Increasing his lead in the world championship and taking his second overall win of the season, Tim Gajser took a dominant win in Leon Mexico, rounding off what he describes as a “perfect weekend".
Gajser made a statement in the first race by getting the holeshot and controlling the lead early on. He put some faster laps down within the first half of the race to put a 14 second gap between himself and his teammate, Evgeny Bobryshev, in second place. The track conditions suited the Slovenian who fell into a comfortable rhythm half way through the race to take the win.
In the second race the track conditions had changed and although this didn’t bother the Slovenian it meant he had to change the style in which he attacked it. In the first few corners off the start, Gajser found himself battling with Paulin and Cairoli. Gajser quickly passed Paulin to take the lead giving him chance to pick up the pace for a few laps and distance himself away from the battle for second place. Once Cairoli got past Paulin the eight times world champion kept the pressure on Gajser right until the finish line. The work he had done early in the race ensured that he could take the win, 15 seconds ahead of Cairoli.
“I felt good all weekend, I was enjoy it and having fun on the bike,” said Gajser. “Actually, in the second moto it was tough as Cairoli was pushing me all the way and also the track became really hard and slick in some places but I am really happy that I won that one and the overall as well. I am really looking forward to the next one already. I haven’t changed anything that I do, I am just having fun on the bike and I think that is key.
Bobryshev had a day of two halves. In the first race, he had a strong start and was side by side with him team mate; Gajser in the first few corners of the race. After pushing for the lead for the first few laps, Bobryshev settled behind Gajser, keeping on his pace which gave him a secure gap between himself and third place. The Russian was fast on what he had described yesterday as a difficult track and his consistent lap times gave him an excellent second place finish.
The second race didn’t go to plan for the Russian. After making a small mistake in the first corner, this then set the tone for him for the rest of the race. The changeable track conditions caught Bobryshev out and he crashed a further two times costing him valuable time and positions in the race. His lap times throughout the last race were easily worthy of a podium finish. Bobryshev isn’t one to give up easily so he regrouped and adjusted his riding style to work his way back from 20th to 14th position.
With the first leg of the European rounds kicking off in Trentino in two weeks’ time, Bobryshev will focused on riding to the strength of his first race today and Gajser will be looking to maintain his dominant form to extend his championship lead further.
Race 1
1 GAJSER Tim 243 SLO 25 Team HRC – MXGP 34:45.401
2 BOBRYSHEV Evgeny 777 RUS 22 Team HRC – MXGP +14.909
3 PAULIN Gautier 21 FRA 20 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +15.434
4 CAIROLI Antonio 222 ITA 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +15.718
5 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 89 BEL 16 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team +17.615
6 TONUS Arnaud 4 SWI 15 Wilvo Yamaha MXGP +17.676
7 NAGL Max 12 GER 14 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +36.880
8 DESALLE Clement 25 BEL 13 Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +38.837
9 ANSTIE Max 99 GBR 12 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +41.562
10 STRIJBOS Kevin 22 BEL 11 Team Suzuki World MXGP +42.542
Race 2
1 GAJSER Tim 243 SLO 25 Team HRC – MXGP 35:03.806
2 CAIROLI Antonio 222 ITA 22 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +15.224
3 PAULIN Gautier 21 FRA 20 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +26.064
4 TONUS Arnaud 4 SWI 18 Wilvo Yamaha MXGP +27.677
5 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 89 BEL 16 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team +28.892
6 DESALLE Clement 25 BEL 15 Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +47.894
7 FEBVRE Romain 461 FRA 14 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team +56.358
8 NAGL Max 12 GER 13 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +58.109
9 HERLINGS Jeffrey 84 NDL 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1:00.181
10 STRIJBOS Kevin 22 BEL 11 Team Suzuki World MXGP +1:01.851
MXGP Championship Standings
1 GAJSER Tim 243 SLO 156 Team HRC – MXGP
2 CAIROLI Antonio 222 ITA 136 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 DESALLE Clement 25 BEL 119 Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing
4 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 89 BEL 116 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
5 PAULIN Gautier 21 FRA 112 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
6 BOBRYSHEV Evgeny 777 RUS 111 Team HRC – MXGP
7 FEBVRE Romain 461 FRA 89 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 STRIJBOS Kevin 22 BEL 78 Team Suzuki World MXGP
9 NAGL Max 12 GER 73 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
10 SIMPSON Shaun 24 GBR 70 Wilvo Yamaha MXGP