Gajser Tops Indonesia

 

In front of a large crowd and under tough and hot conditions, four-time World Motocross Champion Tim Gajser has picked up his 41^st Grand Prix victory around the magnificent circuit on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Back to his very best the HRC rider looked in a class of his own and extended his World championship points lead to 125 points. Second overall was Jorge Prado with 2-2 scores and third was Ruben Fernandez with 4-3 results.

Tim Gajser: I took the holeshot in the first one and the second one I didn't have the holeshot and I had to work for it, but I am super happy.

In the World championship points it is now Gajser 535 points, Prado 410pts, Seewer 405pts, Renaux 365pts and Coldenhoff 363pts.

Prado led the second MXGP moto from Febvre, Gajser, Fernandez, Jonass, Coldenhoff, Vlaanderen, Evans, Guadagnini, and Beaton 10^th. Seewer was 11^th and again looking like he will lose major points on Gajser. Fernandez burst past Gajser, but then the Slovenian regained that position.

Prado, Febvre and Gajser looking very fast and finally we might get a little of 2021 after what has been a bit of a Gajser domination in 2022. Gajser into second place around this really beautiful circuit. The HRC man was all over Prado for the lead on lap one.

Gajser sensational move to pass Prado as the four time World champion shows why he has a massive lead in 2022 and will soon be a five time champion. After three laps it was Gajser with a two second lead, then Prado, Febvre, Fernandez, Jonass, Evans, Coldenhoff, Guadagnini, Seewer and Vlaanderen.

Evans chasing Jonass as those two follow Fernandez, and in front of them Prado not letting Gajser get too far away. Vlaanderen went past Seewer for ninth place and behind Seewer were Beaton, Tixier, Watson, Lapucci and Ostlund.

Vlaanderen and Seewer in a nice little battle and Seewer finally getting the better of the Dutch/South African. Jonass went down and handed Evans fifth place and Coldenhoff also went past. After seven laps the lead by Gajser was four seconds ahead of Prado, in third Febvre was six seconds back and then came Fernandez, Evans, Coldenhoff, Jonass, Guadagnini, Seewer and Vlaanderen in 10^th place.

On lap 11 the lead by Gajser was 3.1 seconds, but the Slovenian seemed to just be cruising and taking not risk. Prado was second, then Febvre, Fernandez, Evans, Coldenhoff, Jonass, Guadagnini, Seewer and Vlaanderen.

Febvre putting a lot of pressure on Prado for second place as the 2021 World number two tries to get back to his very best as they battled the final laps of the second moto. Gajser wins it though from Prado and Febvre.

Romain Febvre secures podium at Rhenen

 

Just a week after his racing comeback Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre scorched to a moto victory and second overall in the final round of the Dutch Masters in the strenuous sand of Rhenen.

After his great comeback last weekend in Germany the Frenchman was keen to gain more race practice before heading to Indonesia for the twelfth round of the FIM MXGP World Championship. The high-profile Dutch race on Saturday allowed him to spend more hours on the bike and enjoy start- and race-action against other top riders, a preparation more valuable than training alone. After posting the second-fastest lap-time in the morning Romain secured the holeshot and led the entire first moto to celebrate his first victory since his return to action. Another holeshot in race two confirmed the strength of the KX450-SR, but in this moto Romain was content to secure the overall podium with a fourth-placed finish in a tight battle with rivals who have each scored MXGP moto victories in recent weeks.

Romain: “I have always tried to ride as much as possible, and I especially wanted to go racing as it’s what I miss at the moment; the goal today was to have more hours on the bike. It was a good day; the track was demanding as it’s not really deep sand like many of the Dutch tracks and overall I am happy as we have already made good progress since last weekend. My feeling was good in the morning with the second-fastest lap-time and then I took both holeshots to confirm the strength of our bike. In the first moto I could keep the lead until the end, then in the second moto we were really close to the top-three for another good result.”

