MXGP
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser tried his hardest to keep his podium-streak alive at the MXGP of Galicia (Spain), but just narrowly missed out after putting in an extremely impressive second moto charge, keeping himself right in this 2024 MXGP Championship hunt.
The Slovenian rider had second gate-pick after his second-place in yesterday’s qualification race, but he got closed out in both first turns and instead had to battle hard in the opening few corners. In race one, he made a couple of great moves and quickly got himself into third place but a mistake a bit later dropped him right down the field to 12th. From there, he had his work cut-out to get near the podium positions on a track that wasn’t very easy to pass on, but he put his head down and got all the way up to sixth place.
In race two, he was just outside the top 10 around the first bend, but in a series of impressive moves on a number of his championship rivals, he once again moved himself into third place as the top two tried to escape into the distance. Not deterred, the #243 once again put his head-down, posting the fastest lap of the race and quickly closed up on second place. A lap later he had made the move and set his sights firmly on the number one position. As the laps ticked down, so Gajser closed the gap down to just one second and just as he was ready to pounce for the lead, he had an unfortunate little mistake which instead cost him a position.
Riding across the line in third, the five-time world champion was disappointed with how it ended, but he can be proud of the speed and the passing ability he showed on a difficult Lugo circuit. And the good thing is, he doesn’t have long to dwell on this result as the series heads to France next weekend and the hillside track of St Jean D’Angely, where Gajser won in 2022 – the last time the series headed there for a GP.
MX2
Ferruccio Zanchi made his return to the MX2 class this weekend and put in a really good set of results, given his time away from the action. The Italian followed-up from his impressive fourth place in the qualification race with an 11th in race one and then a 10th in race two, giving him 10th overall and a good points total for his weekend of racing.
Missing GPs is never easy, especially in your rookie season but the youngster looked right at home, and showed that in the qualification race that he hasn’t lost any speed. The longer two motos today proved a tougher challenge but he still acquitted himself well and kept things consistent on what was a tricky track and now heads to France excited for more races.
Race 1
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 34:23.923;
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:00.732;
3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:08.044;
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:14.344;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:23.543;
6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:25.794;
7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:32.078;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:33.797;
9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:38.384;
10. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +0:59.661;
11. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:12.157;
Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:49.474;
2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:02.658;
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:05.026;
4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:15.030;
5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:17.888;
6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.302;
7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:39.731;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:45.215;
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:55.051;
10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:11.415;
Overall
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 43 points;
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 43 p.;
3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 42 p.;
4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 42 p.;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 31 p.;
6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 29 p.;
7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 28 p.;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 26 p.;
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 26 p.;
10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 21 p.;
Tim Gajser 243
Obviously, I’m pretty frustrated with how that second race ended and overall, how the weekend went. I felt I was riding much better than my results show but that is motocross and sometimes it doesn’t work out for you. My speed in that second race was really pleasing, to move all the way from around ninth, right the way up into second, setting the fastest lap and catching up to the leader. Unfortunately, I just lost the front at the crucial moment and couldn’t hold it. Still, there is a long way to go in the championship and I’m in a good position and we start going to some good tracks for me.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
It was nice to be back in the thick of the action, having the gate drops and just being back at the races as a whole. Going 11-10 for 10th is a pretty fair reflection of where I was on the track speed-wise and it gives me a good starting point to build-upon. We did a lot of good things and I’m thankful to all the team for the work they’ve done and I’m looking forward to racing in France and trying to work my way up the table.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
It’s always good to go to new places and this Lugo track certainly provided a good challenge for all the riders. Tim rode really well in all the races over the weekend but the points don’t show that and now we head to France motivated to go again. There are always such close margins in this sport and some weeks it goes for you, and sometimes you aren’t so lucky. Still, the championship is very close and we have only done six rounds and there is plenty of racing to go, so we will keep working hard.
It was good to have Ferro back with us and he rode really well for his results. It is always hard to come in against those experienced guys and try and slot in straight away but his riding was solid with no mistakes and it is exciting to see what he can do in the coming few weeks.
Race 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Prado Garcia Jorge 1 SPA 25 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing 34:11.687
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 22 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:02.036
3 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:02.599
4 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:16.658
5 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 16 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:23.255
6 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 15 Team HRC – MXGP 0:27.707
7 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 14 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:43.667
8 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 13 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz 0:45.774
9 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 12 Standing Construct Honda MXGP 0:52.013
10 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 11 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:58.586
11 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 10 Schmicker Racing 0:59.976
12 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 9 JK Racing Yamaha Active 1:35.016
13 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 8 Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing 1:40.200
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 7 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:45.367
15 Monticelli Ivo 128 ITA 6 MRT Racing Team Beta 1 Lap
16 Östlund Alvin SWE 5 1 Lap
17 Gilbert Josh 326 GBR 4 Gabriel SS24 KTM 1 Lap
18 Sterry Adam GBR 3 1 Lap
19 Paturel Benoit FRA 2 1 Lap
20 Valentin Ander SPA 1 1 Lap
Race 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Prado Garcia Jorge 1 SPA 25 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing 34:04.763
2 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 22 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:02.880
3 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 20 Team HRC – MXGP 0:10.110
4 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 18 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:18.797
5 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 16 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:23.497
6 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 15 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:28.722
7 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 14 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:41.101
8 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 13 Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing 0:53.755
9 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 12 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz 1:01.502
10 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 11 Standing Construct Honda MXGP 1:04.467
11 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 10 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 1:07.440
12 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 9 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:10.338
13 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 8 JK Racing Yamaha Active 1:15.422
14 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 7 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz 1:16.511
15 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 6 Schmicker Racing 1:29.785
16 Watson Ben 919 GBR 5 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:35.000
17 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 4 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:35.731
18 Östlund Alvin SWE 3 1:40.787
19 Sterry Adam GBR 2 1 Lap
20 Valentin Ander SPA 1 1 La
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Prado Garcia Jorge 1 SPA 298 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 296 Team HRC – MXGP
3 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 267 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
4 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 246 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
5 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 217 Standing Construct Honda MXGP
6 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 193 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
7 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 191 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 179 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
9 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 120 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz
10 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 115 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz
11 Watson Ben 919 GBR 97 MRT Racing Team Beta
12 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 91 Schmicker Racing
13 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 88 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
14 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 77 JK Racing Yamaha Active
15 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 65 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
16 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 63 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
17 Östlund Alvin SWE 56
18 Monticelli Ivo 128 ITA 46 MRT Racing Team Beta
19 Koch Tom GER 40
20 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 38 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
Watch the MX Vice Show with Tim Gajser and Giacomo Gariboldi
