This week, the 2016 MXGP season kicks off at the Losail track for the MXGP of Qatar, and the Honda Gariboldi Racing team will turn the page on a new chapter.
It will be reigning MX2 World Champion Tim Gajser’s first Grand Prix on the CRF450RW (outside of the Motocross of Nations), the Gariboldi squad will return to MXGP, and it will also be Spaniard Jorge Zaragoza’s first race in Qatar on the CRF250RW.
The desert floodlights of Losail will set the scene for a new chapter in the team’s history as they field the third factory Honda CRF450RW for Gajser (the other two being campaigned by Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin and Evgeny Bobryshev). Gajser, an HRC-contracted rider, will receive the same works support as he makes his debut in the big class. The Slovenian is no stranger to the Honda 450 though, having turned more testing miles on it than his CRF250RW in 2015.
Meanwhile Zaragoza is fighting fit for the season-opener this year, having been forced to sit it out in 2015 with a pre-season testing injury, and the young Spaniard is relishing the opportunity to be back on the bike after a good winter of training.
David Herbreteau will make his Honda MX2 debut with the Gariboldi squad this season, but will sit out the first four flyaway races, so will line up behind the gate aboard the CRF250R in Valkenswaard on 27 March.
MX2 free practice gets underway at 1515hrs local time on Friday 26 February, followed 30 minutes later by MXGP. Racing starts on Saturday at 1715hrs.
Tim Gajser, no.243
“It’s an amazing feeling to be going to Qatar on the 450 and I’m really excited to get started! My winter has been really good and I’m feeling really prepared and ready. We did two races in the Italian International series and I’m feeling very confident on the bike.
“I’ve changed my style a lot for the 450 working closely with my Dad. On the 250 you have to ride a gear lower and keep the RPM high, but on the 450 there is more power so you must ride more smoothly. It’s a completely different style, but I am also very used to riding the 450 from my training. It’s easier this year though not having to change to a 250 for the GP weekends. Last year I was mixing a lot between the 450 for training and the 250 for racing, and it was not so easy to change so I ended up riding the 450 more like a 250. But now that I am full time on the 450 it’s much more easy for me.
“I’m going to Qatar as the MX2 Champion, but I don’t feel any pressure from myself or from the team. It’s my first season in MXGP and I’m still young so I need to learn a lot. The class is full of great guys who are older and a lot more experienced than me but I’m really looking forward to learning as quick as possible and continuing to ride to have fun. I think the first few races will be tough, but I’m feeling like we’re well prepared so, as always, we will do our best!”
Jorge Zaragoza, no.101
“I’m feeling good and ready for this season. I’ve been training a lot for Qatar so I can’t wait to get going. I went to the race last year but just watching, so this is the first time I will race in Qatar. I like the track as it’s hard pack with a lot of jumps so I think that it’s a good track for me. This winter I have spent almost all the time training in Spain and it’s been going really well. We’ve had good testing with the team in Sardinia which has also been going well so I’m feeling ready and strong for the first race and really looking forward to Qatar.”
Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal
“We are very excited about the MXGP season with Tim, but we are taking it very easy and calmly – much easier than last year when we knew we had to make results right from the start. This year we start knowing we have a very competitive rider because Tim has shown in the pre-season races that he has the speed of the top guys, but I think we will enjoy more as we have no pressure for the results. Everything is preparing very well, Tim and Jorge have been training well over winter, and we are all feeling very happy and ready to start the season.”
