Momentum building for Team HRC as they travel to Turkiye
All three Team HRC riders – Tim Gajser, Ruben Fernandez and Ferruccio Zanchi – are making the trip to Turkiye for this weekend’s 18th round of the 2024 World Motocross Championship, where they’ll be tackling the challenge of the Afyon circuit buoyed by events at the previous round in Switzerland.
For Gajser, that was a highly momentous season-first one-one performance, and one that increased his points lead to 18 points with just three rounds remaining. The tight and technical track was perfect for the Honda CRF450R rider and he swept through the field on his way to victory to give himself a bit more breathing room as the end of the season approaches. And having won in Afyon in both 2023 and 2022, he knows that this is a venue he can perform at the highest level on, and will be aiming to repeat the feat from Frauenfeld and increase his lead even further.
After returning to action in Switzerland after almost six months out, recovering from a knee injury, Fernandez is also looking forward to racing again. His comeback went exceedingly well, leading some laps and fighting inside the top 10 and having now had a weekend off to assess how that went, he heads to Turkiye excited to try and work his way closer to the front for the duration of the motos.
Having had a season-best moto score of sixth in race one in Switzerland, MX2 rider Zanchi has also got some momentum behind him as he tries to finish his rookie campaign on a high. The young Italian has already raced far more than in any other year, so it is already impressive that he is still able to perform at a high level, but with him seemingly getting better, there are hopes he can break into the top five before the season is over.
So while the three riders have different targets, Gajser, Fernandez and Zanchi are all confident that this weekend’s racing in Afyon, Turkiye will be a successful one, which will put them on the right path for a great ending to this 2024 season.
Tim Gajser 243
Switzerland was an important weekend for me, on a track I’d never raced GPs on before. Going one-one gave me maximum points and now my target it to try and do the same again in Afyon, which is a track I really enjoy riding. Last year, it was where I won for the first time after my leg injury so I know I am good there and it is a track that suits my style, so I just want to go out and perform like I know how and if I do that, I am sure the results will be good.
Ruben Fernandez 70
It was great to be back in the paddock again after such a long layoff. And it was even better to be able to lead some laps and just enjoy racing with everyone. Now, having got that under my belt and seen where I am, I know what I need to do to perform better and that is what I will try to do in Turkiye this weekend. It is a fun track and another good step for me, as I want to end the season well. The last GP is in Spain, and I also got picked for the Spanish Motocross of Nations team, so it is important for me to build my level quickly so I can do well in those events.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
I’m excited to head to Turkiye, which I did okay at last year, with a second place in a moto. Switzerland went well and with China and Spain being new races for me, this is a pretty cool part of the calendar for me and one that I’ve been looking forward to. I’ve definitely had some ups and downs this year but I’m fit and healthy and my riding is good. I got to spend some time at Tim’s track in Slovenia this past week which was also really cool, so I’m really in a good place and can’t wait to get going in Afyon.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Having three riders in Switzerland really put everyone in a great mood, and then to have them all performing well just made it even better. Tim showed really good speed and racing ability to win those motos, in what was a perfect time to do it, and heading into Turkiye which is a track he likes, we’re going to be trying our hardest to help him do it again. Ruben also came back with a bang, and while he is a completely different stage, we want to get him finishing as high as possible in these last few rounds.
The same with Zanchi who is really looking close to those top five riders. It’s an interesting part of the year with these new experiences for him like Switzerland and China, but he has shown his riding is at a good level and it won’t take much to have that breakthrough.
