A Day of Recovery Rides for Team HRC in Thailand

2015-03-16 08:25
It was a day of mixed emotions for Team HRC in Thailand today as the true performances of Gautier Paulin and Evgeny Bobryshev were hampered by crashes that meant the pairing had to fight their way through the field in both races.

Gautier PaulinEvgeny Bobryshev
Gautier Paulin

Gautier PaulinEvgeny Bobryshev
Gautier Paulin
The races today were run in very tough conditions as the temperature reached 38 degrees Celsius, leading the organizers to cut the second race duration by five minutes.

For Paulin, it was a case of making some fantastic passes after suffering crashes in both races. After fighting in the top three in race one, the Frenchman crossed the line in 7th, but had a mountain to climb in race two. A crash on the opening lap put him down in 25th, from where he commenced an impressive fight back on a track that proved remarkably difficult to pass on to cross the line in sixth, for sixth overall in the Grand Prix.

Bobby also fought back from a bad gate pick after a crash in qualifying yesterday to finish tenth in the first race and 12thin the second, having been running in eighth until the closing minutes. It was another solid day for Bobby as he continues to build his race seat time having missed the last half of the 2014 season through injury.

Gautier PaulinEvgeny Bobryshev
Gautier Paulin

Evgeny BobryshevTim Gajser
Evgeny Bobryshev
Honda Comments

Roger Harvey: HRC General Manager - MXGP
“The performance potential wasn’t realized today. Gautier, because he didn’t make absolutely clean starts, was in the traffic and suffered for that twice, in both races. That lost him a lot of places so he played catch-up all day really. Historically Bobby hasn’t been mega in these sorts of conditions, but we’ve seen a good improvement here which is good to see. We've seen an improvement in his riding too. He’s getting more confident and feeling better on the bike so that’s very important. From our side, we’re still in there as it’s a long season and you’re going to get days like this.”
Keisuke Inomoto: Team HRC Team Principal
“Today was not so bad for us. In the race, Gautier made some small mistakes but rode very well to make a good recovery when it was difficult to overtake. The results overall are not as good as we want, but the season is long and we can take some strong positives from the weekend. Bobby rode two good races too. He’s had half a year with no racing, and in Qatar last weekend and Thailand this weekend he’s been riding hard, especially coming through the field from a bad gate pick. These were very tough conditions, but he’s continuing to build strongly now that he’s back in the GPs.”
Gautier Paulin:
Race Result: 7th/6th Championship position: 6th
“I have two comments from today: I’m really sad because of my crash, but I’m really happy because of my riding. I think I’m the only one who was doing so many big passes.

”In the second moto I crashed on the third corner but it wasn’t my fault as I got hit by another rider. I was on the ground and another rider rode over me but I managed to get back to sixth, with a shorter moto. I think I would have been fourth with my pace.
In the first moto, I had two crashes. I landed on Rattray when he changed line and I was already in the air, and the second was my fault. But I’m happy with my riding after the crashes; with the way I was riding to get back and the lines I was choosing to make these passes. On paper it’s not bad, but we’re just looking forward to the next GP now.”
Evgeny Bobryshev:
Race Result: 10th/12th Championship position: 11th
“You know, today was a really really tough day for everyone here because of the heat and the track. When you have lots of work to do in this heat, it’s very difficult. For me, I had a crash yesterday so I had a bad gate pick but I managed to come through. That’s really difficult in the beginning because you have really to fight and concentrate a lot and you use a lot of energy.

"I was for a while off the bike and not racing last year and I feel at the moment like I’ve missed six months of riding. Before the season started I was looking at it like I will come back and be at the front because the training was going well, but racing is a completely different story so it’s taking time. At the moment we need to build it up. The team understand it and are really helping and supporting me, and overall I’m really happy with the bike. My goal this weekend was for more solid points because the season is long and we’re continuing to rebuild, so I’m really looking forward to the next GP to keep this going.”
Evgeny BobryshevTim Gajser
Evgeny Bobryshev
Heartbreak for Gajser as His Thai MXGP Ends Early


Tim Gajser and the Honda Gariboldi Racing team were left frustrated and disappointed today when Gajser was prevented from starting the second race.

