Motocross

Gajser takes second win of the season at MXGP of Portugal, Mitch Evans makes the podium

Posted:

Monday, May 20th, 2019

9:00 AM

Gajser takes second win of the season at MXGP of Portugal, Mitch Evans makes the podium

HRC's Tim Gasjer took his second MXGP class win of the season. Photo: Youthstream

HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser has won the MXGP of Portugal with two impressive moto victories while Jorge Prado has once again dominated MX2 to remain unbeaten in 2019 while Australian Mitch Evans featured on the podium.

Agueda‰Ûªs clay soil is rich with color but today‰Ûªs racing was even more vibrant as thousands of fans filled the trackside hills to take in the action. Graced with blue skies and sunshine the track was prepped to perfection overnight but the riders of MXGP and MX2 still had their hands full as it developed into a challenging circuit as the day progressed.

MXGP Racing started with a Fox Holeshot from championship leader Antonio Cairoli, his 8th this season. Cairoli‰Ûªs main competitor so far this year, Team HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser, was in second through the first corner and immediately gave chase to the Sicilian.

The front runners were first followed by Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP‰Ûªs Arnaud Tonus, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Jeremy Seewer, and the other Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha of Gautier Paulin.

Paulin however fell out of the top 5 on the opening lap which left him to resume the race nearly dead last. His teammate Tonus went from 4th to 3r dwith a pass on fellow countryman Jeremy Seewer. The two Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team riders Clement Desalle and Julien Lieber held down 5th and 6th from the start with Lieber taking the lead role.

Antonio Cairoli remains in the the MXGP points lead after finishing second. Photo: Youthstream

About three quarters of the way through the race Gajser‰Ûªs continual pressure paid off when Cairoli stalled the engine out of corner and although he was able to get back going it was all the #243 needed to take over the lead. Cairoli latched right onto the Slovenian and during the final two laps made a push to pass but the sprinting speed of Gajser got the better of the Italian.

Behind Gajser and Cairoli at the finish was Tonus, Seewer, Lieber, Desalle, and Pauls Jonass. Paulin rode at an incredible pace through the field moving in and out of the race line to come from last to 15th.

Race 2 started with a Fox Holeshot from Tonus for his first time this year but Desalle took the lead and Cairoli slid into 2nd position by the first downhill. Gajser was in 5th behind Seewer but made it into 4th by the end of the first lap. Paulin was off to a much better start in 6thwith Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Romain Febvre adding to the YZ frenzy in 7th.

As Desalle led Cairoli it was Gajser making passes first on Tonus for third and then both Cairoli and Gajser got by Desalle in the same section. Cairoli was into the lead but within one lap a mistake saw him fall and drop to 5th. With Gajser in the lead Cairoli immediately retook 4th position then after 4 laps both Tonus and the #222 passed Desalle.

With 4 laps to go Cairoli passed Tonus to get into second but Gajser was already long gone taking an emphatic overall victory via double race wins for the second time this season. Cairoli took 2-2 for 2nd overall while Tonus reached the podium in his stunning ride and hard fought 3-3 finishes.

Frenchman Gautier Paulin rounded out the MXGP podium. Photo: Youthstream

‰ÛÏLast weekend was tough, so I tried to forget it and just focus on this weekend," Gajser explained. "I was feeling good yesterday and also today, the riding was good, and I had two good starts. It was great racing and I am really happy to win both races, hopefully we can carry that moment to the next round.‰Û

Jorge Prado remains unbeaten in 2019 in the MX2 class with another double moto win in Portugal. Photo: Youthstream

MX2 racing was also full of action starting with Jorge Prado again scoring the Fox Holeshot while behind him a second turn pile up held back several riders.

Yamaha SM Action MC Migliori‰Ûªs Michele Cervellin was in second on the opening lap, but Henry Jacobi surged past along with pole winner Thomas Kjer Olsen a short time later.

