Gajser fights back with moto win and second overall, Evans top five

Team HRC got off to a great start in the 2020 world motocross championship as Tim Gajser fought back from an eighth in race one to win the second moto by over 20 seconds. Team-mate Mitch Evans, also produced two excellent displays of riding to go three-seven for fifth overall at the MXGP of Great Britain.

After storms hit the track on Friday night, the Saturday schedule was shortened in order to limit the damage but Sunday was a completely different story as the Matterley Basin circuit was at its picture-perfect best for the two MXGP motos.

In race one, both of the new Honda CRF450RW riders got decent jumps out of the gate and rounded the first corner inside the top 10. Unfortunately, in the second corner, with the riders all bunched together, Gajser got bumped out of a rut and lost his balance. By the time the #243 had picked his bike up, he was at the back of the field and left with a lot of work to do. Evans managed to avoid this incident and instead found himself in third place and within striking distance of the top two. He then quickly moved into second place and then even made a move for the lead but wasn’t quite able to make it happen.

Meanwhile, Gajser was working his way quickly through the field, getting inside the top 10 by lap four. However, each pass was getting more difficult and he eventually got to eighth, five places behind Evans who crossed the line in his maiden MXGP moto in an impressive third.

For race two, it was Gajser’s turn to take control and he swept into the lead right after the holeshot line. The Slovenian rider had a point to prove and he put on a display that was one of the most impressive of his career, winning by over 20 seconds and posting a laptime more than one second quicker than his nearest rival. The victory gave him a total of 38 points, which was good enough for second overall and a solid beginning to the defence of his MXGP crown.

Unfortunately, Evans wasn’t able to repeat his moto one start and was down the field as they rounded the first few corners. By the time they crossed the line for the first time, the Australian was in 15th place and charging hard, and within two more laps, he was inside the top 10. Despite this being his first MXGP on a 450cc machine, he continued to overtake much more experienced competitors and eventually finished in seventh place, giving him an excellent fifth overall.

The team now head straight to the Netherlands in order to prepare for the second round of the MXGP championship, which will be held at the sandy Valkenswaard track on March 7-8.