2022 KTM 300 EXC TPI

MANI LETTENBICHLER CHARGES THROUGH THE IRON GIANT ON THE 2022 KTM 300 EXC TPI ERZBERGRODEO

ErzerbergRodeo...A Sunday Trail Ride!

2022 Red Bull Erzbergerodeo Hare Scramble – Mani Lettenbichler takes a maiden victory in what proved to be the toughest Erzberg in years at round three of the 2022 Hard Enduro World Championship with Mario Roman a close second and Trystan Hart third.

2022 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble race in a nutshell:

• As the flag raised at 2:30pm at the bottom of the Iron Giant, Teo Kabakchiev bagged the holeshot with Billy Bolt and Mani Lettenbichler in hot pursuit. An early course marking fail caught the front row out (they looped up and down the Rocket Ride hill for no purpose) which that held row two up for around 10 minutes off the start.
• As the dust began to settle (it was nuts early on the course) Billy and Mani assumed their familiar place out front, much like we saw so often in the 2021 HEWC, with Kabakchiev and Michael Walkner in tow.
• Lettenbichler set a blistering pace out front to pull a gap and arrived at CP10, the rocky uphill slog at “Machine” leading of Walkner, Mario Roman third, Kabakchiev and Bolt.
• With an hour gone they reached a new section called Udo’s Playground (basically a trials section), and Walkner was within touching distance of Mani with Mario closing.  
• In the three-plus kilometres of the infamous Carl’s Dinner, Mario used trials-like skills to get into P2 as Walkner hit a wall. Hart also worked his way ahead of the chasing pack and settled his claim on a podium.
• Rumour had it they would be around two hours riding the course this year but the new sections, plus a long slog through Carl’s, meant the race headed deep into a third hour – the longest it has taken the winner and certainly “the toughest ever” Erzberg according to Mario Roman.
• Another new section, the Motorex Highway, proved a hard one in the trees and here, plus a savagely hard Dynamite, proved being first can be a nightmare and Mani had to make lines other followed.
• But Lettenbichler stayed strong and went onto take his first Erzberg career win, becoming the third German to win after his father and the late Chris Pfeiffer. Two races and two wins this season puts him right in the championship mix.
• Mario Roman was close and put a lot of pressure on Mani with solid rides through the hardest sections of this hard race. But the Spaniard had to settle for second, three and a half minutes behind.
• Trystan Hart also put his and Canada’s name on the HEWC map with a very respectable third place in his second attempt at Erzberg. Next year Hart is rumoured to be racing the full season, watch out boys.
• The fight for next best went the way of Billy Bolt who got the better of Alfredo Gomez in the final stages and maintains his championship points lead at least on a day when he (and the rest of us) expected more.
• Michael Walkner took P6 and became the first Austrian official finisher of the event.
• The final kilometres got the better of Wade Young’s bike after he was running in fourth. Some serious mechanical issues on the Sherco saw him struggle to limp home in seventh just ahead of the final official finisher and compatriot Matty Green in eighth and best-placed Junior World Cup finisher.
• Graham Jarvis gets ride of the day? After bike problems right off the start, Graham started the race one hour late effectively. From 500th and last, he was inside the top 50 by checkpoint 13, by Udo’s (CP18) he was top 30, after Carl’s he was top 20, the Motorex hill (CP22 of 27) was as far as Graham could manage, knocking on the door of a top 10 finish as the four-hour cut-off arrived. Sadly, after organisers deemed him to have received outside assistance, he was later disqualified.
• CP 17, Stony Party is as far as Kailub Russell, Pol Tarres and highest-placed female rider Sandra Gomez got this year.

Plessinger Still Searching

Ankle Injury Hampers Aaron Plessinger at High Point

by Slaw Dog

It’s been a tough start to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship for Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger.

Coming off a broken arm sustained during Monster Energy Supercross, AP went 8-8-11 at the opening three rounds, but he wasn’t up front like we are used to seeing him. 

That was turning around at High Point on Saturday, though, as Plessinger was running strong and was inside the top five with just two laps to go. 