The race then ended abruptly for Cervellin when he crashed in spectacular fashion during lap 7. Honda 114 Motorsport‰Ûªs Mitch Evans took over the 4th position Cervellin crashed out of with the Honda Redmoto Assomotor machine of Mathys Boisrame getting into the top 5 as well. Evans then lost 4th to both Boisrame and Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha Official MX2‰Ûªs Jago Geerts. Boisrame was shifted back 7 laps later when Geerts and Evans took 4th then 5th away.

Back at the front Olsen made a pass on Jacobi with 2 laps to go and as Jacobi pushed to reclaim the spot he instead fell and lost 4 positions on the last lap. Prado took the race win with Olsen 2nd ahead of Geerts, Evans, and Boisrame.

MX2 Race 2‰Ûªs Fox Holeshot was taken by the wildcard EMX250 entry of Roan Van de Moosdijk. Prado got the better of Van de Moosdijk into the second corner and took the lead. Van de Moosdijk dropped back to 4th while his teammate Jacobi moved to third.

Pole winner Thomas Kjer Olsen finished second to Prado and also dropped to second in the MX2 standings. Photo: Youthstream

Prado lost his lead to Australian Mitch Evans before the end of the first official lap and held it for another 4 while Prado looked for an opportunity to pass. Cervellin returned to race after his crash earlier in the day and though banged up was in the top 5 as the race progressed.

Olsen made a mistake and had a back of the pack start but surprisingly didn‰Ûªt crash after clipping another rider. By the 6th lap Olsen had worked up to 5th from 10th passing Cervellin and a handful of others in the process. With 5 laps remaining Jacobi made a pass on Evans to take over second and a lap later Olsen made one more pass to get into 4th past Van de Moosdijk.

All the while Prado continued to lead before taking the checkered flag for his 5th 1-1 result of 2019. Olsen finished 2nd overall but it was a bitter sweet moment as he also lost the championship lead to Prado. For the second time in his rookie MX2 season Evans reached the podium in 3rd position.

‰ÛÏThis is the closest race to a home GP for me, we are very close to Spain and there are so many fans that came out and many were cheering for me, I really enjoy it," Prado said. "When I went onto the podium they went crazy so it is great to have a race like this and it was a great weekend. For me it was important to get the red plate because I feel more comfortable with it but it is tough to keep so I try to not make any mistake but in motocross you never know.‰Û

Australian Mitch Evans was back on the podium in Portugal finishing third overall. Photo: Youthstream

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:00.609
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.197
3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:17.885
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:27.240
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:28.880
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:29.847
7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:35.562
8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:51.205
9. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:52.970
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:53.969

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:47.988
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:10.604
3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:12.909
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:15.819
5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:18.856
6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.225
7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:22.115
8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:24.630
9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:27.080
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:30.999

MXGP Overall Top Ten:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 points
3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 40 points
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 33 points
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 29 points
6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 28 points
7. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 28 points
8. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 27 points
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 26 points
10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 22 points

MXGP ChampionshipTop Ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 285 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 251 points
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 197 points
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 175 points
5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 166 points
6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 153 points
7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 137 points
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 136 points
9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 122 points
10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 120 points

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:07.339
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:03.304
3. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:27.504
4. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:28.329
5. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Honda), +0:34.618
6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:35.418
7. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:44.519
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:45.789
9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:51.829
10. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +0:53.710

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:47.966
2. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:03.912
3. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:05.411
4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:12.005
5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:23.210
6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:36.473
7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:41.227
8. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:43.706
9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.287
10. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:46.503

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 40 points
3. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 38 points
4. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 36 points
5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 24 points
6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 23 points
7. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 23 points
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 22 points
9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 20 points
10. Mitchell Harrison (USA, KAW), 18 points

MX2 ChampionshipTop Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 250 points
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 247 points
3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 193 points
4. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 170 points
5. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 164 points
6. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 155 points
7. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 155 points
8. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 128 points
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 127 points
10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 122 points