Both Tim Gajser and Mitch Evans are heading to Latvia, coming off the back off one-one performances in their last outings, for what should be another strong showing for the Team HRC duo on this tricky Kegums circuit.

In the case of four-time world champion Gajser, that was in the previous MXGP round in the picturesque Trentino region in Italy, where the Slovenian dominated proceedings in front of thousands of fans who crossed the border to support their national hero.

The #243 then took last weekend off, in order to keep himself fresh for this sixth round of a championship where he has already won four overalls. However, Evans is looking to continue racing himself into shape so decided to compete in the French Championship at Castelnau-de-Levis, which he then won both motos convincingly, to give himself a nice confidence boost heading into this world championship event.

Known as being sandy on top, with a hard base, the Kegums track always provides a difficult test for riders as they try to get to grips with the terrain, but having raced here multiple times in the last couple of years, combined with the two-day format, the Honda CRF450R pair should be comfortable by the gate drops for the two motos on Sunday 24th April.

Tim Gajser 243

Since Trentino, I kept up my training both on and off the bike. Having learnt from last year, I don’t want to over-do things, especially at this early stage of the season. Obviously, the previous MXGP went really well, getting my first one-one of the season and just having a great time riding my Honda CRF450R in front of so many of my fans. It is always good to see and hear them, and I can’t thank them enough for cheering me on. Latvia has some good and bad memories for me, but I’m focusing on the positives, including winning last year, and I’m looking to just continue how I’ve been riding so far this year and go out there and enjoy myself.

Mitch Evans 43

I had a good weekend away from the MXGPs, choosing to race the French Championship where I went one-one. It was good to lead laps, win some races and just have a good solid day on the bike and boost my confidence heading into this race in Latvia. The last round in Trentino also had a lot of positives, so I’m hoping to keep improving and working my way towards the front of the MXGP field.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas

HRC General Manager - MXGP

It was good for Mitch to have that victory in the French Championship, because as riders, winning races is always a good thing. And that adds to good season that Team HRC is already having, and hopefully he can bring that sort of speed to Latvia this weekend. He showed in Trentino he can run with the top guys, so we’re looking for him to show that more and more as the season progresses. For Tim, he is in a really good place right now and we just try to make things comfortable for him, and keep him enjoying coming to races. Last time out he rode amazingly well and we’d love to see him do the same in Kegums.

MXGP 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 236 Team HRC - MXGP Honda
2 Prado Garcia Jorge 61 SPA 203 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing GasGas
3 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 184 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
4 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 160 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
5 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 141 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Yamaha
6 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 126 Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing Team Husqvarna
7 Van Horebeek Jeremy 89 BEL 126 Beta SDM Corse MX Team Beta
8 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 125 Honda 114 Motorsports Honda
9 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 94 SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery GasGas
10 Beaton Jed 14 AUS 82 F&H Racing Team Kawasaki
11 Watson Ben 919 GBR 82 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Kawasaki
12 Evans Mitch 43 AUS 80 Team HRC - MXGP Honda
13 Jonass Pauls LAT 76
14 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 75 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha
15 Tixier Jordi 911 FRA 75 JT911 KTM Racing Team KTM
16 Kjer Olsen Thomas 19 DEN 73 Team Diga-Procross KTM
17 Jacobi Henry 29 GER 59 JM Honda Racing Honda
18 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 47 Riley Racing Yamaha
19 Koch Tom 226 GER 41 KTM Kozak Team KTM
20 Östlund Alvin 161 SWE 30 JK Racing Yamaha Active Yamaha
21 Lupino Alessandro 77 ITA 11 Beta SDM Corse MX Team Beta
22 Rolando Nicolas 144 URU 10 Wildcard Rider Suzuki
23 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 10 iXS MXGP Team Yamaha
24 Roosiorg Hardi 75 EST 8 Sahkar KTM Racing KTM
25 Villaronga Sergio CHI 6
26 Arco Dario ARG 6
27 Martin Humberto VEN 5
28 Trossero Marcos Gabriel ARG 4
29 Zaragoza Jorge 99 SPA 4 Wildcard Rider Honda
30 Toro Lautaro ARG 4
31 Sihvonen Miro FIN 4
32 Carrasco Agustin ARG 4
33 Galletta Pablo 117 ARG 3 Wildcard Rider Yamaha
34 Monticelli Ivo ITA 3
35 Jasikonis Arminas 27 LTU 3 Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing Yamaha
36 Lapucci Nicholas ITA 3
37 Paturel Benoit FRA 2
38 Zonta Filippo 200 ITA 1 Wildcard Rider GasGas
39 Cabarcos Francisco 112 ARG 1 Wildcard Rider Suzuki
Location Information

Zelta Zirgs mototrase, Rembates pagasts, Ķegums Municipality, Latvia - View in Google Maps