Gajser makes it five in a row for Honda | MXGP of Germany

MXGP 2019

Round 10 – MXGP of Germany, Teutschenthal

For Round 10 of the MXGP 2019 the paddock head to Teutschenthal, Germany, where it was Tim Gajser who once again took victory, marking five round wins in a row as his lead over Tony Cairoli stretches closer to 100-points.

In MX2 a consistent Jorge Prado also took the win once again, with a 44-point lead over Thomas Kjer Olsen in the standings, while Aussie Jed Beaton finished sixth overall for the weekend on the back of a 6-5 result in the two motos. Mitch Evans crashed in Race 1, ending his weekend.

The Talkessel circuit has been on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar since 1971 and always provides the perfect conditions and atmosphere for a ‘one to remember’ racing weekend.

MXGP

Around the very rough Talkessel circuit Tim Gajser wasn’t slowing up as he moved a little closer to a third motocross world championship title. In the opening MXGP race Gajser took the FOX Holeshot and continued his lead from Jeremy Seewer, Julien Lieber, Arnaud Tonus and Gautier Paulin. After a lap the Slovenian was already leading with four seconds advantge.

Gajser was clocking big lap times as he was five seconds ahead of Seewer on lap two, when the Slovenian crashed and suddenly Seewer was right on him. While going to pass the HRC rider the two collided and Gajser kept his lead. Gajser might have gone down, but he quickly made up a four seconds lead on Seewer. The two Frenchman Paulin and Febvre were in a great battle for fifth place.

Febvre, who was still on the gas, moved past Paulin and set his sights on Tonus, who was looking ahead to Lieber. While Gajser though had an eight-second lead, Febvre closed in and passed Paulin for fifth and Lieber turned it up, caught and passed Seewer for second. After 11 laps the lead was more than eight seconds, with Lieber second, Seewer third, then Tonus, Febvre, Paulin, Anstie, Coldenhoff, Bogers and Van Horebeek.

Later in the race Lieber, while he had one of his season’s best crashed, suffering a fracture on the left elbow, and Seewer managed to take the second position but he made a mistake on the final lap allowing Tonus to go through and finish second. Gajser won after 18-lap lead from Tonus and Seewer.

The gate dropped in race 2 and Gajser took the FOX Holeshot again in an epic MXGP race start while both Yamaha’s Febvre and Seewer crashed in the opening lap. Pauls Jonass was second, followed by Tonus, Anstie and Paulin.

Seewer dropped down in 14th and Febvre in 23rd. After two laps Gajser held a 2.6 second lead over Jonass, with Tonus a further three seconds back in third, and Max Anstie all over the back wheel of the Yamaha rider.

Five laps in Gajser was up front four seconds ahead of Jonass, and Seewer had moved up to 12th and then to 9th position.

In total control Gajser remained in a handy lead over Jonass and Tonus, with the charge by Anstie and Paulin, while Seewer being in 8th place would assure podium finish. The Top 5 lead would never changed during MXGP Race 2 until the very last lap when Gautier Paulin went through Anstie stealing a position and finishing 4th.

With another 1-1 performance, Gajser extended his series points lead over Antonio Cairoli to 83 and is without question the fastest man at this moment. Second overall in the MXGP class was Arnaud Tonus with 2-3 scores and third was his teammate Gautier Paulin with 5-4 scores. The pair of Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP made history being for the first time on the podium together and tied on points.

Tim Gajser – P1

“I was enjoying riding on the track this weekend. It was a really technical circuit with deep ruts which made line selection really important. I’m also really happy to take the holeshot in both races, as well as the qualifier yesterday, because we weren’t able to do that in the early part of the season but now we are getting the perfect jump out of the gate. In the first moto I did make a little mistake but I was still able to pick up the bike and remount as the leader, so that went okay. Then in the second race, I didn’t want to push too hard. I pulled out a lead of about five seconds and then kept it smooth because the track was a little sketchy in that second moto. The shadows and the sun was quite low which caused problems on certain parts of the track. However overall I’m very happy to win another overall and to extend my lead in the MXGP championship. I’m feeling really happy with how I rode and how the whole of Team HRC is working together.”

Arnaud Tonus – P2

“This weekend was a bit more challenging because I had a tough qualifying race yesterday, so I was pretty far out on the start and I had to dig deep going into the first corner, but I managed to be inside the top-five in both races. I had a good battle with the Yamaha riders in the first race, but I managed to pass Jeremy on the last lap when he made a mistake, and then I had another good race in Race 2 and was able to finish on the box for a fifth time. It was also amazing to have Gautier up on the podium with me. We have a great atmosphere inside the team, and this is a very special moment for us and the team. I am super happy for him.”

Gautier Paulin – P3

“I can’t thank the Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP Team enough. For the past few weeks it has been tough for me, I have been off the podium. I had a big crash in Portugal and then was unlucky in France and then met the ground again in Russia. Last weekend in Latvia, I felt more like myself, but I didn’t reach the points I wanted to, but the feeling was there and it was a good training. It was tough, I had to fight hard for this one, but I know and have known my entire career that nothing comes for free, so I fought and now I am here and it feels great.”

Pauls Jonass – P4

“I’m super pleased to finish as runner-up in the second moto, but also a little disappointed for myself and the team that I missed third overall by just one point. It was two very different motos for me this weekend. The first race was tough because I got arm pump. I’m not sure if I pushed too hard after a decent start, but I lost my rhythm and went backwards for most of the race to finish 10th. My speed was good during the last 10 minutes, but it was too late then. The second moto was great, really important for me to show I have the speed to be up front for a full race. I followed Gajser for a while and managed to pull a gap over third and then just stayed consistent and stayed there all race. One point from the podium is frustrating but the result is really important ahead of the fly-away races that are coming up next.”

