make a pass on him but by then Bobby was already 6seconds in front. Then I started to catch closer and closer, then two laps to go I got closer but I could see that it would be difficult to pass. It’s not a track that has many lines, so I stayed in second as it’s good enough for tomorrow. Today was quite hot so we save a little bit of energy, but we are looking strong and feeling good for tomorrow.”
Jorge Zaragoza, no.101
“The feeling was quite good today and I was in the top ten for most of the race after a good start, so it was looking like a good start to the weekend. Then just a little mistake on the last lap meant I crashed and slid to 16th, which will be quite a difficult gate pick for tomorrow but we’ll do out best to start well again and be there for both races.”
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“Tim rode sensibly today – he did what he needed to do to get towards the front, and then he saw that he was closing on Bobby but that it was difficult to pass. Second is more than enough for tomorrow, so he saved a little energy and settled which was the right thing to do. Jorge should also have been on for a top ten today which would have been good for him, but unfortunately a little crash on the last lap pushed him down the order. It’ll make it harder for him tomorrow, but he starts well so he can still be there.”