Tim Gajser Extends Points Lead in Italy After 1-2 Day

Dramatic shift in points this weekend at the MXGP of Italy, when Tim Gajser took the overall with a 1-2 score, while his rival on the GasGas, Jorge Prado, fell in the second corner of the second moto and DNF’d on the day. We caught up to Gajser, who’s now got over a moto lead in the points, to talk about his day, his improvement on starts, and more.

Racer X: Congratulations on the win. You extended your points lead. You got the overall. But the second moto fall, you a little upset about that, or no?
Tim Gajser: Yeah, I’m a little bit upset. Definitely could be a perfect weekend, but that little mistake just ten minutes to the end cost me a 1-1. But overall, it was a good weekend. Yesterday I really felt amazing on the bike, on the track. Today was quite flat, like one main line. But the crew made a great job with the track. This morning when we woke up, there was a lake of water on the start straight and in some corners. So, now in the second moto it was almost dusty. So, it was good.

Starts are so important here on this track. There wasn’t much passing. We know Jorge is great on starts, but you nailed them. So that would have been a big part of the race.
Yeah, exactly. I know coming here from the past that starts are important. I think this year in the MXGP class, we have three or four guys that are quite similar in pace. The start is, let’s say more than 50% of the race. Everybody is super strong, even if someone is pushing behind we can maintain that lead with the pressure, so the starts are crucial. We worked really hard for the past couple of weeks trying to do something. The starts were not that bad, but it was never a holeshot. I was always around fifth, fourth, sixth. But Jorge was taking holeshots. So, by the time that I came on the second place, he was already gone and now it’s difficult to close that gap. So, I’m really happy with the improvement of the starts that we made.

"The starts are crucial. We worked really hard for the past couple of weeks trying to do something." -Tim Gajser Courtesy of Honda HRC/Bavo Swijgers

Was it bike or yourself, technique? Was it a little bit of both?
A little bit of both. I think with the mats on the start, with the grate, you can really train the start. It’s not like old times when there was a rut. It’s different. Now you have technology and traction control, all these things. Many things you can work on it.

The Honda guys in the U.S., same thing. They seem to be pretty good on the starts. This track seemed to me almost like you had to slow down to go fast. You couldn’t just be reckless out there. It’s tight. I don't know if you got into fourth even out there. Is that kind of how the technique was, to go fast?
Yeah, exactly. How the track was today, they didn’t treat it deep because they expected a lot of rain yesterday. Even today they didn’t treat that deeply. So, there was no deep ruts, but it was super sketchy, slippery. Like you said, sometimes slower was faster, let’s say. More smooth, controlling the gas, things like that was definitely helping. If you were too aggressive, you were making mistakes.

MXGP

MXGP of Italy - MXGP

June 15, 2024

Maggiora Park
Maggiora, Italy

	Rider	Motos	Bike
1	Tim Gajser	1 - 2	Honda
2	Jeffrey Herlings	3 - 1	KTM
3	Jeremy Seewer	5 - 3	Kawasaki
4	Calvin Vlaanderen	4 - 5	Yamaha
5	Brian Bogers	6 - 4	Fantic

Full Results

"The goal is just take it GP by GP. Collect good points, be consistent, like I was first part of the season. That’s it." -Tim Gajser Courtesy of Honda HRC/Bavo Swijgers

Some of the RPMs in corners, I bet your heart rate is pretty low when you look at it. What did you think when you came around to lap Jorge?
I lapped him?

Yeah, early on.
Really? I didn’t even see that.

You got a big points lead now. Does the mentality change at all or anything?
Not really. We are just halfway, so many GP’s to go. Ten to go. We are staying the same, let’s say. The goal is just take it GP by GP. Collect good points, be consistent, like I was first part of the season. That’s it.

Really good season to watch, just for me being in America. It’s really interesting. A lot of injuries, but you three guys are really exciting to watch. It’s been good.
Yeah, it’s been a good season. Definitely I wish quick recovery to Romain [Febvre]. He was a part of that four riders, like myself, Jeffrey [Herlings], Jorge and then him. We had some nice battles. The speed is quite similar. Like I said, in this kind of situation, the starts are super important. Good racing so far.

MXGP

MXGP Standings - 2024

Position	Rider	Points
1	Jorge Prado	996
2	Tim Gajser	986
3	Jeffrey Herlings	944
4	Jeremy Seewer	687
5	Romain Febvre	651

Full Standings

Between The Motos: Tim Gajser

MXGP of Italy - MXGP

MXGP Standings - 2024