Gajser on pole as storm disrupts MXGP of Turkiye qualification
AfyonkarahisarA storm hit the MXGP of Turkiye track in Afyon, just moments before the MXGP riders headed to the gate for their qualification race, and the decision was made to cancel the race and take the results from the timed practice into the two GP-scoring motos tomorrow.
A storm hit the MXGP of Turkiye track in Afyon, just moments before the MXGP riders headed to the gate for their qualification race, and after waiting to see if conditions improved, the decision was made to cancel the race and take the results from the timed practice into the two GP-scoring motos tomorrow.
This means mixed fortunes for the Team HRC duo, with Tim Gajser on pole position now, after posting a laptime 0.798 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. Teammate Ruben Fernandez is down in 14th, after being unable to find a good rhythm on what was a hard-pack track in the earlier sessions, so he will have to start from a bit wider on the gate.
With the thunder and lightning passing through, work will now begin to make sure that the track is in rideable conditions for the morning warm-ups tomorrow, which should then give the riders some idea of their bike setup for the two motos in the afternoon.
With the lack of qualification race today, no points would be handed out and so the championship standings will remain the same as they were this morning, with the GP overall still being decided by the two motos they will run tomorrow.
It’s a bit disappointing not to be able to race today, but with the storm conditions it was the right call. I felt really good in both practice sessions, and to get first gate-pick is nice for us, even if the track will be completely different when the gate drops. Hopefully they can do the worked needed to make sure we have two good races tomorrow.
I didn’t have the best timed practice result so my gate-pick isn’t so great, but I still feel like I can do well tomorrow and we just have to wait and see what the track will be like. Whatever it is, I know we will be ready and now I just have to focus on getting out the gate well and challenging with the top guys.
For Tim to be 0.8 seconds up on second and over 1.5 seconds ahead of third in timed practice showed just how well he was riding earlier today. Unfortunately the weather didn’t give him a chance to show that in the race but it is still a good confidence boost for him and sets him up nicely for tomorrow’s motos. Ruben has to start from a worse position but he has proved he can get good starts and I’m sure he’ll be fighting for much higher places in the motos. A big congratulations to the team for working well and making sure the weather didn’t affect the bikes or our pit too much in the storm. We have a good group of people and in these moments that really shows.
