After the Latvian experience of three races in seven days, Team HRC’s MXGP riders are now gearing up for what will be six races in a row in northern Italy. First up for Tim Gajser and Mitch Evans is the triple-header at the hillside track in Faenza, with races on Sunday 6th, Wednesday 9th and Sunday 13th September.
Much like Latvia, the events will be run in a one-day format with qualifying done using fastest laptimes, giving the gate picks for the afternoon motos. It is a fast paced day of activity but the timed sessions in Kegums proved that both riders could get the best out of their Honda CRF450RW’s and work with the team to make any necessary adjustments for the later races.
For Gajser, he’ll be hoping to once again show the speed that saw him get holeshots, fastest laps and a couple of race wins in the six motos in Latvia. He’ll also be looking to add in an overall victory that has just eluded him in the five rounds so far, as he tries to close up the gap at the top of the MXGP championship. And with Faenza being a hard-pack track, these three rounds coming up give him the perfect chance to do so, at a facility he is very familiar with.
His teammate Evans is also on the rise after his comeback from shoulder surgery earlier in the year. The break gave him time to recover and although he wasn’t quite up to full race speed by the time of the first round in Kegums, over the course of the week, he got better and better and now with another two weeks of solid training and riding, he’ll be looking to solidify his standing as a top 10 rider and push back towards the podium, a result he achieved at the first moto in Matterley Basin at the start of the year.
With the temperatures for the week looking like it’ll be in the 30s, the riders can expect a gruelling week of racing, but both Tim and Mitch are in good physical condition and are looking forward to the challenge that this beautiful track and the one-day format present.
