Another podium for Gajser as he continues his strong season in Sardinia

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put in strong show in the deep sand of Riola Sardo, Sardinia, going two-two once again for his third podium in a row as he cements his second place in the 2024 MXGP Championship. Debutant teammate Roan van de Moosdijk put in some good laps at the beginning of both motos, but in the end decided it was wiser to pull-off than risk injury in what were some brutal conditions at the island circuit.

Showing good speed all day on his Honda CRF450R, Gajser was actually fastest in the early Sunday warm-up, giving him some confidence as he headed into the motos later on in the day. And when the gate did drop, he was quickly up into second place after another good start and well-placed to challenge for the lead. Unfortunately, he was never quite able to make the necessary move that would have seen him take another moto victory, and he instead had to settle for second.

Moto two didn’t start quite as well, as he was just outside the top five around the first bend, but as he has done so far in 2024, he quickly made his way into third place and set about trying to close the gap up to the top two. Eventually he got it down to under five seconds, and as he did that, the rider in second crashed and he swept into his position with half the moto to go. Just like the first moto, he wasn’t quite able to get close enough to leader for a pass and kept up his run of podium finishes.

After signing with the team this weekend, v/d Moosdijk was always going to be facing an uphill battle in his MXGP-class debut, coming with little bike-time and without a good, solid off-season of preparation under his belt. And when the temperature gauges started rising, his job was made even more difficult on a track that has made even the best riders in the world struggle. As it was, he was just outside the top 10 in both races before removing himself from the race-track as a precaution to avoid making a mistake that could hinder his further development. He knows the speed is there, and now the work begins to make sure he can run that for a full moto.

This task should be a lot easier at the Pietramurata track next weekend, which definitely isn’t as physically demanding, and offers a much better opportunity for him to open his points account in this class. It’s also a track that Gajser calls his ‘home GP’ and the Slovenian will be very much looking forward to going for the win at the MXGP of Trentino.