MXGP Gets Underway In Russia
T
he 2021 FIM Motocross
World Championship got
underway in Orlyonok, Russia,
June 12-13, with the MXGP of
Russia. And firing the first shot
was defending champion Tim
Gajser (Honda) who topped both
MXGP motos.
Gajser led all laps in moto one
but had to come from behind
after running off the track in the
first turn at the start of moto two.
He was ninth after the first lap
and was already up to second by
the sixth lap of what would be a
19-lap race. After passing former
champ Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull
KTM) for second place, Gajser
then set his sights on leader An-
tonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM) and,
on lap 12, got around the former
champ, who would later go
down, damaging his bike enough
that he couldn't finish.
"I'm really happy to be back
racing, it's been a long period
without races," Gajser said. "In
the first race, I took a good start
and my riding was good. In the
second one, again my jump out
of the gate was good and then
someone from the inside pushed
us completely off the track, I
even jumped off the bike. I then
searched for some lines for the
first couple of laps and tried to
make as many passes as pos-
sible and managed to get to Tony
[Cairoli], then took a couple of
laps to see what he was doing
and then I made a pass for the
win, so I'm happy.
"Defending the title is always
the same pressure but I try to put
that to the side," he added. "It's a
new season, everybody is start-
ing from zero and I just need to
stay consistent, be smart as it's a
long season."
Herlings was awarded second
overall with a 4-2, while Romain
Febvre (Kawasaki) filled out the
MXGP podium with 2-6 motos.
"I felt a little off the pace," said
Herlings who has been recover-
ing from injury. "I haven't raced
GPs for nine months, my fitness
is not there yet, but I just need to
get back in the groove. Obvious-
ly, [the foot] is not like new, but I
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Tim Gajser won both
MXGP motos at the
FIM Motocross World
Championship opener
in Russia.
