Team HRC Just Off the Podium in Switzerland

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Team @HRC Just Off the Podium in $Switzerland


Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin came out fighting today for the MXGP of Switzerland, only narrowly missing the podium at the Frauenfeld track.

Gautier Paulin, Tim GajserzoomGautier Paulin, Tim Gajser Gautier PaulinzoomGautier Paulin
For both Team HRC’s riders it was something of a bittersweet day with one good race being countered by a harder fight for position. Paulin swept to second in the opening moto and had a podium firmly in his sights, whilst a small crash for Bobryshev demoted the Russian from fifth to twelfth.

In race two, the fortunes were reversed as Bobby took fourth on the last lap, whilst Paulin was forced to fight back from a start that saw him slot into 16th. Climbing back to seventh was sufficient o put him on the podium as others had similarly contrasting fortunes, but unfortunately a crash dropped him back to an eventual 11th, missing the podium by just four points.

Gautier PaulinzoomGautier Paulin Evgeny BobryshevzoomEvgeny Bobryshev
Honda Comments
Gautier Paulin:
Race Result: 2nd, 11th 4th Overall“In the first race I was feeling really strong and I could take the holeshot, although I ran wide a little and Cairoli could come back past me. After that I had a good battle with Febvre. I made a little mistake and he passed me, but then shortly after it was his turn and I repassed him to take second which was good. In the second race I couldn't get to the inside of turn one because from the middle of the track it was deep and wet so it slowed my start. I was far back but I pushed hard to climb to seventh, which would have been good enough for a podium today, but I had a small crash when standing up in a rut and Tixier hit me, so I lost some positions. Without the crash we could have been on the podium today so I feel bad for that, but the podium pace was definitely there today.”Evgeny Bobryshev:
Race Result: 12th, 4th 9th Overall“This weekend was a bit tough really. Into the weekend the track looked great, and when I saw it on Friday I thought it would really suit me with good fast corners and some flow that I like. But actually there were so many ruts by the race and they were so deep that it wasn’t so much my track. Once you were in a rut in a corner it was difficult to change line so when you were behind someone it was hard to find time and to make passes. This is why when I crashed from fifth in race one I found it hard to come back through the field. The second race was much better though as I stayed fifth for the whole moto, until the end when I got fourth as Cairoli made a mistake. So I’m happier after the second race today than I was earlier this afternoon, even though we could have had more today. Now we have a little break after the last three back-to-back races so we can recharge and be ready for the final three races of the season.”Roger Harvey: HRC General Manager - MXGP“We definitely had the performance for a podium today with Gautier and Bobby, as Tim demonstrated on the #243 CRF450RW, but it was a tough day as everyone had one good race and one tougher race. Gautier had a much better day to take a second and nearly hit the podium again, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. We saw some good battles on track today, but the deep ruts did make overtaking difficult, which made the recovery rides of Tim and Gautier all the more impressive.”
Tim GajserzoomTim Gajser

Gajser on the Podium in MXGP of Switzerland Thriller


Tim Gajser fought his way onto the podium today after two nail-biting races which were equally exhilarating for different reasons for the Honda Gariboldi team.

Gajser came into today looking strong, and backed up yesterday’s pace with second in the morning warm-up session. In the race, it was set to be a battle of the World Champions between he and Antonio Cairoli as the duo emerged from the gate first and second.

Unfortunately, a mistake on the opening lap sent Tim over the bars as he landed in one of the track’s many holes. On the ground at the head of the pack, he was lucky to avoid being struck by any other riders, and when he emerged he was in 30th position.

Head down, he set about gathering himself and mounting a charge back though the field. Despite the deep ruts that made passing very difficult, by the end of the first lap GT243 was back up to 22nd, and he continued progressing at pace to take the flag in ninth, rescuing twelve championship points.

