Damage limitation for Gajser in eventful Belgian qualifying moto

It was a tough race! I actually felt really good on the bike today in free practice, timed practice as well as in the race – I just crashed twice! My start was really good and I almost took the holeshot, but then I made a couple of mistakes and Jeffrey [Herlings] and Toni [Cairoli] went past. The following lap I crashed, and then again two laps later. Of course I would have loved to finish in a better position, but eleventh is not too bad and allows us to choose a good gate, whether on the inside or the outside. Tomorrow is another day, and we’ll be ready.

First of all, I would like to thank the team because they’re giving me an amazing amount of support. It’s not an easy moment for me as I’m struggling to express my potential; for many reasons – injury and debilitating bugs - I haven’t been able to ride and train with consistency, and because of that I’m having a hard time on the track. In any case, we were able to make some changes to the bike and I’m confident we will be able to improve a bit more in the races.

We knew already that Lommel isn’t among Tim’s favourite tracks, but despite the two crashes he showed that he can be quick around here. The test we did earlier this week has helped and the bike is working very well here. I’m confident he will be up there battling for the podium tomorrow. Todd didn’t have an easy day but we have done a good briefing after the qualifying race and we have a plan for tomorrow. It’s going to be another hot day at the office!