Gajser and Bogers on Assen
Honda PR- Team HRC’s MXGP of the Nertherlands draws to a close with a solid performance by Tim Gajser, who was fourth and fifth in the two MXGP races at TT Circuit Assen for fifth overall. His teammate Brian Bogers showed great speed aboard his Honda CRF450RW machine as he was 16th on his MXGP debut before crashing unhurt in the second encounter.
Gajser had a decent start from the fifth most-inside gate and maintained his qualifying position during the opening lap of the moto. He then began his chase to the top-three behind Max Anstie and, after the two managed to pass Glenn Coldenhoff, the two-time world champion did his best to close the gap with the Briton but came 2.8secs short of third place at the finish line. Tim was quick out of the gates in race two and was running in third as the first lap drew to a close. He was then overtaken by new world champion Jeffrey Herlings and by Anstie, before settling into a nice rhythm that helped him consolidate fifth place as the race progressed. Brian Bogers continued his positive progression and scored his first world championship points in the first race and ran as high as thirteenth while showing an encouraging level of form despite the complete lack of racing time this year prior to this weekend. The young Dutchman unfortunately crashed unhurt on the second lap of race two. Despite being stuck under the bike for a few moments, he eventually managed to re-join proceedings and to complete the race in 26th place. The final round of the 2018 MXGP World Championship will take place at Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on September 29-30. |
Marcus Pereira de FreitasHRC General Manager – MXGPWe are mostly happy with the outcome of this weekend. We knew it was not going to be the easiest of races for Tim but he put together a very solid and mature performance for a top-five finish that we will gladly take back home with us. Brian did a great job in race one and exceeded expectations, and I think that if this is the type of performance he can deliver on his debut MXGP weekend and after being away for so long, then the future is really bright. Too bad for the crash in the second moto, but he’s unhurt and that’s all we care about. Thanks to the team for the amazing job, and hopefully we’ll wrap up the season in style at Imola! |