Gajser within striking distance of championship lead after another podium

A fifth podium in a row moved Team HRC’s Tim Gajser to within just three points of the championship lead, after more intense racing at the Pietramurata track in Trentino, Italy.

In what was the second of the triple-header races at this picturesque circuit, the MXGP of Pietramurata once again entertained the fans who made it out to the track on this middle-Wednesday, and which still included a large number of Gajser’s Slovenian supporters.

They had plenty to cheer for all day long, as the #243 put in a hot-lap that led most of the timed qualification session, before eventually ending up second. This gave him plenty of options on what is a wide-open start gate, but he was still able to take advantage of this in race one, rounding the first bend in third place before quickly moving into second. Still on the first lap, he made a move to get into first place and quickly opened up a small gap over the chasing pack. Unfortunately, arm-pump crept in and he wasn’t able to push-on as much as he would have liked. Instead, after a final five laps where the lead swapped a number of times, he eventually lost out on the final lap and had to settle for second place.

Motivated to put that right in the second moto, unfortunately Gajser didn’t get the best jump and once again had to make a number of first lap passes. By the time they crossed the line for the first time, the Honda CRF450RW rider had worked his way up to sixth and was in a good position to progress further. As the laps ticked by, Gajser worked his way from sixth to fifth, to fourth, moving past a championship rival in the process and at one stage he was in a tie for the red-plate. With four laps remaining, he made his final pass to get into third place and while other riders also made passes, he still closed right up in the championship points chase to move to within three points of the lead.

With three rounds and six motos left, the pressure is really on but Gajser knows what to expect and will be trying as hard as possible to add to his four world championship titles. Next up on the calendar is the third round at this Trentino facility, taking place on Sunday 31^st October. The season then concludes at Mantova in Italy, where the final two rounds will be held on Sunday 7^th and Wednesday 10^th November.