First turn crash hinders team HRC MXGP’s qualifying hopes
Tim Gajser #243 and Evgeny Bobryshev #777 had an infuriating start to the MXGP of Switzerland today on their CRF450RW’s, when they both got caught up in a first turn crash at the start of the qualifying race.
As the gate dropped both Tim and Bobby were a little off their usual start pace and when a rider went down in the first turn they both got tangled up in the aftermath. Tim was forced to return to the pits to assess the damage to his bike whereas Bobby was able to dust himself down and get back into the race.
Nearly a lap down, in last position with nothing to lose, Bobby rode a defiant race. He found his rhythm, caught the pack and began working his way through the traffic. He gave it his all until the last lap, coming in a well-earned 14th position.
Tim eventually returned to the race but he was two laps down. Although he was out of the race competitively, he put down some solid lap times which; had he been in contention, would have easily see him in the top three.
The HRC duo will both be looking to get a good start tomorrow to stay out of trouble. The first MXGP race begins at 14h15 local time.
Tim Gajser 243
I was feeling really good today. I like the track, it has many ruts, many bumps, many lines. In the qualifying race I didn’t get the best start and then I ended up in a crash in the first corner. I did something to the front of my bike so I had to pull into pit lane and then I was waiting there for two laps. When I returned to the track I was already two laps down so, although my riding and speed were there, I was never going to make up enough ground. I think we have the speed to be in the top three, I just need to get the start tomorrow to prove that.
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
Everything went wrong in the first corner of the qualifying race today. I was inside the pack and a rider crashed in-front of me, I couldn’t avoid him and I went over the bars. Tim then crashed with me too and it was a big pile up. I was a lap down and I pushed, got into a good rhythm and started catching the back of the pack. It was difficult to get good speed coming through the pack because of the amount of riders. I got to 14th and the gap to 13th was too much so I am OK with that. The speed was there so I need to get a better start tomorrow and it will be good for the race.
Roger Harvey
The positions in the qualifying race today don’t reflect the rides of Tim or Bobby. There was a crash on the first corner which both went down in and were tangled up with other bikes. Bobby managed to pick it up and get going again whereas Tim was forced back to the pits to do some changes to the bike to make it safe again which meant he lost a lot of time. Bobby, on a track that is very difficult to pass on made his way back from last to 14th position which we are very happy with. Tim went out just in front of the leaders and held station all race, we have seen we have got the speed they just need to carry it into a start tomorrow.
Qualifying
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|
Location Information
Oberwiesenstrasse, Frauenfeld, Switzerland - View in Google Maps
