Dominant Gajser wins Latvian GP with another one-one performance

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser won both motos at the MXGP of Latvia, to extend his moto win-streak to five and increase his points gap at the top of the championship to an impressive 66 points.

On what was a miserably wet day at the Kegums circuit, 50km south of Riga, Gajser took control of both races in what was another impressive display of riding, in what were not very easy conditions. The rain had slowed the track down, providing more ruts and bumps to challenge the best motocross riders on the planet, but after winning the second moto in Portugal and both races in Trentino, the #243 proved he can handle any conditions with a perfect display in the wet sand in Latvia.

He swept around the first turn well inside the top five in motos one and two, and by the end of lap one, was in third and second place respectively. With every rider at their strongest, and the track at its flattest, the Slovenian rider took his time to figure out where to make his move, but when he did put the hammer down, he was into the lead after passes on two consecutive laps.

Race two went even better, as he swept around the first turn in second place, once again putting himself in perfect position to stalk his prey and make the move at exactly the right time. With the track conditions getting harder, this came earlier in the race as others struggled to maintain their speed and he moved into the lead on lap six. From there he controlled the race, taking the win, the overall and further extending his championship lead, to give himself more than a two-moto buffer to those behind.

Unfortunately, teammate Mitch Evans didn’t enjoy such a successful day, as issues in the second and first corner gave himself an uphill battle to get inside the top 10. In race one, he was involved with another rider that left him on the deck and while he was able to move through the field to 17^th midday through the race, another mistake dropped him back again and he had to settle for crossing the line in 19^th.

Things went slightly better in race two as he crossed the first lap in 16^th place, despite a stall in the first corner. This gave him an improved platform to try and break into the top 10, and while he was able to get as high as 10^th, he couldn’t quite hold on and eventually finished in 12^th.

Both riders now have another weekend away from the MXGPs, before they head to Italy for the prestigious challenge of Maggiora on May 7/8. Last year saw rain affect the motos, but everyone will be hoping for better weather as Gajser attempts to keep his win-streak alive, and maintain his stranglehold on this 2022 World Motocross Championship.