Victory in Latvia for Team HRC and Tim Gajser
The FIM World Motocross Championship visited the Baltic state of Latvia today and as always the fast and challenging Zelta Zirgs circuit near Kegums produced some exciting and spectacular motocross racing.
In the MXGP class Team HRC’s Tim Gajser took his time adapt to the sandy but firm track conditions. The Slovenian finished Saturday’s qualifying race in third place after a momentary off-track excursion, but Gajser still had a competitive start gate position for Sunday’s races.
Team Honda 114 Motorsport’s Rubén Fernández finished the qualifying race in sixth, recovering well from a crash on lap six. JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi was 10th, followed by Gajser’s teammate Mitch Evans in 11th.
Tim took a good start in race one rounding lap one in third position. Showing maturity and composure the four-time World Champion eventually moved into second place on lap 10 and then took the lead on lap 11 to win the race, adding 25 points to his MXGP account.
Rubén Fernández had a great ride in moto one, sitting in fourth place for almost the entire race, but crossed the finish line in third to take 20 points, equalling his best MXGP race finish so far in Argentina, back in March this year.
Team JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi also raced hard until the last lap in moto one to finish in a worthy 10th place.
In race two Gajser charged his CRF450R into second place on lap one. Again the 25-year-old showed patience and control as the moto unfolded, this time taking the race-lead close to the halfway stage and going on to win by almost six seconds. Tim now leads the MXGP World Championship by 66 points after six rounds with 14 GPs remaining in the Championship.
Spaniard Rubén Fernández finished race two in fourth place and was rewarded with his first ever MXGP overall podium, joining Gajser in jubilant celebration and underlining the competitiveness of the Honda CRF450R.
In the MX2 class Håkon Fredriksen took his Honda 114 Motorsport’s CRF250R to a hard-won eighth place in moto one after rounding lap one back in 18th.
Race two saw the young Norwegian rider get a better start and begin lap one in eighth place. He made his way up to seventh on lap six, eventually finishing the race in eighth, taking seventh overall and 26 World Championship points.
Shiptocycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Stephen Rubini had a very tough weekend with 16th in race one and a DNF in race two. The Frenchman hopes to put this result behind him and focus on bouncing back to his normal top-ten MX2 finishes.
The start-gate will drop once again for the MXGP of Italy at Maggiora Park in two weeks time.