Team HRC’s Tim Gajser wins the MXGP of Great Britain
Matterley BasinFollowing the postponement of last weekend’s Grand Prix of Great Britain, the start-gate eventually dropped at Matterley Basin today to begin the 2022 FIM World Motocross Championship.
In the MXGP class Team HRC’s four-time World Champion Tim Gajser launched the famous #243 CRF450R into a solid sixth place on the first lap of race one and soon set-about picking off his rivals one-by-one to push into the lead with two laps remaining. Tim took the race win by 3.7 seconds looking fast and nimble on a rough and rutted Hampshire circuit.
Team Honda 114 Motorsport’s Rubén Fernández also had a strong start to the season, but struck some bad luck early in race. Whilst in fifth position the fast Spaniard tipped over in one of the track's numerous deep-rutted turns and rejoined the race in 20th position. He rode into pit-lane for a quick assessment of his CRF450R and rejoined the race a lap down, but decided to withdraw and refocus for race two.
Tim Gajser had a better start in race two and was followed on lap one by a rejuvenated Rubén Fernández. Gajser soon moved into third place leaving Fernández in fifth. The Slovenian took the lead on lap 10 only to tip-over in a very technical tight downhill rutted right turn. Although Gajser almost retook the lead on the final lap, time ran out, but his second place finish gave ‘Tiga’ the overall GP win and Championship leader’s red-plate.
Fernández defended his fifth place throughout the moto demonstrating that he has the speed and endurance to race at this elite level of motocross racing.
In the MX2 class Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Stephen Rubini showed early speed on his CRF250R and lead Sunday morning’s Warm Up session - a clear indication the Frenchman had come to fight hard for results.
In race one Rubini pushed well on lap one to place his Honda in a top five position and was looking strong and hungry to prove a point after last year’s injury-stricken season. He moved into fourth place on lap three and held this position until the last lap when a small mistake cost him one position, but his fifth place was his best race finish in the MX2 class since moving up from EMX250 in 2021.
Race two was challenging for Rubini, but he fought off a mid-race loss of rhythm to come home in 10th place, giving him seventh overall and tied on points for sixth place.
Round two of the 2022 MXGP season visits the Italian circuit of Mantova in one week's time - Sunday 6th March.
It is great to begin the season with a strong performance like today. I didn’t make it easy getting bad starts in both races but I came through to the front making passes on a tricky surface and in the first moto I came through for the win.
Unfortunately in race two I got to the front but I made a small mistake with a couple of laps remaining and although I pushed really hard to get back into the lead I crossed the line less than a second behind. Still, I won the GP overall and lead the MXGP World Championship and that was the aim coming into today.
A big thanks to the whole Team HRC who have worked hard over the winter to make this result happen.
I felt good all weekend but in race one I was a little impatient and ended up having a small crash. The bike wasn’t damaged so I tried to rejoin the race one lap down and find my flow. It wasn’t really working so after a few laps I decided to stop and focus on race two.In the second race I applied what I’d learned in the first moto and I knew what to avoid. I was more patient this time. It was a good race and I was initially catching the guys ahead of me and pulling away from the guys behind. It turned into comfortable race for me. I still have a lot of things to work on but today was good for my first race weekend of 2022.
It was quite a good day overall. We worked hard at setting up my CRF250R on Saturday and this gave me a lot of confidence. I had a good start in race one and I could fight with the leading pack. I lost one position on the final lap, but still finished the race with fifth place which was my best MX2 result so far.I wasn’t quite able to repeat this in race two as I kept using the same lines as race one, but they weren’t so effective anymore. Overall though I think it’s a positive weekend compared to last year. We have a good bike and the team is working really well so I’m looking to improve each weekend.
It was great to see the 2022 season begin today in Matterley Basin.
As we expected Tim Gajser showed why he’s a four-time World Champion displaying his speed and talent on a rutted and challenging circuit today.Rubén Fernández was also brilliant today on the CRF450R and without his crash in race one we could have seen two Honda riders on the MXGP podium.Considering that Henry Jacobi is recovering from recent surgery and with little pre-season training he did very well, going 13-14 for 14th overall.In the MX2 class Stephen Rubini was fantastic and this was his best ever start to a season. We look forward to seeing Rubini deliver some overdue results that we know he’s capable of.Hakon Fredriksen showed speed and strength today but crashes spoilt his changes of a higher overall finish. Once he settles into the season we expect to see regular top-ten results for the Norwegian.We were all sorry that Emil Weckman injured his knee and was not be able to race today.
