MXGP
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put in a solid day of racing at the second round of the 2024 MXGP World Championship, held at the Intu-Xanadu circuit in Arroyomolinos near Madrid in Spain. The Slovenian had the second fastest time in timed practice, and then placed second again in the qualification race, giving him nine points and moving him up into second place in the championship.
On what is a very-rutted circuit, the Honda CRF450R rider took his time to find his rhythm, but once there, he showed the speed that saw him win two of the three races in Argentina last time out. This gave him a good pick for the qualification race, where he was unable to maximise that advantage as he didn’t get the best of starts. However, the #243 made a lot of moves on the opening lap and actually had got his way all the way up to third by the end of the first full lap. Three laps later and the five-time world champion was into second place but by the time he got there, the leader had already opened up a considerable gap and rather than push too hard on this tricky terrain, he decided just to cruise it home for a solid second place. This gives him second pick once again for the two motos tomorrow, where he’ll be hoping to make better starts and try to add to his race and overall win tally and get hold of the championship-leading red-plate.
Unfortunately watching from the sidelines was teammate Ruben Fernandez, who is missing this round due to the torn ACL he suffered in Argentina. The Spaniard still had a good reception wherever he went amongst all the fans in the crowd, but he would much prefer to be out there battling on the track.
MX2
It was a difficult day at the office for youngster Ferruccio Zanchi, who was never able to find the speed and consistency that he displayed on his Team HRC debut last time out in Argentina. The #73 wasn’t able to lay down a good lap in the timed practice, which meant that he started in the middle of the pack and had to fight it out with a lot of other riders early on.
Unfortunately, he paid the penalty for this, with a small tip-over on the opening lap, dropping to the very back of the pack. Just like in Argentina, he put his head down and charged as much as he could, but with the shorter race time for these qualification races, he was only able to get back to 17th, which is outside the points and means that once again he’ll have a difficult gate-drop for the two GP-scoring motos tomorrow.
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 24:17.585;
2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:03.028;
3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:13.102;
4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:17.132;
5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:20.915;
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:23.941;
7. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +0:26.772;
8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:29.290;
9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:38.102;
10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:51.191;
17. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:31.386;
Tim Gajser 243
I didn’t get the best jump off the line but I am pleased with my riding after that. I made a number of passes to get into second, which wasn’t easy on this track, so that is good to know that I can do it. However, I know I need to be much closer to the lead early on to stand a chance at winning the motos tomorrow. The deep ruts aren’t easy to navigate but it is the same challenge for everyone and I know that my speed is there if I can get out front.
Ferruccio Zanchi 73
I’m a bit disappointed to have that tip-over on the first lap because that put me right at the back of the field and made it impossible for me to add any points from this qualification race. I did my best to come through the field and made my way up to 17th, but obviously this isn’t where I want to be and I will try my best to challenge inside the top 10 tomorrow.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
Tim showed that he is still one of the riders to beat, with an excellent ride in the qualification race. He made good passes and then just settled into a fast rhythm once into second place, saving himself for tomorrow for the GP-scoring motos. He knows it is a long championship and it is better to take the points available than to crash out and score zero, especially this early on.
Ferruccio had a harder day and it was a good reminder that he is a rookie in this class and on a newly developed machine. It is still good to see him charging until the end and that is what we really like to see from him. Obviously he hope he can avoid the same mistake tomorrow, and then we’re sure he will score some more good points, like he did in round one.
Qualification Race
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Prado Garcia Jorge 1 SPA 10 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing 24:11.409
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 9 Team HRC – MXGP 0:13.320
3 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 8 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:16.278
4 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 7 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:18.438
5 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 6 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:23.171
6 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 5 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:26.056
7 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 4 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz 0:30.645
8 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 3 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:32.224
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 2 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:37.607
10 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 1 JK Racing Yamaha Active 0:50.055
11 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 0 Standing Construct Honda MXGP 0:57.770
12 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 0 Schmicker Racing 1:12.797
13 Watson Ben 919 GBR 0 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:14.183
14 Monticelli Ivo 128 ITA 0 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:14.454
15 Sterry Adam GBR 0 1:17.209
16 Paturel Benoit FRA 0 1:18.823
17 Koch Tom GER 0 1:24.985
18 Valentin Ander SPA 0 1:33.557
19 Östlund Alvin SWE 0 1:34.196
20 Gilbert Josh 326 GBR 0 Gabriel SS24 KTM 1:37.549
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Prado Garcia Jorge 1 SPA 64 Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing
2 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 60 Team HRC – MXGP
3 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 54 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
4 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 47 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
5 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 46 Standing Construct Honda MXGP
6 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 39 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
7 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 39 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
8 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 34 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
9 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 28 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
10 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 25 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz
11 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 20 Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 20 MRT Racing Team Beta
13 Monticelli Ivo 128 ITA 19 MRT Racing Team Beta
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 13 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
15 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 12 JK Racing Yamaha Active
16 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 11 Schmicker Racing
17 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 5 SixtySeven Racing Team
18 Van Berkel Lars NDL 5
19 Cordovez Miguel ECU 4
20 Aparecido dos Santos Fabio 238 BRA 3 Wildcard Rider
21 Rolando Nicolas URU 2
22 Villaronga Sergio CHI 1
23 Benenaula Andres ECU 1
