Cycle News Staff | June 19, 2024
Tim Gajser scored the overall win at the MXGP of Italy at Maggiora Park on June 16. The factory Honda rider won an exciting first moto and took second place in moto two, which was enough to give the Slovakian the overall win and extend his points lead over championship rival Jorge Prado.
Overall winner Tim Gajser leads Jorge Prado in an exciting first moto at the MXGP of Italy at Maggiora Park.
Moto one was a thriller, with Gajser, Prado and former champ Jeffrey Herlings all battling it out for the win. At the finish, just 2.3 seconds covered the top three finishers: Gajser, Prado and Herlings. Holland’s Calvin Vlaanderen (Yamaha) was a distant fourth and Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer (Kawasaki) was fifth.
Gajser pulled the holeshot in moto two, and Herlings settled in behind the Honda rider in second. Unfortunately for Prado, the Spaniard tangled with another rider off the start and went down. The defending champ was banged up in the fall but tried to continue. However, he eventually pulled out of the race and rode back to the GasGas pits.
Meanwhile, Gajser and Herlings were locked in a duel for the moto win. Herlings was desperate to get around Gajser on the hard-to-pass track and nearly crashed while trying to do so. Then Gajser lost the front end and went down, giving Herlings the lead and eventual win.
Despite finishing second to Herlings, Gajser’s 1-2 moto combo was enough to beat Herling’s 3-1 for the overall win.
“Two good races and good starts, so I’m super happy!” said Gajser.
“I found that the speed was there in the first race,” Herlings said. “It wasn’t easy to pass when I was behind Prado in the first race and Gajser in the second. I had the speed to pass but couldn’t make it happen. I was a bit lucky with Tim crashing, but I had another day on the podium. A 3-1 for second overall. I’ll take it!”
Gajser leads the MXGP Championship with 511 points to Prado’s 477. Herlings is right there in third, with 440 points.
MX2
For the second weekend in a row, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen won the MX2 class. Two wildly different races saw crashes for several riders and reduced the points lead for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s red-plate holder, Kay de Wolf.
Sacha Coenen won the MX2 class with a 4-1.
KTM’s Liam Everts won the first moto by six seconds over GasGas’ Simon Laengenfelder, who had a safe margin over third-place Andrea Adamo (KTM). Sacha Coenen of Belgium was fourth, and Valerio Lata (KTM) of Italy was fifth.
Coenen jumped out to an early lead in the second moto, chased by his brother Lucas (Husqvarna). They ran 1-2 the entire race, with Sacha winning just two seconds ahead of Lucas. Lata was third, followed by Everts and Adamo.
Sacha Coenen’s 4-1 netted the KTM rider the overall victory ahead of Everts’ 1-4 and Lata’s 5-3.
Lata was thrilled to get on the podium for the first time and was happy to do it in front of his home crowd. “I don’t have the words,” an emotional Lata said. “This is my dream and I work every day for this. For the first time, I cried after a race! This is unbelievable, and thank you to my team, the mechanics, and my sponsors because they work hard every day. Thank you!”
Points leader Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) was seventh overall, finding it difficult to pass after two bad starts. De Wolf still enjoys a comfortable lead in the championship, with 473 points to Laengenfelder’s 425. Lucas Coenen is third with 421 and Everts fourth with 394. Adamo is fifth with 368 points. CN
MXGP (Top 5)
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 1-2
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 3-1
- Jeremy Seewer (Kaw) 5-3
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Yam) 4-5
- Brian Bogers (Fan) 6-4
MX2 (Top 5)
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 4-1
- Liam Everts (KTM) 1-4
- Valerio Lata (KTM) 5-3
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 3-5
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 2-8
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