Tim Gajser won the MXGP of Turkiye in the MXGP Motocross World Championship in Afyonkarahisar this Sunday. It marks his return to the top step of the podium, which he has been missing since last year.
In the first race, Gajser (Team HRC) took the lead in the first lap but was constantly pressured by Romain Febvre. The Frenchman from Kawasaki completed the overtake on the seventh lap, and from then on, Gajser couldn’t regain it – finishing 4.675s behind his rival.
Maxime Renaux (Monster Energy Yamaha) finished third with a comfortable gap, but nearly ten seconds behind Gajser. Calvin Vlaanderen (Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha) and Alberto Forato (SM Action Racing Team/KTM) completed the top five. Jorge Prado (Red Bull GasGas), the championship leader, had issues on his bike at the start and couldn’t do better than 13th place.
As for the second race, it was dominated by one rider. Prado took the holeshot but was once again betrayed by his GasGas’s mechanics and lost several positions. Gajser took the lead and never lost it. The four-time MXGP world champion crossed the finish line 5.834s ahead of Renaux, who hadn’t much problems to secure the second place.
Febvre finished third, where he stayed throughout the race, followed by Rúben Fernández (Team HRC) and Vlaanderen. Prado could only recover to ninth after the initial mishap.
The overall winner was Gajser, with 47 points – two more than Febvre. Renaux was third with five fewer points than Gajser, followed by Vlaanderen and Forato. Prado finished tenth in the MXGP of Turkiye.
Race 1 results:
Race 2 results:
Overall results: