Overall victory for Gajser as he increases championship lead

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put in his best result of what is already a championship-leading season as he swept to one-two races results to take the MXGP of Europe overall.

Held for the third event in succession at the Mantova sand-track, the Slovenian rider got out of the gate well in both races and made passes when he needed to, in order to not only get the win, but also extend his red-plate margin to over 10 points. Teammate Mitch Evans also put in his joint-best results of the year to go four-eight for fifth overall and move to within striking distance of the top 10 in this competitive MXGP class.

For Gajser, it was a culmination of a lot of hard work to step onto the top of the podium and it was nothing more than the Honda CRF450RW rider deserved after his seven race wins in the ten rounds before today. He then added to that total in another display of speed and control on the fast-paced Mantova circuit. The Honda rider then came very close to making it a convincing one-one performance, finishing just a couple of seconds behind the leader after a small mistake mid-race caused him to lose a position. Now, with seven rounds still to race, Gajser sits 11 points ahead in the 2020 MXGP world championship and filled with confidence after he was able to get this overall victory.

Mitch Evans also heads to the next round in Spain with renewed belief that he can battle at the front of the field, after battling hard to a fourth place in the first moto. It is the third time that he’s finished fourth this year and it is further confirmation that the Australian in his rookie year can challenge for podium spots. An eighth in race two wasn’t quite what he was after but it still meant an overall finish of fifth, which was what he achieved at the first round of the series in Great Britain, back in March.

Now Team HRC head to the Spanish capital of Madrid for what is a new venue near the intu Xanadú-Arroyomolinos shopping complex. While no riders have ridden there yet, it is believed to be hard-pack terrain which should suit the Honda duo, who have just a few days to get ready for the racing on Sunday 11^th October.