Tim Gajser was a big name in this MXGP to stay out on most of the races while recovering from an injury. For Marcus Pereira de Freitas, when the rider got to return it was clear he still had the speed but that he just couldn’t put everything together on the early stages.
The HRC General Manager spoke about the season with the team, with the moment of the return for the slovenian not to be forgotten: ‘We saw straight away that Tim had the speed on his return when he was fastest in timed practice in Loket. However, then we saw the true affects of the injury when he couldn’t quite put it together in any of the first few races’.
Despite feeling well training at home, the real feeling on some specific tracks caused an heavier weight on the path to recovery: ‘We knew the motos in Czech would be a lot harder than practice because you simply can’t replicate racing when you are at home. Then there were three sand tracks in the next four, with the other one being Sweden which was almost impossible to pass on, so again, we weren’t expecting too much just because of how little he’d been able to train in the sand’.
As the season continue, the Gajser got to improve and show a little of what he is capable of: ‘Finally, in Turkey, Maggiora and Matterley, there were three tracks that he liked and he was able to win three motos and two GPs and just show everyone that he is back. The double win in Matterley was a great finish and he gave himself a lot of confidence for this off-season that he is still at the very top of the field when he is on his A-game’.