Tim Gajser took fourth in today’s qualifying race for the MXGP of Mexico in Leon on the Honda Gariboldi Racing CRF250RW. The MX2 championship leader did what was necessary to ensure a solid starting position for tomorrow’s races, whilst conserving energy.
Today the forecast storms held off and, under a blazing sun, the ground was hard. Tomorrow however, the chance of rain is higher and, with a downpour of the intensity of a Mexican thunderstorm, the track could become increasingly physically demanding and challenging for both riders and bikes.
Gajser lost a little ground from the start, having lined up second after timed practice, and found himself in fifth. He quickly fought back into fourth, but thereafter held position to the end, despite putting third-placed Thomas Covington under pressure.
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“I think Tim did what was necessary today to give himself a good starting position for tomorrow. The track was pretty good today, but tomorrow everything could be different if it rains so the goal today was to save energy, get a good gate pick, and make sure we’re in the best situation to fight tomorrow.”
Tim Gajser, no.243
“I feel good after today and comfortable for tomorrow. Hopefully I can make better starts as it bogged a little today. It was kind of one line track with one perfect line. You have others, but there was just one that was quickest. Anyway, fourth is not so bad; we have good gate pick for tomorrow, and with two better starts we’re feeling strong.”
Overall results
| 1 | Pauls Jonass | KTM | 23:48.682 |
| 2 | Julien Lieber | Yamaha | +6.352 |
| 3 | Thomas Covington | Kawasaki | +8.024 |
| 4 | Tim Gajser | HONDA | +11.129 |
| 5 | Max Anstie | Kawasaki | +26.055 |
| 6 | Benoit Paturel | Yamaha | +30.094 |
| 7 | Calvin Vlaanderen | KTM | +34.810 |
| 8 | Valentin Guillod | Yamaha | +47.232 |
| 9 | Brian Hsu | Suzuki | +48.307 |
| 10 | Petar Petrov | Kawasaki | +53.293 |
| DNS | Jorge Zaragoza | HONDA | – |