After the hard-pack terrain of Loket last weekend, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi now have the highly challenging deep-sand of Lommel, Belgium to contend with this week as they prepare for the 14th round of the 2024 MXGP World Championships.
Last time was extremely successful for Gajser as he won in the Czech Republic for the first time in his career, going one-three-one over the course of the weekend and increasing his points lead to 36 with seven rounds remaining. It was an impressive performance from the Honda CRF450R rider and one that gives him a lot of confidence heading into what is possibly the toughest motocross track on the planet. A winner in 2020, Gajser knows what is required, but it is easier said than done on a surface where momentum and saving-energy is key. Still, a second-place in Riola Sardo earlier in the year suggests that his form in sand is amongst the best and after victory last time out, he’ll be hoping for more of the same this weekend.
Zanchi had a mixed-bag in Loket, with some good riding recovering from some bad moments, as the Italian came 12th overall. Needless to say, that he is hoping that Lommel provides more good moments with an equal level of good riding, and if he is able to achieve that, he will certainly be making more of an impact inside the top 10, a place that he now occupies in the championship standings. It is a great effort from the youngster, especially considering he missed a couple of rounds earlier in the year and with seven rounds still remaining, he’ll be hoping to cement that position and end the season on a high.
With the forecast changing every time you look at it, the only consistent thing seems to be that the temperatures won’t be too high for this brutal event, but that is a small victory for Gajser and Zanchi, as they gear-up for their six on-track sessions – free and timed practice on Saturday, with the evening qualification race, and then a Sunday warm-up before the two GP-scoring motos. If they can negotiate all of that successfully, they’ll have overcome a major hurdle before the end of this 2024 campaign.
Tim Gajser 243
Obviously Loket was a great result for me and for the team, but given the way the calendar is scheduled, I can’t dwell on that result too much as we have Lommel this weekend and that is going to require my 100% focus. I had a good races at Riola Sardo earlier this year, so I know my sand riding is at a high level, but I haven’t really shown at that at Lommel since 2020 so I really want to prove myself there and put in three good motos and keep my momentum.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
Loket didn’t go the way I wanted so I want to try and put in performances that I’m happy with. Sometimes the results don’t tell the full story, because you can ride better than you finish and sometimes you finish better than you ride, but I think at Lommel, there are no hiding places and you get out what you put in. I didn’t do so well there in 2022, but I’ve ridden in sand a lot more since then and I want to show everyone that I’m a well-rounded racer and can cope with the toughest conditions.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
To go from the hard-pack of Loket to now the deep sand of Lommel shows what a difficult world championship this is for any rider. Tim demonstrated the high levels that he’s currently performing at with that awesome victory in moto two to take his first overall in the Czech Republic and now he’ll be looking to try and repeat that in completely different conditions in Belgium this weekend.
Ferruccio will also be hoping for some better results after a mixed few motos. He’s moved into the top 10 in the MX2 championship, which is a great effort for his full-time rookie season and now he wants to try and put in a few more good results before the end of the series to really highlight how well he’s been riding.
