Another moto win for Gajser as championship lead is extended even further

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser kept his race win-streak alive with a dominating second moto victory at the MXGP of Portugal in Agueda. The #243 was second round the first turn, before making his move and controlling the rest of the race for his fourth race win of what is turning into an excellent season so far.

In what were almost perfect conditions at the beautiful Agueda track, the Team HRC duo were looking to bounce back after a difficult qualification day yesterday, with Gajser having seventh gate-pick and Mitch Evans down in 15^th after a couple of inopportune mistakes from the pair in their qualifying races.

In race one, that gate-pick proved a bit of a hinderance for Gajser who was only able to round the first corner in mid-pack. By the end of the first lap, he was in sixth position but with the front two pulling away, he knew he’d have his work cut out to reach them. However, gradually he started making moves and with six laps remaining he was in third, seven seconds behind the pair. He started laying down really fast laptimes but unfortunately time was against him as he crossed the finish line in third, just two seconds behind the leader.

Motivated to fix that in race two, he swept round the first corner in second place, perfectly poised to make the pass and win the second moto. After watching and waiting for five laps, he pounced on lap six and quickly pulled out a gap that he extended every lap until the chequered flag. This marked his fourth moto win of the season, and although he just missed out on the overall by two points, he still extended his lead at the top of the 2022 MXGP World Championship to 21 points, after just four rounds.

For Evans, the 15^th gate-pick really posed him problems as he wasn’t able to avoid the chaotic first turn in either race. In moto one, a couple of bikes came together in front of him and by the time he had negotiated the carnage, he was way down the field. Then in race two, he had to pick himself off the ground after another bike hit him, re-joining the race right at the back of the class again.  However, that didn’t discourage the Australian and he set about trying to make the best of a bad situation, passing eight guys in race one and an even more impressive 10 guys in race two, to finish 15-12 for 12^th overall.

Next weekend, the riders are back in action for round five at the picturesque MXGP of Trentino, home of the familiar Pietramurata circuit. After hosting six rounds in the last two seasons, the venue has changed the layout for this year to give everyone a fresh start and hopefully provide another beautiful setting for what has been an amazing beginning to this 2022 MXGP campaign.