MXGPs head to Sardinia for testing Riola Sardo 16.09.2021: MXGP of Sardegna (ITA) MXGP 2021 Round 10 The sand track of Riola Sardo, Sardinia is somewhere that is familiar to a lot of MXGP riders, including Team HRC’s Tim Gajser as it is a venue where he has won the pre-season International d’Italia he

MXGP of Sardegna (ITA)
MXGP 2021   Round 10



The sand track of Riola Sardo, Sardinia is somewhere that is familiar to a lot of MXGP riders, including Team HRC’s Tim Gajser as it is a venue where he has won the pre-season International d’Italia held there as a warm-up race before the gruelling world championship campaign.



It is also a track that the team use for testing purposes in the winter, but this weekend marks the first time that the circuit will host an MXGP round and as such, it holds extra importance in this exciting 2021 season.


After the Turkey double-header, the Slovenian increased his points lead from 13 points to 28, winning two motos and showing the full capabilities of the Honda CRF450RW in the hard-pack terrain. Now though, Gajser is faced with a deep-sand track for what will be the start of nine rounds in less than nine weekends to round out this year’s championship.



The recent calendar update has removed the flyaway rounds and replaced them with five rounds in Italy, split between Trentino and Mantova, which have had differing memories for the reigning champion. Pietramurata is of course one of Gajser’s favourite tracks having won the title there last year and having had success on multiple occasions throughout his career.



Mantova hasn’t always been as favourable but it has seen some excellent racing and will provide a fitting finale to what is looking like the closest-fought title battle in a number of years.



As with every round this season, the MXGP class will race a one-day format on Sunday 19th September, with a split free/timed practice followed by races at 13:15 and 16:10, where Gajser will once again look to put on another strong showing.   
    
       
    
Tim Gajser  243


I really enjoyed the double-header in Turkey, I had a couple of really good races and was able to show my speed, win two motos and extend my championship lead. Since then, I went to Croatia to train a bit in the sand for Riola because I know this will be a difficult race there as the track can get very rough.



I have done well in some pre-season events before, but the MXGPs are a very high standard right now so it won’t be easy but I want to just go out and try to enjoy my riding.         

    


       
    
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager - MXGP


The team have been to Riola Sardo quite a bit during the off-seasons as it is a track that gets rough and we can test our sand setup on it. However, this will be the first MXGP race there so it will of course be different and we have to be prepared to adapt.



The weather will be quite a bit hotter too, as usually we go there in January/February so that’ll be different but overall, we just want Tim to ride like he knows how to ride and we’re sure it will be a good GP.         

    
       
    
    Rider Standings


1    GAJSER Tim     243    SLO    355    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda
2    FEBVRE Romain     3    FRA    327    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki
3    CAIROLI Antonio     222    ITA    326    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
4    HERLINGS Jeffrey     84    NDL    321    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
5    PRADO GARCIA Jorge     61    SPA    315    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM
6    SEEWER Jeremy     91    SWI    249    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
7    JONASS Pauls     41    LAT    231    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas
8    COLDENHOFF Glenn     259    NDL    215    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
9    LUPINO Alessandro     77    ITA    182    MRT Racing Team KTM    KTM
10    WATSON Ben     919    GBR    143    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
11    KJER OLSEN Thomas     19    DEN    136    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing    Husqvarna
12    VLAANDEREN Calvin     10    NDL    129    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
13    BOGERS Brian     189    NDL    124    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas
14    VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy     89    BEL    110    Beta SDM Corse MX Team    Beta
15    JACOBI Henry     29    GER    109    JM Honda Racing    Honda
16    VAN DONINCK Brent     32    BEL    95    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
17    STRIJBOS Kevin     22    BEL    77    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
18    FORATO Alberto     303    ITA    68    Yamaha SM Action - M.C. Migliori    Yamaha
19    TONUS Arnaud     4    SWI    67    hostettler Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
20    SIMPSON Shaun     24    GBR    62    SS24 KTM MXGP    KTM
21    JASIKONIS Arminas     27    LTU    57    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing    Husqvarna
22    MONTICELLI Ivo     128    ITA    54    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki
23    ÖSTLUND Alvin     161    SWE    48    JK Racing Yamaha Active    Yamaha
24    STERRY Adam     811    GBR    33    Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee    KTM
25    TIXIER Jordi     911    FRA    33    JT911 KTM Racing Team    KTM
26    LOCURCIO Lorenzo     183    VEN    29    JD Gunnex KTM Racing Team    KTM
27    KOCH Tom     226    GER    21    KTM Sarholz    KTM
28    GENOT Cyril     105    BEL    15    Wildcard Rider    KTM
29    BRYLYAKOV Vsevolod     18    RUS    10    JWR Honda Racing    Honda
30    GUILLOD Valentin     92    SWI    9    Standing Construct KTM    KTM
    
    

    
    
Team HRC - MXGP, photos @shotbybavo