Honda HRC power on full display as Gajser wins and Fernandez third
The Honda CRF450R duo of Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez put in excellent rides to finish first and third in the MXGP of Sardegna’s qualification race, held at the deep-sand track of Riola Sardo of the Italian island.
Coming into today, Gajser had won five the last six gate-drops, and he made it six from seven, with a come-from-behind performance that shows he sand skills are up with the best in the world. The #243 was fastest in timed practice, but didn’t get the best jump, especially compared to teammate Fernandez, who roared out of the gate and crossed the holeshot line in first place.
While Fernandez tried to pull away, Gajser made a number of moves to get himself into third place by the end of the first lap as the Honda pair made-up two of the three podium positions. Midway through the moto, Gajser passed his teammate for the lead and while the #70 did slip to third, it was still an excellent ride for the Spaniard, and one that should give him a lot of confidence for the longer motos tomorrow. Gajser then tried to pull out a gap, but unbeknownst to him, the second-place rider was staying within striking distance. On the last lap, as lappers blocked the Slovenian, he suddenly realised how close it was up-front so increased his speed and held on for the win – his second qualification victory of the season, also moving him to 39 points ahead of his nearest rival in the championship standings. The MXGP pair are very happy with how things went and will be trying to make sure they can repeat their efforts for the GP-scoring motos tomorrow.
In the MX2 class, Ferruccio Zanchi and Valerio Lata didn’t quite have such a good day as the pair finished eighth and 11th respectively. Lata had shown good speed in timed practice to place fifth, but he wasn’t able to translate that in the qualification race and instead was battling just outside of the points-scoring positions.
Zanchi fared better in the race, after being 10th in timed practice, but the young Italian still wasn’t happy to only cross the line in eighth place, after a race filled with battles. Both riders will be looking for improvements tomorrow, and with the deep-sand track only getting more difficult, the Honda HRC crew will be working as hard as they can to help them achieve their desired results.
MX2 Qualification Race
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 23:48.580; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:08.814; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:15.043; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:18.914; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.830; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:24.542; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:25.148; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:45.137; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:51.272; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:56.150; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:02.510;
Tim Gajser 243
It was a good day in the sand, being fastest in timed practice and then coming through the field in the qualification race to win that. I didn’t get the best start, but I made a lot of good passes on the first lap to get into third. Ruben was riding well in the lead, so it took a few laps to get past him, and then I thought I had a comfortable gap to second but in the last lap I heard a rider behind and had to push to stay in the lead. Still, I felt comfortable and I enjoyed myself so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Ruben Fernandez 70
It felt really good to lead the qualification race for almost half the race before Tim passed me, and then end up in third place. I haven’t had the best results here in the past, so it was nice to show people that I am fast in the sand and that I can also get some good results here. It was good to get the holeshot too, and I actually enjoyed riding, so I’m very happy with today and I can’t wait for the motos.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
I’m not really happy with the eighth place finish in the qualification race. It took me too many laps to find my speed and I just never got to the consistent pace of the riders in front of me. We will work on for tomorrow though, and hopefully I can be much better in the two motos.
Valerio Lata 18
That is not how I hoped today would go and I’m very disappointed to finish outside of the points. I just couldn’t find my flow and on this track, that is very important when it is so rough and bumpy. We will work on some things tomorrow morning in the warm-up to try and make things easier in the motos, and hopefully I can challenge much nearer the front of the field.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
It was great to see Ruben and Tim at the front of the MXGP field, one and two and showing the power of the Honda CRF450R. Ruben’s holeshot was excellent and Tim put in a strong moto to come through and win, holding off a charging opponent, once he realised he was there. We will try and make sure things go as well for the pair tomorrow! We will also try to help the MX2 guys move up the field, as they weren’t able to show their full potential today. Both Ferruccio and Valerio were just a bit off the pace, and when the track is so difficult, it is important we get everything right for them. Still, they are both motivated to do better on home turf so I’m confident we’ll have four happy riders at the end of tomorrow.
Qualification Race
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 10 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda | 23:39.296 |
2 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 9 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0:00.332 |
3 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 8 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda | 0:10.198 |
4 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 7 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:11.126 |
5 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 6 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda | 0:18.333 |
6 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 5 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:21.127 |
7 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 4 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:24.303 |
8 | van de Moosdijk Roan | NDL | 3 | 0:44.700 | |||
9 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 2 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:48.459 |
10 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 1 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta | 0:50.421 |
11 | Sterry Adam | GBR | 0 | 0:54.031 | |||
12 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 0 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati | 0:59.577 |
13 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 0 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 1:04.162 |
14 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 0 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM | 1:05.026 |
15 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha | 1:09.834 |
16 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 0 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha | 1:15.789 |
17 | Gilbert Josh | GBR | 0 | 1:20.437 | |||
18 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | 1:35.128 |
19 | Tondel Cornelius | 17 | NOR | 0 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda | 1:36.915 |
20 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 0 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki | 1:37.512 |
Rider standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 177 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
2 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 138 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
3 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 121 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
4 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 116 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
5 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 114 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
6 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 87 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
7 | Jonass Pauls | 41 | LAT | 86 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
8 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 85 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
9 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 84 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
10 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 68 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
11 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 61 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
12 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 58 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
13 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 55 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
14 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 54 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha |
15 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 42 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
16 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 40 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
17 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 37 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM |
18 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 30 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
19 | van de Moosdijk Roan | NDL | 17 | |||
20 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 15 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
21 | Koch Tom | 226 | GER | 14 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
22 | Ludwig Noah | GER | 11 | |||
23 | Sterry Adam | GBR | 10 | |||
24 | Gilbert Josh | GBR | 8 | |||
25 | Tondel Cornelius | 17 | NOR | 7 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda |
26 | Aparecido dos Santos Fabio | BRA | 5 | |||
27 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 2 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
28 | Pape Romain | 53 | FRA | 2 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
29 | Scheu Mark | GER | 1 | |||
30 | Nickel Cato | GER | 1 |