MXGP
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser battled hard in the Arnhem sand, going four-three for third overall and keeping hold of the 2024 MXGP Championship lead. After a fifth place in yesterday’s qualification race, Gajser put in two strong races and now heads to Switzerland with more confidence that he is at the level required to win his sixth world title.
After rain on Friday, and bright sunshine yesterday, the Dutch weather was cloudy for today’s racing and it allowed the riders to give everything in the sandy conditions. Having fifth gate-pick, the Slovenian wasn’t able to get such a good start in race one, but a good first lap meant he was up to fourth by the time they crossed the line for the first time. Another good pass moved him up into the podium spots but after riding a good pace and keeping the leaders in sight, he eventually dropped a spot and had to settle for fourth.
Motivated to improve upon that result in race two, Gajser got an excellent start on his Honda CRF450R and within a couple of laps was in the lead. Looking much more comfortable and consistent than his last sand-outing in Lommel, the #243 was able to lead for a couple of laps and show that he is a top rider in the loose stuff. However, he did lose his rhythm as they approached the lappers and that allowed two riders to go through. Keeping pace with them for the majority of the rest of the moto, a small error did allow the fourth-place rider to close right in, but Gajser showed his determination to hold him off and make sure he claimed third spot on the podium.
Team HRC now head south to Frauenfeld, Switzerland for the 17th round of the series, on the tight and technical circuit located near to Zurich. The series visited this track for the first time last year, but Gajser missed that round but has actually ridden there when was a youth rider, a number of years ago.
MX2
After a withdrawal from the qualification race yesterday, Team HRC’s Ferruccio Zanchi put in two motos filled with passes as he came through to finish 12-13 for 12th overall, in what was a really tough challenge for the Italian youngster.
Having last gate-pick put him at a massive disadvantage off the start, but he used every horsepower of his Honda CRF250R to put him in as good a position as possible around the first turn. In race one, that meant a top 15 start and in race two, he had to fight through from just outside the top 20, but as he has proved numerous times this year already, he can really put his head down when he needs to and picked off riders consistently throughout both races.
The 12th overall, kept him in 10th place in the MX2 Championship and with just four rounds remaining, it will go down as an excellent rookie campaign if he can keep putting in those sorts of rides.
Tim Gajser 243
It was a solid weekend, and I definitely felt like my riding was a lot better this weekend than in Lommel. It was a shame I made a mistake in that second race, but I’m happy with the rest of the moto and it was good to get third place and stand on the podium. We have four rounds still to go and I’m still in the lead so I’m excited to go to the next race in Switzerland and put in another strong performance.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
After yesterday I knew it would be a tough challenge to even get near the top 10, so to go 12-13 for 12th overall is about as good as I could have hoped for. In the second moto I had a good charge going and if I had another couple of laps, I’m sure I could have got 10th, but overall, I rode well and made a lot of passes. A big thanks to the team for all their help and now the aim is to be ready for Switzerland next weekend.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
We knew it would be difficult here in the Netherlands, but Tim rode really well in that second moto and that gives us a lot of confidence heading into Switzerland. He looked a lot more like the Tim we know, and a much better weekend than in Lommel so that is something we can be happy about and we are looking forward for next weekend already.
Ferro also put in a really good effort in the second moto to come from outside the top 20 to finish 13th. He showed that he really is an excellent sand rider and for a young rider, that is an important skill to have when competing in a world championship.
Photocredits Ray Archer
