Team HRC’s Tim Gajser has qualified in 11th place for the two MXGP races of the Grand Prix of Belgium, which will be contested tomorrow from 14:15 and 17:10 local time (GMT +2) at Lommel. Gajser’s team mate Todd Waters finished the moto in 22nd position under the excruciatingly hot midsummer Belgian sun.

Gajser enjoyed a near-perfect start to the moto as he entered turn one in second place. After losing a couple of positions, the 21-year-old Slovenian rider had a small crash on the first full lap and dropped all the way down to tenth place. He then recovered a couple of places before crashing again on lap three and re-joining in 15th position. Tim was eventually 11th at the chequered flag aboard his Honda CRF450RW machine #243.

Todd Waters had more of a difficult time in getting up to speed as he battled around the top-20 positions for almost the entire race, before crossing the line twenty-second.

Tim Gajser 243

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.

Todd Waters 42

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.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas

HRC General Manager - MXGP

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!

MXGP 2018
Qualifying Round 15   Belgium

Qualifying Race

Sunny & Dry
Air Temp
31°C
Track Cond
Deep sand
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
Location Information

Dodenveldstraat, 3900 Overpelt, Belgium - View in Google Maps