A first FIM world title for HRC since 2000 and a first ever for the country of Slovenia. Tim Gajser, who recently turned 19, made good on his five GP wins this season for a deserved championship and knocked KTM off the MX2 perch for the first time since 2008. It was a wild season in the class, though, with championship favorite Jeffrey Herlings going out with injury, and Gajser himself showing tremendous speed but also inconsistency in his first championship bid. He talked about it all post-race at Glen Helen.
Racer X: On how it feels to be world champion…
Tim Gajser: It feels amazing. This season was very tough. It was tough at the beginning, and we had many problems like being late to arrive to Qatar and then with the heat in Thailand. There were many downs and ups, but it turned out good, and I want to say a big thank you to my team, my family, especially my dad, brother, mum, and sisters; without all these people I would not be here.
On imagining being world champion after taking his first career win in Italy for round four of eighteen…
Actually, I did not expect it because, as I said, the beginning of 2015 was rough! I won my GP in Italy, and the next week in Holland I had one of the worst GPs. I was flying, swimming, and everything! [Gajser suffered a spectacular crash on Saturday and then crashed into the water landscaping on the outside of the first turn in one of the motos.] It was tough. In England I wasn’t allowed to race because I fell in the warm-up and had a slight concussion. It was hard to watch these guys racing from the pit lane. The season was long, and through eighteen races we all made mistakes—and I made a lot. Everything went good in the end.
On gaining unexpected points on Pauls Jonass in Mexico…
We struggled with the bike setting there but managed to do two solid races with a fifth and second. The gap came up to 18 points, which was pretty good with one GP to go. I was trying not to think about the championship today and just rode; a 6-4 was okay and I was happy with that. We are already looking forward to coming back to Glen Helen next year. I had never been to the U.S. before, and I thought the track was amazing. We are not used to racing at places like this with huge hills and jumps. In Europe the tracks tend to be tighter. It was a great experience.
On thinking about the championship in the final laps…
In the beginning I saw that Pauls was behind me, and on the last couple of laps I could see my mechanics and team going nuts in the pit lane. It was an amazing feeling, and on the last lap I said to myself, “The dream came true.”
