Gajser shows his sand skills in Sardinia as v/d Moosdijk battles hard
Riola SardoTeam HRC duo of Tim Gajser and new-recruit Roan van de Moosdijk had to be at their absolute best in the extremely tough conditions of the Riola Sardo track in Sardinia.
Team HRC duo of Tim Gajser and new-recruit Roan van de Moosdijk had to be at their absolute best in the extremely tough conditions of the Riola Sardo track in Sardinia. Known for being a brutally hard, deep sand track, things got even harder for the riders as the sun came out in full force and gave a lot of the guys their first taste of warm temperatures since last summer.
As one would expect from a five-time world champion, Gajser was able to rise above all those difficulties, posting the fastest time in free practice and then the fastest laptime of the qualification race, as he powered his way to second place. It was a strong display from the Honda CRF450R rider who finally got a chance to show everyone his sand-riding prowess, at a track that hasn’t been good to him in the past. This sets him up nicely for tomorrow’s two GP-scoring motos where he’ll be aiming for his first GP victory of the season and a chance to close up the points gap at the top of the MXGP championship.
It was a much harder proposition for v/d Moosdijk, who only joined the team as a replacement for the injured Ruben Fernandez this week, and who missed a lot of the off-season through injury. A 12th place in the timed practice session gave everyone a glimpse of his early potential, and then in the first half of the qualification race he was also battling just outside the top 10. However, as the temperatures and track conditions took their toll, the Dutch youngster, who was also making his full MXGP debut dropped down to finish 16th. Things won’t get any easier tomorrow with temperatures expected to be the same and conditions getting rougher, but it is clear that the more he is able to ride his new machine, the higher up the field he will be and the faster his true capabilities will be revealed.
Both riders will have a warm-up session in the morning, before their two motos begin at 14:15 and 17:10 local time, where the pair will be hoping to overcome all the challenges and put in some strong performances at this third round of the 2024 World Motocross Championship.
It’s nice to be coming into this event feeling good and setting the fastest lap in free practice was a great start. Timed practice didn’t go quite so well but I still gave myself a good gate pick for the qualifying race, which I was then able to turn into a good start. I was third initially but quickly moved into second and although I tried to chase the down the leader, I wasn’t able to make it happen and had to settle for second place. It does give me confidence for tomorrow though and I’m excited to go for the win at this track.
That was a tough start to my MXGP debut. An extremely rough Riola Sardo track, plus temperatures that we haven’t seen in northern Europe for a long time made things difficult for me to maintain a good level. I was around the top 10 for the first half of the race, and felt like my riding was okay, but then the lack of bike time and racing caught up with me and I lost my rhythm and I dropped down the field a bit. Still, I know it is something I can build upon given time and the more I ride the better it'll be. Sunday will also be tough, but I will keep fighting and give everything I have. A big thank you to the team for all their help and we go again in the two motos tomorrow.
These track conditions are some of the hardest in the world, and then when you get temperatures approaching 30 Celsius, it really tests everything for the riders. Tim proved he is fast and fit, posting the fastest laptime on his way to a comfortable second place and showing everyone that he does have skills in the sand. For Roan, we knew it would be difficult to just come in and battle straightaway but he showed enough to suggest that when he has settled in and got some good training sessions under his belt, he’ll be highly competitive in this tough field. Tomorrow looks to be equally as hot, so we just have to help the riders as much as possible to give them the best possible chance at good results.
