Gajser adds another race win to lead 2020 tally

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser made it four race wins out of 10 motos when he stormed to a first moto win at the MXGP of Kegums. In what has been the sixth race at the Latvian facility in seven days, Gajser then took the holeshot in the second moto before an issue robbed him of the chance to get his first overall. Teammate Mitch Evans continued his improvement over the week by getting a ninth in race two, giving him his second top 10 overall in what is his rookie MXGP campaign.

The Kegums layout had been tweaked for this fifth round of the world motocross championship but Gajser continued to show his speed throughout this race day. He just missed out on the holeshot in the first corner but quickly moved into the lead by the time they crossed the line for the first time, going on to lead every lap of the moto for what was a comfortable win. This was the fourth time the Honda CRF450RW rider has crossed the line in first place, more than any person in this highly competitive MXGP field.

Unfortunately in race two, whilst looking to move into third place, an electrical issue struck and he was forced to withdrawn from the race, which meant he lost ground in the championship battle. It also meant that he wasn’t able to collect his first overall of the season, something he has fully deserved after his excellent performances in the five rounds of what has been a testing campaign.

Over the seven days, Evans showed great improvement with each race and can now head into the break knowing that he can battle with the top 10, despite being limited on bike time due to his recovery from the shoulder injury. A first moto finish of twelfth was a nice progression from Wednesday, especially as he moved through the field, but it got even better in race two when he was able to move all the way up to 9^th place after starting outside the top 15. This was also good enough for 10^th overall which was a nice way to end his time in Latvia.

The series now has a little break before the sixth round of the series where Gajser and Evans will both be looking to show their speed once again in this 2020 MXGP world championship.