In what was almost a perfect weekend for the Slovenian, Gajser had already posted the fastest times in free and timed practice, before winning the Saturday qualifying race too. He then stormed off to a holeshot in race one, sweeping around the first turn and never looking back as he dominated that moto, posting a laptime almost one second quicker than anyone else.
In race two, he wasn’t quite able to match that feat, not getting quite as good a start and instead having to work his way through into second by the start of lap one. Despite posting the fastest laptime once again, he wasn’t able to find his way past the leader, on a track that didn’t provide many passing opportunities, and instead settled for crossing the line in second and taking his seventh overall of what is already an excellent 2022 campaign.
For Evans, an excellent fifth in the qualification race gave him the opportunity to mix it up with the top riders off the gate and he was able to take advantage of that by posting two results inside the top 10 for the first time this year. In both races, it was pretty much the case that where you crossed the first lap, is where you finished the race but Evans was able to advance from ninth to eighth in race one. In race two, he knew a better start would help him out and he was able to achieve that, crossing the line in sixth the first time around. He was then involved in a race-long battle with riders ahead and behind, but he kept posting strong, consistent laptimes and received the chequered flag in sixth. His 28-point tally was four more than his previous best and gives him a lot of confidence that things can get even better in future rounds.
Next up for the riders is a new circuit in Samota-Sumbawa, Indonesia on 25-26 June. This gives Gajser and Evans a weekend off to recover from this run of three races in three weekends, and prepare themselves for what should be a totally different experience on what will be a brand-new facility, built specifically for this upcoming GP.
Tim Gajser #243
"It was good to get back to winning ways, and taking another holeshot was a bonus too. I really enjoyed the track this weekend and I think that showed in my riding. I was fastest in every session I think, and even had the fastest laps in both races, so to come away with the overall was the best way to end this event. Going one-two and extending my lead to over 100 points is more than I could have hoped for so I must thank the team and my girlfriend Spela, who’s birthday it was today for their support. We have all worked extremely hard and I couldn’t do it without the backing they give me."
Mitch Evans #43
"Today was my best points tally of the season, so I am very happy with how the weekend went. I got my joint-highest moto finish with a sixth in race two and that was after an eighth in race one, so two results inside the top ten and not too far away from a top five overall. I knew the starts would be important, so that helped, but it felt good to be battling the whole motos and fighting for every position. Now I have a couple of weeks to improve more and I’m feeling confident that this is going to be the start of some really good results."
Marcus Pereira de Freitas - HRC General Manager (MXGP)
"It was great to see Tim back on the top step of the podium after a tough few rounds. He was looking back to his best in race one, grabbing the holeshot and pulling out a gap to the rest of the field. He controlled the race and just looked really strong. In race two he had to make a couple of early passes to get into second and tried to pass for the lead but was unsuccessful, so instead settled for second, knowing it was good enough for the overall. With eight rounds left, he is over 100 points ahead of his nearest rival so this was a very positive weekend.
Mitch also had his best performance of the season and that was another positive. He rode strongly in both races and fully deserved his eight-six results for seventh overall. Now the guys have a weekend off before heading to Indonesia, which is a new round for everyone, but we head there with a lot of confidence."