Rider standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 860 | Team HRC - MXGP | Honda |
2 | Prado Garcia Jorge | 1 | SPA | 842 | Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas |
3 | Herlings Jeffrey | 84 | NDL | 818 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
4 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 587 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
5 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 550 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
6 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 527 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
7 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 514 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
8 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 386 | Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
9 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 329 | Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
10 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 295 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
11 | Jonass Pauls | 41 | LAT | 274 | Standing Construct Honda MXGP | Honda |
12 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 268 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
13 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 260 | Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna |
14 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 218 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM |
15 | Paturel Benoit | FRA | 197 | |||
16 | Tondel Cornelius | 17 | NOR | 192 | Schmicker Racing | KTM |
17 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 166 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha |
18 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 110 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
19 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 100 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
20 | Koch Tom | GER | 99 | |||
21 | Östlund Alvin | SWE | 96 | |||
22 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 90 | Standing Construct Honda MXGP | Honda |
23 | Monticelli Ivo | 128 | ITA | 81 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
24 | van Doninck Brent | 32 | BEL | 77 | JM Honda Racing | Honda |
25 | Spies Maximillian | GER | 76 | |||
26 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 42 | SixtySeven Racing Team | Husqvarna |
27 | Gilbert Josh | 326 | GBR | 36 | Gabriel SS24 KTM | KTM |
28 | Sterry Adam | GBR | 28 | |||
29 | Okura Yuki | 163 | JPN | 25 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
30 | Mewse Conrad | GBR | 21 | |||
31 | Kerhoas Lionel | FRA | 20 | |||
32 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 19 | Team HRC - MXGP | Honda |
33 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 19 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
34 | Haavisto Jere | FIN | 18 | |||
35 | Tropepe Giuseppe | ITA | 15 | |||
36 | Jacobi Henry | GER | 13 | |||
37 | Edberg Tim | 37 | SWE | 13 | JM Honda Racing | Honda |
38 | Cairoli Antonio | ITA | 10 | |||
39 | Tonus Arnaud | SWI | 10 | |||
40 | Kohut Tomas | CZE | 9 | |||
41 | Valentin Ander | SPA | 7 | |||
42 | Scuteri Emilio | 228 | ITA | 6 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
43 | Quarti Yuri | ITA | 6 | |||
44 | Gerhardsson Albin | SWE | 6 | |||
45 | Freibergs Uldis | 684 | LAT | 6 | Wildcard Rider | GasGas |
46 | Teresak Jakub | 224 | CZE | 6 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
47 | Scheu Mark | GER | 6 | |||
48 | Kellet Todd | GBR | 5 | |||
49 | Van Berkel Lars | NDL | 5 | |||
50 | Ludwig Noah | 300 | GER | 4 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
51 | Cordovez Miguel | ECU | 4 | |||
52 | Zonta Filippo | ITA | 4 | |||
53 | Petrov Petar | BUL | 3 | |||
54 | Nickel Cato | 131 | GER | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
55 | Aparecido dos Santos Fabio | 238 | BRA | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
56 | Van der Vlist Freek | NDL | 3 | |||
57 | Croci Simone | ITA | 3 | |||
58 | Sileika Tomass | LAT | 3 | |||
59 | Pezzuto Stefano | ITA | 3 | |||
60 | Nagy Anton | 60 | SWE | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
61 | Polak Petr | CZE | 2 | |||
62 | Rolando Nicolas | URU | 2 | |||
63 | Gole Anton | SWE | 2 | |||
64 | Benenaula Andres | ECU | 1 | |||
65 | Purdon Tristan | RSA | 1 | |||
66 | Villaronga Sergio | CHI | 1 | |||
67 | Blanken Boris | 521 | NDL | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Fantic |
68 | Stewart Lewis | AUS | 0 | |||
69 | van de Moosdijk Roan | 39 | NDL | 0 | Team HRC - MXGP | Honda |
70 | Repcak Pavol | 322 | CZE | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
71 | Walsh Dylan | NZL | 0 | |||
72 | Grimshaw Tom | GBR | 0 |
Location Information
Sadıkbey Mahallesi, Dörtyol Mah. Turgut Özal Cad., Afyon Yeni Şehir Stadyumu Yanı, 03200 Merkez/Afyonkarahisar - View in Google Maps