Solid podium for Gajser in Turkiye as Zanchi grabs a holeshot

MXGP

Team HRC's Tim Gajser followed up his MXGP of Turkiye qualification win, with a solid second overall in today's two motos. The Slovenian rider went four-two in tricky conditions at the Afyon circuit and now leads the 2024 MXGP Championship by 14 points with two rounds remaining. Teammate Ruben Fernandez rode better than his 10^th overall suggests and the pair now head to China motivated to improve upon today's results.

For Gajser, that means aiming for another victory after coming up just short over the course of these two races in Turkiye. Line choice was at a premium on a pretty one-lined track and although the Honda CRF450R rider was able to get out of the gate well, he wasn't quite able to capitalise on that to maximum effect and instead had to settle for 40 points in this 18^th round of the championship.

The penultimate round of the series is next weekend as the series returns to China after a five-year hiatus, where Gajser will be looking for a higher points tally to take to the final round of the campaign, which once again sees the rider's line-up for a third time in Spain.

That is a round that Fernandez is looking forward to, as he continues his road to recovery after missing the majority of this year. After a fifth in qualification, he was running in sixth until the very last lap of the first moto, when a small crash dropped him down to ninth. He wasn't quite able to bring the same speed into race two and had to settle for crossing the line in 12^th place, but it was another couple of motos under his belt and it brings him closer to where he wants to be.

MX2
Ferruccio Zanchi powered his Honda CRF250R around the first turn in first position in race one of the MXGP of Turkiye, grabbing the holeshot in a great moment for the MX2 rider. At over 1000m elevation, every ounce of horsepower is important and Zanchi proved that all the work done by Team HRC was worthwhile as he took the early lead. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to hold off the competition for long, and then one of the riders who passed him, crashed right in front of the #73 and he joined that rider on the dirt. Remounting near the back of the field, he charged through to 11^th but then a small mistake near the end meant he crossed the line in 17^th.

Moto two was a lot less eventful as he stayed around the top 10 for the entirety of the moto, receiving the chequered flag in 10^th place, to end the weekend in 14^th overall. It wasn't what he wanted but this was another good moment for the youngster and should give him more confidence for the final two rounds of the season.

Race 1
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:49.525; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:05.288; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:42.197; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:52.862; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:55.253; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:55.458; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:00.815; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:07.687; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:11.514; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:16.808;… 17. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);

Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:23.346; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.990; 3. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:10.281; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:11.457; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:11.835; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:25.495; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:26.490; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:27.617; 9. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:43.661; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:44.817;

Overall
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 40 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 35 p.; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 27 p.; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 26 p.; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 20 p.;… 14. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 15 p.;

Tim Gajser  243

After winning the qualification race I was excited to go racing today, but I didn't quite have the same feeling on the track today. What they did overnight didn't really make the track better and it was very one-lined and I couldn't make the pass in that second race. Still, I can't be too disappointed as I'm still leading the championship with two rounds remaining and I'm confident I can get the job done. A big thanks to all the team for all their effort and we'll keep building for China next weekend.

Ruben Fernandez  70

Difficult day today, although I had some good speed in that first race before the crash, riding in sixth place until the very last lap. That was disappointing and I think that affected me a bit in race two but I kept fighting as much as I could and 10th overall is still okay and something I can build upon. Without that crash, it would have been a really good day, but even with it, I can take a lot of positives from the weekend and I am looking forward to China and seeing what I can do there and trying to finish this season strong.

Ferruccio Zanchi  73

After yesterday I was very excited to ride today, but things didn't quite go to plan. I did manage to get my first holeshot in the first moto so that was great and really good for the team because they work so hard and getting the holeshot shows that my Honda CRF250R is competitive. From there though, it didn't go so well as another rider then crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go. I got back to 11th but then crashed near the end and finished 17th. Race two was better but I hoped to be higher than 10th but I'm determined to improve and put in two good final rounds of the season.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas

HRC General Manager – MXGP

Solid day for Tim, getting the 50 points over the weekend and keeping a good gap in the championship. The track was a lot different today and didn't seem to have as many lines available and all the riders are going so fast that it is hard to make the passes he needed. Still, he is fit and healthy and motivated to do even better in China next weekend. Ruben is also progressing well, although the results don't show that. He had a good first moto going before that last lap crash, and we're sure that he'll keep this improvement going over the next two races.

Ferro had a great moment, grabbing the holeshot and that is a massive boost for everyone involved with this Honda CRF250R project. Bad luck then hit, and that really was a shame because yesterday proved that he had good speed here. Still, we go to China now with all riders with points to prove and we'll do our best to help them make it happen.