The MXGP of Portugal has been a weekend of progression for Tim Gajser #243 and Evgeny Bobryshev #777 on their CRF450RW’s, as the duo still work to overcome their mid-season injuries.
As the gate dropped for the first race, Gajser found himself getting caught up in the first corner, hindering his break into the top five with Bobryshev not far behind. The team mates ended found themselves swapping places with each other for a few laps, whilst Gajser fought off pain in his stomach and Bobryshev tried to alleviate the pain in his shoulder. Gajser eventually crossed the finish in eighth whilst Bobryshev came in 11th.
By the second race, the track was considerably a lot rougher with temperatures soaring back up to 31 degrees. Gajser had a much better start, taking the Fox holeshot, whilst Bobryshev got caught up outside the top 10. In the end, both riders finished inside the top ten with Gajser taking sixth and Bobryshev taking ninth, for a sixth and tenth place finish overall. A considerable overall improvement from both riders.
The championship now takes a two week break before returning to Loket on July 22.
Honda Comments
Tim Gajser:
Race Result: 8th/6th Championship position: 5th“I am quite satisfied with today, every race is getting better, step by step. In the first moto, I didn’t have a good start and I was struggling a little bit with my stomach which wasn’t very nice to ride like that but I got on with it. The second moto was a lot better, it didn’t feel so bad all round even though the track was rough. Now that we have some time off I am going to focus on getting back in shape and to come back stronger for the Czech Republic.”Evgeny Bobryshev:
Race Result: 11th/9th Championship position: 8th“Today was a little bit better than yesterday as I was feeling more confident on the bike and with the feeling in my shoulder. I am still finding after 20mins that the pain is coming back so I end up losing power and speed as I find it harder to hold onto the bike. The track was SO bumpy in the second race which made it more difficult. I slowed down in both moto’s to avoid crashing and then some riders passed me at the end. I still have a lot of work to do to come back properly from my injury. I need to move forward and I am happy that I have such good support from the team and my family. It is a tough situation to be in as before my injury everything was going really well. I am in-between feeling happy and frustrated at how today has gone and this two weeks off is going to be really important in helping my recovery and comeback for Loket.”Roger Harvey: HRC General Manager – MXGP“We can see the improvements today in both Tim and Bobby and we can’t expect big steps in coming back, where then is so many riders who are at full fitness. A small step each week Is the right kind of progress and we have seen this from them both today. We will now have a couple of weeks’ rest where It will give the riders time to settle, recover more and get training seriously again. Hopefully we can come back looking for podiums in Loket.”
Anthony takes top 10 in Agueda
Following his strong qualifying result yesterday, Anthony Rodriguez had a firm goal in sight on his CRF250RW for HRC MX2 as racing got underway today in Agueda.
Getting comfortable with the race schedule and knowing he was capable of finishing inside the top 10, after a weak start, Rodriguez fought his way in the first race to tenth place finish.
The second race Rodriguez had a much better start, gating in fourth. The Venezuelan’s smooth riding style and a solid first race gave him his second top 10 finish of the day, for a well deserved eighth overall.
Michele Cervellin had a strong and consistent ride in the MXGP of Portugal today, even though his results are not a true reflection of this. In the first race the Italian crashed early in the race with another rider which frustrated him after a good start. He dusted himself down and salvaged a 15th place finish. Cervellin didn’t start so well in the second race but was able to make up more ground to take a ninth-place finish, behind his team mate for 11th overall.
MXGP returns on July 22 to the Czech Republic where Michele Cervellin will be joined by another stand in rider.
Honda Comments
Michele Cervellin:
Race Result: 15th/9th Championship position: 11th“Today was ok for me. I started good in the first moto and then I had contact with another rider and crashed. This is motocross and this sometimes happens. I ended up finishing 15th which is not the best but it is ok. The second moto start was not as good as my first race but I finished ninth overall. It means I improved a little bit over the day which is good. I look forward to a break now where I can train and get ready to focus on Loket.” Anthony Rodriguez :
Race Result: 10th/8th Championship position: 31th“Agueda has been quite a lot better than Ottobiano for me, for sure! Securing eighth position yesterday in qualifying helped so much with gate position. Being able to have a decent start has made such a difference and proved I have what it takes to run up there with the front runners. I knew I could hang with these guys but I knew I couldn’t hang with them the whole race. As some people may or may not know I have had very little preparation for these races. After the Supercross I didn’t have a bike to ride in the US at all until this ride. Because of this, my fitness is not all the way there and I wish I had the proper time to do the training I really need to do for these races. I did the best I could with the cards that I had dealt and I did my best, I rode my heart out there.”Roger Harvey
HRC General Manager – MXGP“Rodriguez was here this weekend for the second race of our agreed plan and he did a great job for us finishing eighth overall. It was good to see such a strong start from him in the second race, right up there in fourth. We are quite impressed and sorry that we have to let him go back to the US.
Cervellin rode well but didn’t make the start in either race, he needs to be strong and consistent and needs to be finishing higher, which is difficult to achieve from poor starts.”
2017 FIM MXGP / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 12: Agueda – Portugal
MXGP – Race 1 Result
Rank
Rider (Machine)
1 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
2 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
3 Jasikonis, Arminas(Suzuki)
4 Nagl, Maximilian(Husqvarna)
5 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
6 Desalle, Clement(Kawasaki)
8 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
11 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
14 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
21 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
24 Peixe, Sandro(Honda)
26 de Dycker, Ken(Honda)
MXGP – Race 2 Result
Rank
Rider (Machine)
1 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
2 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
3 Jasikonis, Arminas(Suzuki)
4 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
5 Nagl, Maximilian(Husqvarna)
6 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
9 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
13 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
18 de Dycker, Ken(Honda)
20 Peixe, Sandro(Honda)
23 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
MX2 – Race 1 Result
Rank
Rider (Machine)
1 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
2 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
3 Covington, Thomas(Husqvarna)
4 Olsen, Thomas Kjer(Husqvarna)
5 Lieber, Julien(KTM)
6 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
10 Rodriguez, Anthony(Honda)
15 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
20 De Waal, Micha-Boy(Honda)
MX2 – Race 2 Result
Rank
Rider (Machine)
1 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
2 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
3 Covington, Thomas(Husqvarna)
4 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
5 Olsen, Thomas Kjer(Husqvarna)
6 Bogers, Brian(KTM)
8 Rodriguez, Anthony(Honda)
9 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
17 De Waal, Micha-Boy(Honda)
