Evans leads Team HRC in strong Turkish qualification - results 03.09.2022: MXGP of Turkey MXGP 2022 Round 18 Mitch Evans led multiple laps on his way to a second-placed finish in the MXGP of Turkiye qualification race, just ahead of his Team HRC teammate Tim Gajser who finished fifth, in a strong performance for the

MXGP of Turkey
MXGP 2022   Round 18



Mitch Evans led multiple laps on his way to a second-placed finish in the MXGP of Turkiye qualification race, just ahead of his Team HRC teammate Tim Gajser who finished fifth, in a strong performance for the Honda CRF450R pair.


As always, the temperatures were high in Afyonkarahisar, but that didn’t deter the Team HRC duo from putting in some blisteringly fast laptimes in timed practice, with Evans and Gajser ending the session first and second respectively. This gave them the top two gate-picks for the qualification race on this hard-pack track that didn’t seem as deeply ripped as in previous years.



At over 1000m above sea-level, the altitude adds to the difficulty level of this event, but that didn’t stop the pair from rounding the first lap around the top five. Evans had done particularly well on the opening lap to put himself right on the rear tyre of the leader and that’s where he stayed until two-thirds of the race when he moved into P1.


The Australian then looked on his way to take a second qualification race win of the season, but a small error in line choice on the last lap allowed the rider behind him to come through and instead the Australian will line up in second place for tomorrow’s motos.


Gajser wasn’t able to come through the field quite as well as his teammate and instead settled for a fifth place in the race, not wishing to push too hard when the points are at stake in the two motos on Sunday. He proved with his timed practice time that he has the speed to win motos, just like he has done in previous years here, so now it will just be a case of putting himself in a position to win when the gate drops tomorrow.   
    


       
Mitch Evans  43


Finishing second is great, but I know I should have been first, and that’s a bit frustrating. A small mistake on the last lap dropped me a spot and I had to settle for P2 when I crossed the line.


Still, my speed was good all day, having the fastest lap in timed practice so I just have to concentrate on the starts tomorrow and if I can get near the front, I know I can win the motos.         

    



       
Tim Gajser  243


Solid day today, finishing in fifth in the qualification. It isn’t ideal but after the first lap it was very difficult to make up any time, or pass anyone so I just settled into a pace and couldn’t really work my way forward.


Hopefully the track will be a bit better for racing tomorrow and more lines develop, and then I can try and finish this title-winning season strongly.         

    



       
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager - MXGP


It was great to see Mitch and Tim finish first and second in timed practice today, giving them first and second gate pick for the qualification races. Unfortunately, they couldn’t replicate that in the qualifying race, but second and fifth is still good and gives them both a chance to get good results in the important motos tomorrow.          

    
       
    
    Qualification Race


1    RENAUX Maxime     959    FRA    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha    23:49.609
2    EVANS Mitch     43    AUS    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda    0:04.114
3    SEEWER Jeremy     91    SWI    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha    0:08.819
4    FERNANDEZ Ruben     70    SPA    Honda 114 Motorsports    Honda    0:10.953
5    GAJSER Tim     243    SLO    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda    0:12.864
6    COLDENHOFF Glenn     259    NDL    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha    0:15.745
7    GUILLOD Valentin     92    SWI    iXS MXGP Team    Yamaha    0:15.954
8    FEBVRE Romain     3    FRA    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki    0:23.306
9    JONASS Pauls     41    LAT    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas    0:25.772
10    VLAANDEREN Calvin     10    NDL    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha    0:28.698
11    FORATO Alberto     303    ITA    SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery    GasGas    0:30.701
12    BOGERS Brian     189    NDL    Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing Team    Husqvarna    0:31.513
13    GUADAGNINI Mattia     101    ITA    Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii    Husqvarna    0:32.342
14    PRADO GARCIA Jorge     61    SPA    Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing    GasGas    0:43.075
15    ÖSTLUND Alvin     161    SWE    JK Racing Yamaha Active    Yamaha    0:48.279
16    MONTICELLI Ivo     128    ITA    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki    0:51.079
17    JACOBI Henry     29    GER    JM Honda Racing    Honda    0:52.859
18    LAPUCCI Nicholas     211    ITA    Steels - Dr. Jack Racing    KTM    1:03.969
19    WATSON Ben     919    GBR    Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP    Kawasaki    1:41.005
20    KOUZIS Panagiotis     38    GRE    Wildcard Rider    Honda    1 Lap
    
    
       
    
    Rider Standings


1    GAJSER Tim     243    SLO    721    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda
2    SEEWER Jeremy     91    SWI    615    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
3    PRADO GARCIA Jorge     61    SPA    557    Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing    GasGas
4    COLDENHOFF Glenn     259    NDL    553    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
5    RENAUX Maxime     959    FRA    540    Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team    Yamaha
6    BOGERS Brian     189    NDL    406    Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing Team    Husqvarna
7    FERNANDEZ Ruben     70    SPA    380    Honda 114 Motorsports    Honda
8    VLAANDEREN Calvin     10    NDL    378    Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing    Yamaha
9    JONASS Pauls     41    LAT    350    Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team    GasGas
10    EVANS Mitch     43    AUS    296    Team HRC - MXGP    Honda
11    VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy     89    BEL    265    Beta SDM Corse MX Team    Beta
12    WATSON Ben     919    GBR    260    Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP    Kawasaki
13    FORATO Alberto     303    ITA    250    SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery    GasGas
14    VAN DONINCK Brent     32    BEL    249    Riley Racing    Yamaha
15    JACOBI Henry     29    GER    216    JM Honda Racing    Honda
16    FEBVRE Romain     3    FRA    212    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki
17    TIXIER Jordi     911    FRA    197    JT911 KTM Racing Team    KTM
18    BEATON Jed     14    AUS    190    F&H Racing Team    Kawasaki
19    GUADAGNINI Mattia     101    ITA    170    Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii    Husqvarna
20    ÖSTLUND Alvin     161    SWE    107    JK Racing Yamaha Active    Yamaha
21    KOCH Tom     226    GER    87    KTM Kozak Team    KTM
22    GUILLOD Valentin     92    SWI    73    iXS MXGP Team    Yamaha
23    KJER OLSEN Thomas     19    DEN    73    Team Diga-Procross    KTM
24    MONTICELLI Ivo     128    ITA    53    Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing    Kawasaki
25    PATUREL Benoit     16    FRA    38    Honda SR Motoblouz    Honda
26    ROOSIORG Hardi     75    EST    32    Sahkar KTM Racing    KTM
27    LAPUCCI Nicholas     211    ITA    31    Steels - Dr. Jack Racing    KTM
28    KULLAS Harri     151    FIN    21    Wildcard Rider    Husqvarna
29    LUPINO Alessandro     77    ITA    18    Beta SDM Corse MX Team    Beta
30    SIHVONEN Miro     147    FIN    18    JWR Honda Racing    Honda
    
    

    
    
 Team HRC - MXGP,  also photos