In race two, it was once again business as normal. Gajser took the holeshot, although he ran wide on the exit of turn one and let Cairoli up the inside. He again gave chase, and this time GT243 was going to come out on top. Despite intense pressure from first Cairoli and then Romain Febvre, Gajser didn’t miss a beat and romped home to his 15th moto win of the season.

Headed into the MXGP of The Netherlands in two weeks, which represents the European finale to the season before the final pair of races in the USA, Gajser now leads the championship by 99 points. This means that the Slovenian superstar needs just one more point than closest rival Cairoli in Assen to secure his maiden MXGP World Championship crown.


Honda Comments
Tim Gajser:
Race Result: 9th/1st Championship position: 1st“In the first moto I took a good start and was right there with Cairoli and Paulin and preparing my pass for the lead, but then I closed the front in a rut and went down. It was hard without everyone coming past me so I had to wait for almost everyone to pass before I could pick the bike up again. Fortunately it was still running so I could get going easily, and then I was pushing really hard. It’s difficult to pass here because of the nature of the track and the long ruts. We could see that the speed was there, but I wasn’t happy with ninth.
“The second race was much better as I took the holeshot, but then went too much to the outside so Cairoli came past me. When I made the pass Toni was pushing me hard, and then Febvre was too, so we had some good racing. I’m really glad to be on the podium, especially after the mistake in the first race. Now there are three races left this season, and we still have a good lead. Honestly we don’t change anything because the best way to keep doing what we are is to continue as we have been all season, but yes we do start to think a little bit more about the championship now…!”
Chihiro Notsuka:
Race Result: 23rd/21st“The races were hard today because the track changed since yesterday so it was different for me again, but I also learned a lot. We didn’t hit our objective of championship points, but we did run in the top 20 for a time. Overall this weekend has been a great experience and it has shown me a lot, riding in the world championship with all these guys at such a high level. I’m very grateful to Honda and HRC for this weekend.” Giacomo Gariboldi: Team Principal“Today was a fantastic result for Tim and it was great to be on the podium again. It was definitely a race of two halves today because in the first round Tim had to ride hard to find the lines to come back from nearly the back of the field to break into the top ten, but I think then that some of the lines he was finding were then a big help to him in race two with Cairoli and Febvre. Then he resisted great pressure from both of those guys, both World Champions, to stay ahead and take another great moto win. To turn the two races around so much shows again how strong Tim is in the head, and why he’s had such a dominant year in MXGP in his rookie season.”

2016 FIM MXGP / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 01: Frauenfeld – Switzerland

MXGP - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
2 Paulin, Gautier(Honda)
3 Desalle, Clement(Kawasaki)
4 Van Horebeek, Jeremy(Yamaha)
5 Guillod, Valentin(Yamaha)
6 Tixier, Jordi(Kawasaki)
9 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
12 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
15 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
17 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
21 Guarneri, Davide(Honda)
31 Schafer, Alain(Honda)
38 Krestinov, Gert(Honda)

MXGP - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
2 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
3 Coldenhoff, Glenn(KTM)
4 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
5 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
6 Searle, Tommy(Kawasaki)
11 Paulin, Gautier(Honda)
14 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
20 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
32 Schafer, Alain(Honda)
36 Guarneri, Davide(Honda)

MX2 - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Anstie, Max(Husqvarna)
2 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
3 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
4 Bernardini, Samuele(TM)
5 Rauchenecker, Pascal(Husqvarna)
6 Vlaanderen, Calvin(KTM)
14 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
17 Jacobi, Henry(Honda)
23 Notsuka, Chihiro(Honda)
25 Tropepe, Giuseppe(Honda)

MX2 - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Anstie, Max(Husqvarna)
2 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
3 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
4 Bogers, Brian(KTM)
5 Vlaanderen, Calvin(KTM)
6 Bernardini, Samuele(TM)
9 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
16 Jacobi, Henry(Honda)
20 Tropepe, Giuseppe(Honda)
21 Notsuka, Chihiro(Honda)