Jeremy Seewer – P5

“I had a really really good weekend. Now I am starting to pick up the flow right from the Time Practice. I missed the podium by 1-point even with a crash in Race 2, but I felt good all weekend. I was up there in the top-five and top-three all weekend. I fell in Race 2 and I fought really hard to come back through the pack really quick which takes a lot of energy especially on a tough track like this. I am happy with everything; I took good points which is the goal at the end of the day. I just want to keep collecting points and moving forward.”

MXGP of Germany 2019 – Results

MX2

Jorge Prado proved too strong in the hard pack circuit of Teutschenthal. The Spanish took the FOX Holeshot and led Henry Jacobi for the whole race. Jago Geerts and Honda 114 Motorsports’ Mitchell Evans followed in fourth and fifth until Evans dropped to seventh on lap 3, and after working his way back to fifth place, crashed and exited the race.

Thomas Kjer Olsen had started in seventh place and lap by lap he made his way into fourth position, a position he would hold until the end of the race. Bas Vaessen also looked strong, starting ninth, and finishing with a fifth place for the second weekend in a row. Mitchell Harrison also rode well on the Teutschenthal hard pack, starting in 12th and finishing in eighth.

Jacobi closed in to Vialle with the sound of his home crowd cheering but he could not manage to pass the French who set for the first time in his career the fastest lap of the race. Prado won 11 seconds ahead of Vialle and 19 seconds in front of Jacobi.

In Race 2 it was once again Prado who took the Fox Holeshot, his 14th of the season, followed by Vialle, Olsen, Geerts and Boisrame, who rounded the MX2 start top 5. Jacobi was in 10th place and even further back was Harrison in 17th position. Beaton rode smooth in sixth place after passing Vaessen and Jacobi moved into eighth place getting past Sanayei and Renaux.

While Olsen was all over Vialle for second place on lap four, Darian Sanayei was out of the race with bike problem. Olsen and Geerts both went past Vialle, who slipped over in a corner. Later in the season Olsen also crashed and then Geerts made a mistake, so all of a sudden Vialle was second again while Olsen dropped back to sixth place just behind his teammate Beaton.

After five laps Prado was nearly eight seconds ahead of Vialle while Jacobi, who was looking for his way to pass Vialle, crashed and it cost him a bunch of positions ending up in 14th place and missing the awaited podium.

Prado was majestic as he pushed the lead to nearly 10 seconds over Vialle, while Geerts was forced to stop due to some problems with his bike. Boisrame managed to go through Vialle moving into second place for his best race finish of the season.

On lap 14 Jacobi collided with Sterry and the British rider went down hard, the accident also saw Harrison move into 10th position. Prado won his 17th race of 2019 over Boisrame and Vialle.

Jorge Prado again went 1-1 and took his ninth Grand Prix victory at the Grand Prix of Germany. Second overall was Tom Vialle and third was Mathys Boisrame on his first MX2 Podium.

Jorge Prado – P1

“It was another good weekend and I’m happy because I was struggling a bit yesterday. I felt better in the second moto, on a track that was far from easy, because it was tough to get a flow. It was enough to get the job done today. We’ve had a lot of races recently but I will go back home in this small break and keep training. My goal this season is to keep improving.”

Tom Vialle – P2

“A really good weekend for me and a good turnaround because I didn’t have a great feeling on the bike yesterday. Today I had two solid starts and races. The track was very hard: it wasn’t so fast but with really deep ruts and I liked it. I have been going step-by-step with my confidence and feeling this year and I’m really happy.”

Mathys Boisrame – P3

“I really enjoyed the track this weekend. I really like the hard-packed conditions and the jumps and ruts. I found some really good lines and used them well in race two. It was so cool to finish race two in second place and to be on the podium in MX2 is really fantastic. It’s not easy racing at this level, but I hope for more success.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen – P4

“Fourth isn’t what I wanted from this weekend, but it’s not too bad. In the first moto today, I got a good jump but I don’t know exactly how I lost some places in the first few corners. I just didn’t feel great and wasn’t able to push like I wanted. I was slow getting into the race, so fourth was the best I could do. I was really ready to give my all in the second race, and things were going well before I fell. I lost my balance a little and bounced across some ruts and clipped a hay bail. I’ll take a breather now and prepare for the upcoming fly-away races. I feel like the first half of the series has gone really quickly and I’m looking forward to the second half now. I’ve been starting well recently, so I’m feeling positive for the races ahead.”

Henry Jacobi – P5

“It was a very special weekend here in Germany with so many fans behind me; it’s amazing to race in such an atmosphere! The first race went OK with a podium result but the second one was more difficult when I made some mistakes as the track was drying quickly in the warm weather; I also crashed one time. I was fourteenth when I could continue and made a few passes but it was not so easy here. At least I had good lap times and the speed was there; the fans wanted to see some battles and they seemed to be happy!”

Jed Beaton – P6

“I’m really happy with the way things have gone this weekend. To get sixth overall is another very important step forwards. I felt like both races were pretty similar really, just with a fall in the first moto that cost me some places. I didn’t get the best of jumps from the start in either race, but I held a tight line around the first turn and made up some places. That put me around 10th and I just pushed hard from there. Falling in the first race cost me some places but overall I was pleased with my riding. Fifth in the second race was good – it’s been a while since I’ve been racing with the guys near the front so it’s just good to be back racing there. It’s a really positive way to the end the GP. To be hitting some good form mid-way through the season is great. I’m looking forward to the overseas races now, and hope I can build on today’s results.”