Then he slowed.

Initially it looked like AP was suffering a bike problem as he dropped through the field. He eventually finished the moto in 15th. After the race, the team confirmed at AP sustained a twisted ankle in the moto, which caused his late race drop in positions. 

“The bike was feeling good in practice and I made some changes going into Moto 1 that didn’t really benefit me,” Plessinger said. “I rode really tight in the first one and salvaged ninth. Second moto, I was feeling really good – ready to rumble – and I got a good start and was running really good laps, but I ended up twisting my ankle pretty bad with two laps to go. I’m pumped on the way I was riding all day, it’s unfortunate that that had to happen at the end but we’ll focus on RedBud and try to get up there on the podium.”

Luckily for AP, the championship is off for a week before returning at RedBud on Fourth of July weekend. 

Main image: KTM Images

Anderson Looks for Answers on Weekend Off

Anderson ‘back to the drawing board’ in weekend off

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 Post: Troy Guenther

KX450 rider lands third overall at High Point amidst mistakes.

It’s ‘back to the drawing board’ for Jason Anderson through the 

weekend break in 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross with the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider determined to problem solve and improve on third overall at High Point.

Anderson was on a charge in the opening moto at round three and worked his way up to second before a mistake allowed Eli Tomac and teammate Joey Savatgy to come through.

The number 21 was able to recover and finish third in moto one and made progress in the early stages of the second race to pass Ryan Dungey for P3 before another fall dropped him back to fifth, where he finished the race.

“The practice went good this morning, I was able to qualify first and it is always good to start your day like that,” Anderson recalled. “I went into the first moto and I got into second, and then had a little bit of a tip-over and ended up third behind Eli [Tomac] and Chase [Sexton].

“It was honestly kind of tough, that second moto for me. Just trying to find the flow and everything like that, all in all, I tried my hardest and that is all I can ask for.

“We will live to fight another day, try and problem solve this week and see how it ends up. Yeah, back to the drawing board.”

Anderson is fourth in the 450MX standings, 34 points back from red plate-holder Chase Sexton. His best result of the season came at round two, Hangtown, where he took the overall win. Following a weekend off, Lucas Oil Pro Motocross resumes at Red Bud on 3 July.

Cairoli Heading Home

The stint of nine-time world champion Tony Cairoli in the US came to a conclusion on Saturday, his four-race guest showing in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross ending with a knee injury that caused a double DNF at High Point.

Cairoli had initially been due to contest the opening two rounds and that was extended through Thunder Valley and Mt. Morris, however, that decision was made prior to this past weekend that he would be heading home to Italy.

The decision for the 36-year-old not to continue his welcome entry in the American series came with a share of disappointment since it’s understood that he was requesting a bonus structure in order to keep lining up. Following his retirement from MXGP at the end of last season, Cairoli has been under an ongoing ambassador arrangement with the Austrian brand.

“In practice this morning, I felt better than the previous race, of course the pace was much better and we worked a little bit on speed this week, so the feeling was good,” he said. “First moto, the start was okay with sixth on the first lap and I knew I needed to attack to win some positions, but I made a mistake and touched together with another rider and I put down my knee really hard.

“I felt it immediately because this knee is giving me some trouble already and it was a big hit. It started swelling up and fluid inside, so I pulled off. Second moto, I was last off the start because it’s a different format than in GPs and I was a little surprised at the silly mistake I did and I had to line up on the outside, which is not the ideal place to start.

“With the knee in this condition, I couldn’t really pull a good start and then I was out of the top 20. I got back up to 13th, but I was struggling a lot with my knee, so I decided it’s not really a good day, let’s move on. We had a good time here… For sure I would like to end up in a different situation, but it’s okay. We are not hurt so bad, just a bad day.”

Cairoli was sixth in the 450MX standings entering High Point – still currently ninth despite not finishing last weekend – and achieved a best result of fifth overall in Colorado’s third round of the season.

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