Tim Gajser clinches another victory in Faenza to close championship gap

Michelle Liew

September 10, 2020

The championship heads to its third of the triple-headers in Faenza, on Sunday 13^th September. No doubt it should be another hot day of racing in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy.

Tim Gajser | Photo credits: HRC

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser has just won his fifth race of the season at the Faenza track. The battle for the lead of the 2020 MXGP World Championship continues to intensify and Gajser sits at top three of the riders’ standings with 237 points. Teammate Mitch Evans came in fourth place in the second moto, clocking the fastest lap time of the race.

Tim Gajser (Team HRC)- As It Happened

“It was a good feeling to get back out and winning races again. I’ve had some bad luck in the last few rounds, and even again today but I’m extremely happy with how that second moto went. The first moto I wasn’t able to push as much as I wanted. But I was riding well and was still able to come out in fifth. I wanted to really show everyone again just how fast I can be in race two. And I think with the victory I am back to where I want to be and standing in a good position in the championship battle. Now I just need to continue this with two good starts on Sunday and if I manage that, I’m sure I will get a good result.”

Mitch Evans (Team HRC)- As It Happened

“Very good day which started off well in timed practice, where I was in first position for awhile in the session. That was a cool feeling but I knew the racing was the main focus. In the first moto I got a really good start but struggled a bit with arm-pump due to probably pushing too hard at the beginning. I wasn’t riding myself and ended up in ninth. It was something I wasn’t too happy about, but I put it behind me for moto two.”

“I didn’t get quite such a good start in race two but I kept pushing the whole moto and made some passes. I was battling with the front guys, which was very satisfying to be back up there and running their pace. Overall I was really happy with how that race went, finishing fourth. Now I’m looking forward to getting some more top fives when we race again on Sunday.”

Marcus Pereira de Freitas (HRC General Manager-MXGP)

“In the second moto, it was great to see Team HRC riders in first and third and pushing hard. This is what we hoped for when we signed Mitch to join Tim. It is amazing to see them doing this on the new Honda CRF450RW. The riders showed determination to improve upon their first race results. We are now heading into the third race here with both riders showing speed and stamina on what is a very tricky Faenza track. The starts are important. But we saw that they were able to push early-on and we’ll be looking for more wins and podiums come Sunday.”