Gajser takes the qualification victory in muddy Portugal
AguedaTeam HRC’s Tim Gajser put his Honda CRF450R in prime position for tomorrow’s GP-scoring motos after taking an impressive victory in the MXGP of Portugal qualification race, held in what were extremely muddy conditions at the Agueda circuit.
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put his Honda CRF450R in prime position for tomorrow’s GP-scoring motos after taking an impressive victory in the MXGP of Portugal qualification race, held in what were extremely muddy conditions at the Agueda circuit.
It was dry in free practice when Gajser hit the track for the first time, but by the time they were trying to put in their hotlaps for qualification gate-pick, rain was already starting to affect the surface. In the end, the Slovenian was sixth which still gave him a chance of a good start, and after a heavy rain deluge that turned the loamy conditions into deep mud, he took full advantage by powering around everyone and taking the qualifying race holeshot. Unfortunately, he did run a little wide in the second corner, where the mud was still a bit deep and let a couple of riders through but after three more bends, he put on an impressive move to pass both the riders in front and re-take the lead.
From there, he put in a couple of fast laps to breakaway from the field and open up a nice gap, in what were treacherous, rutted conditions. Everything was going well but midway through the race he got caught behind lappers and the gap closed right up again. It was unfortunate because he was riding so comfortably, but he kept his cool, put in a couple of really fast laps to hold onto the lead and took the chequered flag in celebratory mood.
The victory not only gives him first gate-pick for the two motos tomorrow, but it also gives him the maximum 10 points and has closed the gap in the championship table to just seven points. While there is still a long way to go in the series, it was an important boost for his confidence and he’ll be lining up in what is predicted to be worse weather, determined to take his first GP overall of the season and close up the gap even more.
Very happy with today’s race in what were very difficult conditions. The rain hit the circuit and although it wasn’t actually raining for our race, it really changed the track from the morning session. It was nice to get a good start and although I went a bit wide, I made a double-pass early-on to get into the lead and from there I controlled the race. Lappers slowed my momentum midway through and allowed the riders behind to close up but I was able to keep my lead and win another qualification race and close the gap at the top of the championship a bit more. Tomorrow could be worse conditions but I’m feeling good and looking forward to it.
It was great to see Tim get a good start, railing around the outside and keeping the speed up in the muddy conditions. He really looked good out there and it was great to see him cross the line and take the victory because it has been a few rounds since he won a race in Argentina. Confidence is high and despite the bad weather forecast, we will do everything we can to help him turn this victory into the GP overall that he fully deserves.
