Podium for Gajser in Spain, with Zanchi continuing to progress

MXGP

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser made it two podiums out of two, as the Slovenian went two-two for second overall at the difficult Intu-Xanadu circuit in Arroyomolinos, near Madrid, Spain. The deep, ruts provided a real challenge for all the riders but Gajser was able to put in two strong races and keep up the challenge at the top of the MXGP Championship. Teammate Ruben Fernandez will have surgery on his torn ACL this Tuesday, when more information about his recovery period will be available.

After his second place in the qualification race yesterday, the #243 had second gate-pick for the motos today but in the first race he wasn’t able to use that to his advantage and instead came around the first turn in the middle of the field. Showing his speed and precision in the rest of the lap, he quickly carved his way through the pack and was in fourth place by the end of complete first lap. A lap later he was up to third, and then a couple of laps after that he was in second, but much like the qualifying race yesterday, the leader was too far ahead to mount any challenge.

The start went a lot better in race two, as Gajser’s Honda CRF450R rocketed around the first turn in second place. Poised to capitalise on any mistake, the #243 tried his best to put pressure on the leader but with the track conditions deteriorating, he realised that it was better to maintain his second place, than to risk a crash and drop valuable points at this early stage in the championship. So in the end, a two-two finish was still good enough for second step on the podium, and gives him soul possession of second place in the title battle with 18 rounds still left to race.

Next up for Gajser will be the deep sand track of Riola Sardo, in Sardinia on April 6-7, which hasn’t always been kind to him before, but now offers the perfect chance for redemption and a great opportunity to take his first overall victory of the 2024 MXGP World Motocross Championship.

MX2

Following on from his excellent sixth overall in Argentina, was always going to be tough for rookie Ferruccio Zanchi, but the youngster continued to display the grit and determination that is needed from young riders, fighting hard for every position right until the very end.

Yesterday’s qualification race didn’t give him the best gate-pick but he was just outside the top 10 after the first lap, in 12^th place. From there, he kept it steady until the very end, when a problem dropped him to 18^th place just a couple of corners from the end.

Motivated to make up for that, the Italian once again had a good start around the top 10 and again spent the entire trying to make up places and hold his position from much more experienced riders. This time he was able to cross the line in a very respectable 12^th place, and keep his early season momentum going, which will hopefully continue for the next couple of rounds, which are both in Italy and at tracks that he is familiar with, with the deep sand of Riola followed by the picturesque hillside track of Pietramurata in Trentino, Italy.

Race 1

1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:35.021;
2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:03.331;
3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:04.857;
4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:05.657;
5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:15.807;
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:33.992;
7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:41.988;
8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:42.910;
9. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +0:48.366;
10. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:50.788;
…
18. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);

Race 2

1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 35:28.621;
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:01.744;
3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:02.759;
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:03.492;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:23.631;
6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:30.532;
7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:36.472;
8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:40.345;
9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:54.167;
10. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +0:58.999;
…
12. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:19.771;

Overall

1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 47 points;
2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 42 p.;
3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 40 p.;
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 38 p.;
5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 33 p.;
6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 30 p.;
7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 27 p.;
8. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GAS), 23 p.;
9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 22 p.;
10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 22 p.;
…
14. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 12 p.;