After a week of acclimatising to the Indonesian weather, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi will be lining up for the second of the Lombok double-header, highly motivated to improve their results from last weekend which marked the start of the second half of this 2024 MXGP World Championship.
Gajser will be lining up for this 12th round, on what should be a changed circuit at the old Mataram airport, looking to get back onto the podium and hopefully extend his lead in the title race, with the gap currently at 22 points. Last time, the Honda CRF450R rider did manage to get another holeshot, so that is a positive step, but he wasn’t quite able to get into a solid rhythm throughout and in what were tricky conditions, he let a couple of mistakes creep in. Now though, he’s had a week to reflect upon that and will be looking to right those wrongs and put himself back into the mix for race wins and GP overalls.
Zanchi also had issues in the first moto, as a crash on the first lap left him a long way adrift of the field. But showing real grit and determination, he fought back to finish 14th, before rocketing out of the gate in race two and fighting it out with the best MX2 riders in the world for the first half of the race. It was a great bounce-back ride and it has given him more confidence that he truly belongs with those other riders and having now adjusted to the climate – this was the Italian’s first visit to Indonesia – he is looking forward to putting in a pair of strong performances and seeing what he can achieve.
Although details are scarce, it is believed the track layout will be in a different configuration for this second GP, which should give the riders something new to think about as they return to the circuit this weekend, for what will be an unchanged schedule.
Tim Gajser: Having a double-header here in Indonesia is a different experience than at any other stage of the season because we will have five days completely off the bike between the races. It’s a strange feeling to not be training with the bike, so I’ve had to make sure that I keep up with all the other work I need to do, to make sure I’m ready for this second round. I’ve heard they will change the track a bit, so we will see what they come up with, but I know I need to have a good event and I will do my best to make that happen.
Ferruccio Zanchi: After the first race, I wasn’t very pleased with my performance, but I think race two was a much better example of where I am as a rider in this MX2 class. I still have some things to work on, but I really feel like I am getting closer and closer to the top five and I will keep pushing to accomplish that. That starts this weekend, and I already feel better prepared and acclimatised for the challenge ahead.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas: We’ve had a good week here in Lombok, and it is nice to be here as a team and enjoy each other’s company away from the race track. Of course work has still be going on, but it is also important to have a chance to relax and get ourselves ready for this second round in Indonesia, and also the second half of the MXGP season. Both Tim and Ferruccio are motivated to improve upon their efforts from last weekend and we’ll be doing everything we can to help them achieve that.
