Team HRC duo, Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi will head to Arnhem, Netherlands for the 16th round of the 2024 MXGP World Championship, where the final sand circuit of the series awaits them. This comes directly after the rocky terrain of Uddevalla, where Gajser stepped back onto the podium and with Switzerland up the following weekend, this is a crucial period for all the riders.
The Dutch venue made it onto the calendar last year, with Gajser getting fifth in all three races over the weekend, as he was still making his comeback from the pre-season injury he sustained in 2023. It was a solid weekend for the Slovenian, but he’ll be hoping for more in this year’s edition, as he aims to keep hold of the championship leading red-plate until after the final round in Spain.
Last year Zanchi was still an EMX250 rider, but he showed with a moto victory at this very venue that he was ready to step up into the MX2 class, and so that has proved to be the case. Despite being only 17 years old, the Italian youngster has performed at a very high level throughout this year, putting in a number of great riders and completely vindicating the decision to move him up after just one season in the EMX250 class. Now, after excellent riding in the previous sand-round of Lommel, and some good results last weekend in Sweden, he’ll be hoping to continue this end of season flourish with some top five finishes.
In other good news, the third member of the team, Ruben Fernandez will make his long-awaited comeback at the Spanish International event, Sariego, on Monday 19th August. The Spaniard was injured in the very first corner of the first MXGP round in Argentina and has had to endure a long and steady recovery process, but having got the green light to get back on the bike in the past few weeks, this is next step as he hopes to return to world championship level racing before the end of the current campaign.
With Gajser and Zanchi competing on Saturday and Sunday, and then Fernandez racing on Monday, this will be an exciting weekend for Team HRC, and one which will hopefully be filled with good performances on all three days.
Tim Gajser 243
It was good to get back on the box again and winning the qualification race was a nice boost as well. Now though, my focus is on Arnhem and to try to show what I’m capable of in the sand. Last time we rode in Lommel, I didn’t feel like I rode like myself, so the goal is put on a better showing and score some good points once again. Obviously it won’t be easy but I know I have ridden well on sand in the past so I’m confident I can perform at a high level this weekend.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
I actually won a moto in Arnhem last year, in the EMX250 class so I like the track and I know that I am fast there. Of course the MX2 class is a lot tougher but I feel like I have shown in recent races that my level is high right now, and with my performance in Lommel, I really think I can I can go out and have a really good weekend. I also had a couple of good races last weekend in Uddevalla, so I’m feeling good and excited to go racing again.
Ruben Fernandez 70
I’m excited to get back to racing again after such a long lay-off. Obviously the goal is to be on the MXGP start-gate but after discussing all the options with the team, we decided together that having this event under my belt, before I return to the highest level would be a good idea. I’m not going to put too much expectation upon myself, but I do want to make sure that I’m 100% fit and healthy before returning to the MXGPs and this event will give me a good indication of that, without all the pressure that comes with racing against the best riders in the world. Afterwards, we can then decide the best course of action but for now, I’m excited to be going racing again!
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
Another very important weekend for Team HRC, as they all are at this stage of the season. Tim will be looking to get on the podium once again, and it is good that he was able to ride here last season, so he isn’t at a disadvantage. We believe he has a point to prove in the sand, and our goal is to give him the best platform possible to do so.
Ferro has been very excited about coming back here and so we know he’s going to be trying everything to break into that top five consistently. His starts have been a bit better and Sweden didn’t have any mistakes, so he is trending in the right direction and that really is good to see, in what has been a long championship already.
And we also have Ruben returning to racing, competing in an event in Spain. This is great news and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on how that goes. We aren’t rushing anything with him, but we thought this was an excellent chance to get some gate-drops in before he makes a return to MXGP action. The quality of the field is good and although it isn’t quite the same thing as the world championships, it is the perfect stepping-stone up from training, and gives us a good indicator of when he can return alongside Tim and Ferruccio.
@shotbybavo
