Fernandez strong in third, as Gajser’s misfortune continues
VantaaIn what turned out to be a very wet and damp Vantaa track, near Helsinki in Finland, the Team HRC duo of Ruben Fernandez and Tim Gajser had contrasting fortunes in the qualification race, after being inseparable in the two earlier practices.
In what turned out to be a very wet and damp Vantaa track, near Helsinki in Finland, the Team HRC duo of Ruben Fernandez and Tim Gajser had contrasting fortunes in the qualification race, after being inseparable in the two earlier practices.
In free practice it was Gajser who was the quicker of the pair, posting a time 0.16 seconds faster than his Spanish teammate to finish fourth, but Fernandez then reversed the order to get third in timed practice, with the #243 0.18 seconds behind him. This gave the Honda CRF450R riders good gate picks for the qualification race which was in danger of being delayed after a huge amount of rain hit the track midway through the timed practice session.
No support classes this weekend, that meant the track had a little bit longer to recover and after the MX2 qualification race went ahead, it was time for the MXGP class to line up. With drizzle still falling, it meant that a good start was critical to avoiding as much roost as possible and also to avoid having to make passes on what is a very tight, narrow Vantaa circuit, which was a last-minute replacement for Hyvinkaa, that hosted the Finnish GP last year.
After the gate-drop, both Team HRC riders were near the front of the field with Fernandez in third and Gajser having moved forward into fifth as they crossed for the first lap. Unfortunately, midway through lap two, a rock got caught in the chain of Gajser’s bike and locked up his rear-wheel. Eventually he got it free, but he dropped 11 places in the process and had to then try and work his way through the field.
Meanwhile Fernandez had pulled clear of the riders behind him, whilst maintaining contact with the two riders in front. Despite putting in the second-fastest laptime of the race, he couldn’t quite close in enough to make any move and instead settled for an excellent third place in the difficult conditions. Following through in 12th place was Gajser who passed four riders after his misfortune, which still gives him a chance for success tomorrow when the weather should be a lot better.
Like today, the Sunday schedule is slightly different than usual European rounds, with the two MXGP races starting at 13:15 and 16:10 local time, which is one hour ahead of CET.
Very happy with how that qualification race went. It is good to show that I have speed in the sand and when conditions aren’t very good, so now I want to try and do the same again tomorrow. The forecast is meant to be a lot better so we shall see how the track changes but I had speed before the rains came as well, so I’m feeling confident about putting two good motos. A big thanks to the team for all the hard they put in, in such challenging weather, it really helps me know I’ve got the best support possible.
I was having a really good day, even with all the rain. I was fourth in free practice and had put in a good lap before the rain came to get fourth in timed practice. I had a good start in the race and had worked my way into fifth and was just about to challenge for fourth when a stone got caught in my chain and my rear wheel locked up. It took a bit of time to get it loose and when it finally came out I was down in 16th. It was annoying to have bad luck again but I kept pushing until the end and finished 12th. Hopefully I can get more good starts tomorrow and put in two solid races without anything happening, and then I’m sure I’ll be nearer the front.
Conditions like this today are always challenging, when it changes from dry and sunny sand to really wet and heavy mud-like terrain. It makes everything that little bit harder but everyone worked really well after timed practice to get the bikes setup for the qualification race. Both riders got good starts and things were looking promising for both Ruben and Tim but then a stone ruined Tim’s chances of a top five finish. Ruben rode really well though and looked strong throughout and if they both can get good starts tomorrow, I think they will be near the podium, in whatever weather conditions we experience.
