It was a worst case scenario for Tim Gajser in the qualifying race after his usual good starts went missing when he really needed it. Gajser started outside the top five as Jorge Prado took his customary holeshot and the factory Honda rider could never get on terms with the Spaniard who took the win as Gajser climbed to third but couldn’t do anything about Herlings or Prado.
Gajser is now nine points behind and needs some help to win this title now even if he wins the two motos today, and it won’t be coming from Herlings. Gajser, who needs Prado to finish 3-3 or worse, if he wins both motos, said: “We knew before the race that the start was going to be very important as the track was one-lined and a lot of the guys were going the same speed. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best jump and had to work my way through and that wasn’t really what I was after. I came into the weekend knowing I needed to win races and that hasn’t changed, so tomorrow I just need to execute off the line and get as many points as I can, and see what happens from there.“
