Lacapelle-Marival, in France, is the play ground this weekend for buoyant defending MXGP motocross world champion Tim Gajser.
After his victorious outing last time out at Teutschenthal, in Germany, the Slovenian is looking to build upon that momentum when he takes to another new MXGP venue in Lacapelle-Marival, France.
The French track, located a couple of hours north of Toulouse is known for hosting one of the pre-season international races and while Honda star Gajser hasn’t competed in those, he has ridden the track a long time ago in 2010, when he was a junior and still on an 85cc machine.
Of course, there are expected to be changes to the circuit, in order to cope with the demands an MXGP weekend places on a venue but the hard-pack terrain is still one that the Slovenian rider should find comparable to his home track Tiga243land.
After missing it last weekend, Gajser is once again riding with the red-plate that denotes the series leader, with his three-one results and 45-point haul giving him a two-point advantage over his nearest competitor, Dutch KTM hero Jeffery Herlings.
In what is one of the closest championships in recent memory, Gajser has had to overcome some adversity in his battle to stay on top, but he has never doubted himself and has stayed highly motivated in his quest for what would be his third MXGP title in a row, and his fifth world title in total.
With seven rounds to be run in fewer than six weeks, this will be an extremely intense way to finish the 2021 campaign, but Gajser is jubilant after his Germany win and he’ll be looking to keep that feeling when the gate drops for the motos on Sunday (Monday morning NZ time).
“I couldn’t have been happier with how the past weekend went in Germany,” said Gajser.
“To come away with the victory and the red plate is more than I could have imagined a few weeks ago, so I am very proud in what I have accomplished and what the team have done to help me this season.
“Of course, the job isn’t done yet though and there are still six weeks of hard work to go, so I can’t lose my focus because the championship is so close.
“Now, we head to France and although I have ridden there before, it was a long time ago so I’m sure it will be a lot different than in 2010. Still, I am excited and happy to go to new tracks and I know that when I’m happy, I ride well and that’s what I’ll be looking for once again this weekend.”
Photo courtesy HRC Honda
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MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification after 11 of 18 rounds:
- Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 415 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 413 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 407 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 384 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 353 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 309 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 287 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 263 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 195 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 192 p.