Gajser escapes early drama to claim 14th in qualifying at Ottobiano
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser had an eventful qualifying race at the MXGP of Lombardia today, as he was forced to a comeback after an early collision at turn one. His team mate Todd Waters made his welcome return to motocross action by finishing 21st in what was a demanding moto under the extreme temperatures of Ottobiano.
After looking strong in free practice and topping the timesheets in timed practice, Gajser got a decent up out of the inside gate but he was pushed out of his line by the rider next to him – a manoeuvre that left the Slovenian with no choice but to close the throttle of his Honda CRF450RW machine #243. As he entered the first corner in the middle of the pack, Gajser had a coming together with another rival and went down; he eventually jumped back on his Honda and, from the very back of the field, made his way back to 14th at the chequered flag.
Waters turned his attention to finding the right feeling with the bike and the championship in what is his second-ever MXGP day of his season (after fracturing his collarbone in his debut in Latvia a month ago). After riding within the top-15 for half of the encounter, the Australian rider slipped down to 21st as the race drew to a close after a late tumble.
The MXGP field with get back on track tomorrow at 10:45 for warm up, with the two races of round 11 scheduled to begin at 14:15 and 17:10 local time (GMT +2).
Tim Gajser 243
My speed was good both in free and timed practice. In the qualifying race I got a good jump out of the gate but Febvre was a little bit in front so he closed me, and I went down at turn one. I was last and I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t find my rhythm and I struggled making passes – it was hard to find good alternatives to the main line. Surely fourteenth is better than last, but tomorrow is race day: we need two good starts and some smooth riding, if we want to battle for the podium.
Todd Waters 42
It’s a nice feeling to be back in the MXGP paddock and with the team. I knew it was going to be difficult today as I only got back on the bike last week, and I was right. I was riding decently in the top-15 in the early part of the qualifying race, but towards the end I basically had no power left in my shoulders so I dropped down few places while trying to ride the bike home – and I had small crash, too. Twenty-first place is not the type of result I was looking for, but it’s surely an improvement from Latvia! The shoulder feels good, though, and that’s the most important thing. We will rest now, get ready for tomorrow and see what happens.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Tim was quick all day long and that was particularly clear in timed practice when he topped the timesheets. The qualifying race didn’t go as planned, however, but we are confident of our chances to do well tomorrow. There is still some work to do but we’re not too far, and if we get two good start we’ll be up there fighting for the top. Todd did OK considering it’s his first day back after the collarbone injury. His first part of the qualifying race was not too bad but he ran out of energy at the end of the moto – something completely understandable - and lost two places at the end due to a small crash. The track is quite unique and sketchy, so we need to be smart tomorrow.
Qualifying race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
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Location Information
Ottobiano, Province of Pavia, Italy - View in Google Maps
