Tim Gajser on battling with Herlings at Valkenswaard and his improvement in the sand
Paul Malin and Lisa Leyland caught up with Tim Gajser in their latest MXGP studio show. The three times world champion discussed the start of season and battling with Jeffrey Herlings around the sandy Valkenswaard circuit.
“It’s a great feeling to see that I’ve improved a lot in the sand. In the past it was my weakest point I would say, I would always kind of struggle at the Lommel, Valkenswaard or even in Kegums. It’s really positive and that second moto (in Valkenswaard) we were really going for it. I was trying to pressure him, the whole race we were around two-three seconds apart until my crash I did with two laps to go. It was a really great moto though”, Gajser stated.
In the past Gajser knew he’d need to improve his sand riding but it was after the 2018 season he decided to make big changes as he knew Cairoli and Herlings were a step in front of him that year – the hard work he’s put in has certainly paid off winning the world title last year.
“I would say the biggest change I made was at the end of 2018. I really started to think about making changes then that I had to make to get better. I saw that I was quite far behind Tony and Jeffrey, they were kind of one step ahead of everyone in 2018. I tried to analyse everything, I saw were I had my weakest points, were I could get better and better and for sure one of these points was sand riding. I really put a lot of hours in the sand track during winter and it paid off immediately. Last year you could see I was getting better but this year it’s getting even better because I’ve continued to train hard in the sand and even to develop the bike correctly for sand tracks. It’s really important how to set up the bike because it’s completely different – the forks are higher, the shock is lower so you can ride easier through the big bumps”, added Gajser.
Gajser believes he’s helping Motocross sport grow in Slovenia – which can only be good for the sport.
“Now they are broadcasting all the GP’s and with me fighting for the top spot. Many people start to follow the sport in Slovenia and as you can see, the closest GP’s to Slovenia, there are so many Slovenian fans. It’s great to see that Motocross is growing in Slovenia and getting bigger and bigger each year. Hopefully it will continue like that”.
This year, Gajser is riding the 2021 Honda and after putting lots of hours in over the winter on the new bike he’s really happy with the bike moving into the rest of the season.
“It was okay. Basically they came with the new bike – it was completely new. I had to put a lot of hours in riding the bike to get used to it. From chassis, to engine, the size of the bike, everything is different. Even in the suspension, we’ve found a good setting and I’m feeling comfortable with it. We’ve managed to do it, we’ve worked a lot during the winter getting the bike how I want – testing a lot, riding a lot. Everything has went in the right direction and I’m really happy with the new Honda 450cc”.
You can watch the full studio show as Gajser discusses his world titles and much more.
Pic: Shot by Bavo