As the temperature soared to 38 degrees Celsius, Gajser delivered a fantastic first race to finish third. In the early laps he was chasing leader Jeffrey Herlings, but as the race unfolded he didn’t quite have enough to stay with the two-time World Champion though still crossed the line third.

Many succumbed to the conditions and extreme heat, leading to the organizers deciding to cut the second race short by five minutes to 25mins + two laps, and to several riders being given treatment for dehydration. Gajser was one of those riders who received rehydration fluids on an intravenous (IV) drip after race one, but during the break between races of almost two hours he reported making a full recovery and being ready for race two.

So much so that he prepared himself on the start line for race two, feeling more than capable of repeating his podium result from earlier this afternoon. Nevertheless, the FIM medical guidelines state that receipt of IV fluids precludes the rider from starting any races immediately after, so it was not possible for Gajser to participate.

It’s a big blow for Gajser’s championship campaign as he was once again a very strong top-three contender here in Thailand, but he and the team will regroup for the MXGP of Argentina, round three of the series, on March 28 - 29.

Honda Comments

Giacomo Gariboldi: Team Principal
“Of course this result is hugely disappointing for us as Tim showed in the first race today that he certainly had the pace to finish on the podium and take a good number of points for the championship, where he could have been fighting for second. Instead, the situation is very different as we lost a lot of points today. He rode very well this weekend, so to finish like this means we leave Thailand very disappointed. Now we must instead focus on the next round in Argentina, another new track for everyone, and hope that circumstances are kinder to us there.”
Tim Gajser:
Race Result: 3th Championship position: 8th
“It’s been a long time since I’ve raced like this so it’s good to be back for sure. I now have to build it up. We have lots of races so I just want to be consistent, stay positive and build from here now that I’m back.

“In the beginning it was difficult because I was fighting in the middle and the front group already pulled away so when I got the space I was alone in the middle so it’s difficult to find the right speed. It could be better for sure but I have to be happy. Yesterday I had problems with the stone in the brake so I had last gate pick and was right on the outside of the first corner so to finish 9 and 8 is ok. Overall I’m really happy with the bike, it’s all working really good so thanks to the team who have done a great job.”
2015 FIM MXGP / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 2: NAKHONCHAISRI – Thailand
MXGP - Race 1 Result
Rank Rider (Machine)
1 Villopoto, Ryan(Kawasaki)
2 Desalle, Clement(Suzuki)
3 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
4 Nagl, Maximilian(Husqvarna)
5 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
6 Strijbos, Kevin(Suzuki)
7 Paulin, Gautier(Honda)
10 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
18 Yamamoto, Kei(Honda)
21 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
27 Bengtsson, Filip(Honda)
MXGP - Race 2 Result
Rank Rider (Machine)
1 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
2 Desalle, Clement(Suzuki)
3 Villopoto, Ryan(Kawasaki)
4 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
5 Strijbos, Kevin(Suzuki)
6 Paulin, Gautier(Honda)
12 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
19 Yamamoto, Kei(Honda)
20 Bengtsson, Filip(Honda)
22 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
MX2 - Race 1 Result
Rank Rider (Machine)
1 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
2 Ferrandis, Dylan(Kawasaki)
3 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
4 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
5 Covington, Thomas(Kawasaki)
6 Guillod, Valentin(Yamaha)
16 Otsuka, Gota(Honda)
19 Getteman, Jens(Honda)
22 Penjan, Thanarat(Honda)
23 Suksripaisan, Jugkrit(Honda)
26 Koetsiri, Piyanat(Honda)
28 Brylyakov, Vsevolod(Honda)
33 Veerakul, Napapol(Honda)
MX2 - Race 2 Result
Rank Rider (Machine)
1 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
2 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
3 Lieber, Julien(Yamaha)
4 Ferrandis, Dylan(Kawasaki)
5 Covington, Thomas(Kawasaki)
6 Guillod, Valentin(Yamaha)
12 Getteman, Jens(Honda)
15 Brylyakov, Vsevolod(Honda)
16 Otsuka, Gota(Honda)
20 Penjan, Thanarat(Honda)

Source: Honda Motor Company

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