IN
THE
WIND
P50
Gajser Extends
Points Lead At
MXGP of Flanders
C
hampionship leader Tim
Gajser put his HRC Honda
on the top step of the podium at
the MXGP of Flanders at Lommel,
Belgium, October 18. Gajser ruled
the notorious sand track, going 2-1
for the overall win. Had it not been
for a "stupid" fall when he lost the
front end in the soft sand, Gajser
might've won both motos.
Instead, the first-moto win went
to Yamaha's Gautier Paulin who
took full advantage of Gajser's
gaffe while leading. The French-
man took the checkered flag eight
seconds ahead of Gajser to take
his first race win since 2017 and
the 22nd of his career.
Third in the moto went to Red Bull
KTM's Jorge Prado, followed by The
Netherland's Brian Bogers (KTM)
and Jeremy Van Horebeek (Honda).
Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM),
the rider nearest Gajser in the
MXGP Championship, got swal-
lowed up in a first-turn pileup and
finished outside the top 10.
There were no gaffes this time by
Gajser in the second moto. The Slo-
venian ran off with the second-moto
win (his ninth of the season), crossing
the finish line 12 seconds ahead of
Kawasaki rider Romain Febvre, with
Jeremy Seewer, who was running
second on the last lap before running
off the track, taking third.
Prado, who fell earlier in the moto
while battling Seewer, took fourth.
Paulin finished out the moto in fifth.
Gajser's 2-1 gave him the
overall victory for the second time
this year, and he now leads Cairoli
(sixth in moto two) by 48 points in
the championship.
Prado, in third, trails his teammate
Cairoli by 11 points, as does Seewer.
In MX2, Frenchman Tom Vialle
(Red Bull KTM) took the overall win
for the sixth time this season. He
went 2-2 on the day to extend his
points lead by a few points, to 53,
over Belgian Jago Geerts (Yama-
ha), who won the second moto for
his 11th moto win of the season.
But it was Great Britain's Ben
Watson collecting his first-ever
moto win in the first race. He's
the sixth different moto winner of
the season. Unfortunately for the
Yamaha rider, he fell in the sec-
ond moto and finished fifth. But
Watson still finished out the day
on the podium in third.
Second overall went to Geerts
with a 4-1.
French rider Maxime Renaux
(Yamaha) was fourth overall (3-6),
while Denmark's Thomas Kjer Ol-
sen (Husqvarna) was fifth overall
with a 5-4.
Renaux and Australia's Jed
Beaton (Husqvarna), who was
seventh overall on the day with a
7-7, are tied for third in the cham-
pionship, but trail second place
Geerts by 109 points. CN
Tim Gasjer
extended his
points lead at
the MXGP of
Flanders at
Lommel. PHOTO:
HONDA HRC
