It was a totally dominant performance from Slovenia’s Tim Gajser as he won the Latvian GP at the weekend, the sixth round of 20 in the 2022 Motocross World Championships.
Team HRC’s Gajser won both motos at the MXGP of Latvia, to extend his moto win-streak to five and increase his points gap at the top of the championship to an impressive 66 points.
On what was a miserably wet day at the Kegums circuit, 50km south of Riga, Gajser (pictured here) took control of both races in what was another impressive display of riding, in what were not very easy conditions.
The rain had slowed the track down, providing more ruts and bumps to challenge the best motocross riders on the planet, but after winning the second moto in Portugal and both races in Trentino, Gajser proved he could handle any conditions with a perfect display in the wet sand in Latvia.
He swept around the first turn well inside the top five in motos one and two, and by the end of lap one, was in third and second place respectively.
With every rider at their strongest, and the track at its flattest, the Slovenian rider took his time to figure out where to make his move, but when he did put the hammer down, he was into the lead after passes on two consecutive laps.
Race two went even better, as he swept around the first turn in second place, once again putting himself in perfect position to stalk his prey and make the move at exactly the right time.
With the track conditions getting harder, this came earlier in the race as others struggled to maintain their speed and he moved into the lead on lap six.
From there he controlled the race, taking the win, the overall and further extending his championship lead, to give himself more than a two-moto buffer to those behind.
Unfortunately, his Australian team-mate Mitch Evans didn’t enjoy such a successful day, as issues in the second and first corner gave himself an uphill battle to get inside the top 10.
In race one, he was involved with another rider that left him on the deck and while he was able to move through the field to 17th midday through the race, another mistake dropped him back again and he had to settle for crossing the line in 19th.
Things went slightly better in race two as he crossed the first lap in 16th place, despite a stall in the first corner. This gave him an improved platform to try and break into the top 10, and while he was able to get as high as 10th, he couldn’t quite hold on and eventually finished in 12th.
Both these riders and all the other MXGP and MX2 class stars too, now have another weekend away from the MXGPs, before they head to Italy for the prestigious challenge of Maggiora on May 7-8.
Last year saw rain affect the motos, but everyone will be hoping for better weather as Gajser attempts to keep his win-streak alive, and maintain his stranglehold on this 2022 World Motocross Championship.
“I am really happy with how this weekend went, it wasn’t easy today as the track was a lot sketchier due to the rain, but I stayed patient in both races and made the passes when I needed to,” said Gajser afterwards.
“I was also able to get two good starts on my Honda CRF450R, which I knew would be important, so that was good and that allowed me to not have to fight through the field.
“Everything is going really well right now and I’d like to thank all of Team HRC and all the fans online, and who come out to the races to cheer me on.
“It is great riding in front of passionate supporters and I really appreciate the atmosphere everyone creates for us riders to perform in.”
Photo courtesy Honda
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RESULTS AND STANDINGS AFTER SIX ROUNDS
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:04.928; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:04.327; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:06.506; 4. Alberto Forato (ITA, GASGAS), +0:10.820; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:13.984; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:16.967; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:18.623; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:26.359; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Beta), +0:33.651; 10. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +0:35.938.
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 36:22.500; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:05.744; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:11.680; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:11.769; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:16.016; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:18.485; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:35.200; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:47.049; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, GASGAS), +0:50.160; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:51.649.
MXGP – GP Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 38 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Alberto Forato (ITA, GAS), 30 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 27 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, KAW), 19 p.
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1.Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 286 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 220 p.; 3. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 215 p.; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 187 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 177 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 163 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, HUS), 154 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, BET), 140 p.; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, GAS), 124 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 120 p.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1.Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 35:17.343; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:05.084; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:11.784; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:18.674; 5. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:46.816; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GASGAS), +0:55.892; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:57.839; 8. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Honda), +0:58.242; 9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +1:10.128; 10. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +1:13.463.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 34:21.127; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.810; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:05.519; 4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:20.643; 5. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GASGAS), +0:22.539; 6. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:30.407; 7. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:36.247; 8. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Honda), +0:47.541; 9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:50.399; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:52.480.
MX2 – GP Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 50 points; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 40 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 31 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 27 p.; 7. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, HON), 26 p.; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 23 p.; 10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 20 p.
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 244 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 244 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, GAS), 181 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 181 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 181 p.; 6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 176 p.; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 161 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 153 p.; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 136 p.; 10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 121 p.
