After posting the fastest lap in practice, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser had to settle for seventh place in the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina qualification race, making things a little bit more difficult when he lines up for the points-scoring motos tomorrow.

Quickest in both free practice and timed practice, he had first gate pick for the qualifying race, using that advantage to slot into second place early on in the first lap. As he stalked the leader, the pass looked inevitable but unfortunately as he was gearing up for another attempt, he encountered a rear brake issue that instead caused him to have to drop his pace. On this high-speed track, Gajser struggled to adapt to this handicap, dropping five places down the field before crossing the line in seventh place. Overall, it was still a promising day as he proved his speed in every session, and with two good starts tomorrow, he’ll be in with a good chance of extending his lead at the top of the 2022 MXGP World Championship.

Fellow Honda CRF450R rider Mitch Evans continued his development with a solid day of riding at the beautiful Villa La Angostura track. The Australian was 11th in timed practice and then worked his way from 14th to 12th in the qualification race, battling hard throughout the race and showing more signs that he is on his way back to his pre-injury speed.

So with seventh and 12th gate picks, both Team HRC riders will be looking to get good starts and attack this technical circuit in front of what should be another massive crowd of passionate Argentinians.

Tim Gajser 243

Obviously, it is a bit frustrating to have only finished seventh, when being so well placed. There was nothing I could about it and I didn’t want to risk too much because it is only Saturday, so I just tried to keep a decent pace and make sure that I finished the race safely. I know that my speed is good as I had the fastest lap in timed practice and I felt really comfortable at the beginning of the race, so I just need to make sure I get two good starts and continue riding like I know how.

Mitch Evans 43

This was another good step forward for me, as I felt like my race craft was a lot better in this qualifying race. I’m still not fighting for the positions I want to be in, but I feel as though I’m improving each time I get on the bike, and that is important. I really like this track here in Villa La Angostura, so I’m going to go out there tomorrow and try and enjoy it as much as possible and keep this improvement going.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas

HRC General Manager - MXGP

The day was going really well, with Tim posting the fastest lap in practice and getting first gate pick. He then moved his way into second position in the qualifying race and looked to be making a move for the lead when this issue arose. This meant he had to just ride a bit more conservatively and unfortunately that dropped him down the field to seventh. Still, he is looking good and riding well and we are confident he can get the job done tomorrow.
Mitch continues to work his way back into race-shape and performed well throughout the day. He is showing a solid progression and we know that he’ll keep getting better the more he rides.

MXGP 2022
Qualifying Round 3   Argentina

Qualification

Cloudy
Air Temp
12°C
Track Cond
Loam
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Jonass Pauls LAT 24:21.810
2 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:01.856
3 Prado Garcia Jorge 61 SPA Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas 0:04.830
4 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:05.531
5 Kjer Olsen Thomas 19 DEN Team Diga-Procross KTM 0:07.839
6 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha 0:14.892
7 Gajser Tim 243 SLO Team HRC - MXGP Honda 0:17.790
8 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA Honda 114 Motorsports Honda 0:19.544
9 Van Horebeek Jeremy 89 BEL Beta SDM Corse MX Team Beta 0:22.760
10 Tixier Jordi 911 FRA JT911 KTM Racing Team KTM 0:26.272
11 Jacobi Henry 29 GER JM Honda Racing Honda 0:33.623
12 Evans Mitch 43 AUS Team HRC - MXGP Honda 0:40.157
13 Forato Alberto 303 ITA SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery GasGas 0:43.149
14 Watson Ben 919 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki 0:45.320
15 Martin Humberto VEN 1 lap
16 Toro Lautaro ARG 1 lap
17 Trossero Marcos Gabriel ARG 1 lap
18 Arco Dario ARG 1 lap
19 Villaronga Sergio CHI 1 lap
20 Carrasco Agustin ARG 1 lap
MXGP 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 94 Team HRC - MXGP Honda
2 Prado Garcia Jorge 61 SPA 82 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas
3 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 77 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
4 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 74 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
5 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 57 Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing Team Husqvarna
6 Kjer Olsen Thomas 19 DEN 57 Team Diga-Procross KTM
7 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 48 Honda 114 Motorsports Honda
8 Van Horebeek Jeremy 89 BEL 48 Beta SDM Corse MX Team Beta
9 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 43 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
10 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 41 SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery GasGas
11 Beaton Jed 14 AUS 40 F&H Racing Team Kawasaki
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 33 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki
13 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 32 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha
14 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 28 Riley Racing Yamaha
15 Jacobi Henry 29 GER 26 JM Honda Racing Honda
16 Tixier Jordi 911 FRA 23 JT911 KTM Racing Team KTM
17 Evans Mitch 43 AUS 18 Team HRC - MXGP Honda
18 Östlund Alvin 161 SWE 13 JK Racing Yamaha Active Yamaha
19 Koch Tom 226 GER 12 KTM Kozak Team KTM
20 Jonass Pauls LAT 11
21 Lupino Alessandro 77 ITA 11 Beta SDM Corse MX Team Beta
22 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 10 iXS MXGP Team Yamaha
23 Jasikonis Arminas 27 LTU 3 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha
24 Roosiorg Hardi 75 EST 2 Sahkar KTM Racing KTM
25 Zonta Filippo 200 ITA 1 Wildcard Rider GasGas
Location Information

Neuquen, Argentina - View in Google Maps