Gajser right in championship battle after tough MXGP of Galicia

MXGP
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser tried his hardest to keep his podium-streak alive at the MXGP of Galicia (Spain), but just narrowly missed out after putting in an extremely impressive second moto charge, keeping himself right in this 2024 MXGP Championship hunt.

The Slovenian rider had second gate-pick after his second-place in yesterday’s qualification race, but he got closed out in both first turns and instead had to battle hard in the opening few corners. In race one, he made a couple of great moves and quickly got himself into third place but a mistake a bit later dropped him right down the field to 12^th. From there, he had his work cut-out to get near the podium positions on a track that wasn’t very easy to pass on, but he put his head down and got all the way up to sixth place.

In race two, he was just outside the top 10 around the first bend, but in a series of impressive moves on a number of his championship rivals, he once again moved himself into third place as the top two tried to escape into the distance. Not deterred, the #243 once again put his head-down, posting the fastest lap of the race and quickly closed up on second place. A lap later he had made the move and set his sights firmly on the number one position. As the laps ticked down, so Gajser closed the gap down to just one second and just as he was ready to pounce for the lead, he had an unfortunate little mistake which instead cost him a position.

Riding across the line in third, the five-time world champion was disappointed with how it ended, but he can be proud of the speed and the passing ability he showed on a difficult Lugo circuit. And the good thing is, he doesn’t have long to dwell on this result as the series heads to France next weekend and the hillside track of St Jean D’Angely, where Gajser won in 2022 – the last time the series headed there for a GP.

MX2
Ferruccio Zanchi made his return to the MX2 class this weekend and put in a really good set of results, given his time away from the action. The Italian followed-up from his impressive fourth place in the qualification race with an 11^th in race one and then a 10^th in race two, giving him 10^th overall and a good points total for his weekend of racing.

Missing GPs is never easy, especially in your rookie season but the youngster looked right at home, and showed that in the qualification race that he hasn’t lost any speed. The longer two motos today proved a tougher challenge but he still acquitted himself well and kept things consistent on what was a tricky track and now heads to France excited for more races.

Race 1
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 34:23.923;
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:00.732;
3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:08.044;
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:14.344;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:23.543;
6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:25.794;
7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:32.078;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:33.797;
9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:38.384;
10. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +0:59.661;
11. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:12.157;

Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:49.474;
2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:02.658;
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:05.026;
4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:15.030;
5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:17.888;
6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.302;
7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:39.731;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:45.215;
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:55.051;
10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:11.415;

Overall
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 43 points;
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 43 p.;
3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 42 p.;
4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 42 p.;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 31 p.;
6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 29 p.;
7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 28 p.;
8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 26 p.;
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 26 p.;
10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 21 p.;