Confidence high for Gajser as he returns to majestic Maggiora 30.06.2021: MXGP of Italy MXGP 2021 Round 3 The third round of the 2021 FIM World Motocross Championship takes place at the old-school venue of Maggiora, Italy and Team HRC’s Tim Gajser heads there holding the red-plate and an all-important 15-point lea

MXGP of Italy
MXGP 2021   Round 3




The third round of the 2021 FIM World Motocross Championship takes place at the old-school venue of Maggiora, Italy and Team HRC’s Tim Gajser heads there holding the red-plate and an all-important 15-point lead over his nearest rival.


Having won three of the four motos held so far this year, the Honda CRF450RW rider is full of confidence and is probably riding better than ever, which is a strong statement given he is the reigning MXGP champion.


 The first moto of the year in Russia was a controlled race, getting out front after a couple of corners before maintaining a good gap from the chasing field until the chequered flag. Then in the second motos of both Russia and Great Britain, Gajser put in a passing-masterclass, overtaking the entire field at the hard-packed Orlyonok track before slicing through the pack and putting on a last-lap pass for the win at Matterley Basin, England.



Now the series goes to Maggiora, a venue not seen on the calendar since 2015, where Gajser won the MX2 class on his way to his maiden world championship title. Located a few hours from the Slovenian border, the #243 often has good support there and he’ll be hoping that his famous fans will be amongst the limited numbers who have bought tickets to what is a sold-out venue.


Whilst the MXGP schedule hasn’t been Maggiora, Gajser actually rode there in April this year at an Italian Championship, going one-one and looking extremely comfortable in the process. Of course, it’ll be harder this coming weekend, but the omens are good that he can put in another two good motos and maintain or even extend his lead in the 2021 title-race.   
    


       
    
Tim Gajser  243


I am excited to be heading back to Maggiora for a race there. I have good memories of the track both in 2015 when I won the MX2 class and even this year, with that Italian race. It is a very impressive, old-school circuit with big hills and a really good flow, and it is fun just to spin laps there.


So far this season I am very happy with my riding and each race gives me another chance to prove just how good I feel. We are all working very hard to get everything right on race-day and I am really pleased with how it is all going. I hope I can see and hear some of my fans at the track this weekend.



At Matterley it was great to hear the fans cheering around the track and that kind of atmosphere just makes racing even more fun.         

    
       
    
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager - MXGP


We had another really good round in Great Britain, with Tim showing everyone that when he wants to get to the front, it is very difficult to stop him. His four-one results weren’t quite good enough to take the overall, but he extended his points lead and that is the most important thing at this stage in the championship.



 Maggiora is almost like a home race for the team as our workshop is close-by and Tim doesn’t have to drive too far from his house, so we are all very excited to have it back on the calendar. We just hope that Tim can continue to ride like he has been doing and if he does that, it should be another good round for everyone at Team HRC.



Unfortunately, Mitch isn’t with us, but we are staying in contact and still giving him our support with the hope that he’ll return to Europe soon.         

    
       
Rider Standings


1    GAJSER Tim     243    SLO    93    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda
2    HERLINGS Jeffrey     84    NDL    78    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
3    FEBVRE Romain     3    FRA    73    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki
4    CAIROLI Antonio     222    ITA    65    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
5    PRADO GARCIA Jorge     61    SPA    61    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
6    SEEWER Jeremy     91    SWI    60    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
7    LUPINO Alessandro     77    ITA    54    MRT Racing Team KTM    KTM
8    JONASS Pauls     41    LAT    50    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas
9    KJER OLSEN Thomas     19    DEN    43    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing    Husqvarna
10    COLDENHOFF Glenn     259    NDL    42    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
11    VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy     89    BEL    39    Beta SDM Corse MX Team    Beta
12    TONUS Arnaud     4    SWI    31    hostettler Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
13    VLAANDEREN Calvin     10    NDL    29    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
14    STRIJBOS Kevin     22    BEL    28    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
15    WATSON Ben     919    GBR    22    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
16    VAN DONINCK Brent     32    BEL    21    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
17    TIXIER Jordi     911    FRA    19    JT911 KTM Racing Team    KTM
18    STERRY Adam     811    GBR    17    Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee    KTM
19    ÖSTLUND Alvin     161    SWE    16    JK Racing Yamaha Active    Yamaha
20    SIMPSON Shaun     24    GBR    14    SS24 KTM MXGP    KTM
21    BOGERS Brian     189    NDL    12    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas
22    JACOBI Henry     29    GER    7    JM Honda Racing    Honda
23    WATSON Nathan     991    GBR    4    Honda SR Motoblouz    Honda
24    LOCURCIO Lorenzo     183    VEN    3    JD Gunnex KTM Racing Team    KTM
25    BRYLYAKOV Vsevolod     18    RUS    2    JWR Honda Racing    Honda
26    GUILLOD Valentin     92    SWI    1    Standing Construct KTM    KTM
    


    
 Team HRC - MXGP, also photos