Fourth place for Gajser as Waters improves at Pangkal Pinang

Tim Gajser has wrapped up his MXGP of Indonesia with a brace of fourth places in the two Round 12 motos at Pangkal Pinang. These gave him a fourth position overall and helped him move up to fifth in the championship standings. His team mate Todd Waters improved on his first moto performance to claim 14th place in race two despite a crash in the early stages of the race.

Gajser had great pace in the opening stages of the first moto as, with some strong moves, he quickly moved up to third aboard his Honda CRF450RW machine. He then fought to keep the position but was eventually overtaken by Desalle on lap 12 and finished fourth. In the second moto, Gajser had a good jump out of the gate and swapped positions with Herlings and Cairoli at the front in the early stages of the encounter. As the laps went by, however, he began losing touch with the leaders and was eventually passed by Febvre on lap 12 for third.

Todd Waters had a fine comeback from 20th place in race two after crashing out on the second lap. The Australian rider managed to recover some places, showing encouraging pace despite the still not-so-perfect fitness condition to claim fourteenth place at the end of the final encounter.

MXGP will now stay in Indonesia but move from Bangka Island to Samarang, the venue of the MXGP of Asia, for the thirteenth event of the year.

Tim Gajser ²⁴³

Things went better than yesterday. I had a solid start to the first race and made some strong passes at the beginning, and I was riding in third. I made a couple of mistakes and Desalle caught me and got past, and then together we managed to bridge the gap to Jeffrey Herlings but couldn’t get by. In the second race I had a great start; I was second and then I made a pass early on, so I was leading for a lap or so. Jeffrey then bridged the gap and overtook me, and soon after Toni Cairoli did the same. I tried to stay with them but I ended up making few mistakes and fell. Romain then passed me after I remounted but I tried to get back because I knew I had to finish ahead of him to get on the podium. I passed him, but then lost my rhythm and made some mistakes and couldn’t catch him again. It’s disappointing not to finish on the podium but I have the same amount of points as if I had, and the next opportunity is right around the corner. I want to thank the team for the amazing job they have done, and congratulate Calvin for the win - he deserved it!

Todd Waters ⁴²

Race one was not the best, as we came through but then faded back. I made a little bit of a game plan for the second moto, despite knowing that my fitness is still not quite there. Unfortunately I crashed on the first lap: a rider in front went into a rut and the bike folded on me. I came from 20th to 14th, which is not bad all things considered. Definitely not the result we wanted, but at this stage I will take all I can get and keep training hard in order to return to a good level of form.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas

HRC General Manager - MXGP

Tim showed he had the speed today but simply could not turn it into a podium, despite finishing on the same amount of points as Febvre. He battled at the front but ended up making a few mistakes, which compromised his performance and affected his rhythm. It’s a shame, because he looked like he could have aimed at more than fourth. In any case, he’ll soon have another chance for that. Todd showed some improvements in the second race; we know he still needs time to properly get up to speed, but as long as there are steps forwards we’re satisfied.

MXGP 2018 Sunday, July 1st 2018

Race Round 12 MXGP of Indonesia Indonesia