Evans leads Team HRC in strong Turkish qualification2022-09-14 07:15Mitch Evans led multiple laps on his way to a second-placed finish in the MXGP of Turkiye qualification race, just ahead of his Team HRC teammate Tim Gajser who finished fifth, in a strong performance for the Honda CRF450R pair. As always, the temperatures were high in Afyonkarahisar, but that didn’t deter the Team HRC duo from putting in some blisteringly fast laptimes in timed practice, with Evans and Gajser ending the session first and second respectively. This gave them the top two gate-picks for the qualification race on this hard-pack track that didn’t seem as deeply ripped as in previous years. At over 1000m above sea-level, the altitude adds to the difficulty level of this event, but that didn’t stop the pair from rounding the first lap around the top five. Evans had done particularly well on the opening lap to put himself right on the rear tyre of the leader and that’s where he stayed until two-thirds of the race when he moved into P1. The Australian then looked on his way to take a second qualification race win of the season, but a small error in line choice on the last lap allowed the rider behind him to come through and instead the Australian will line up in second place for tomorrow’s motos. Gajser wasn’t able to come through the field quite as well as his teammate and instead settled for a fifth place in the race, not wishing to push too hard when the points are at stake in the two motos on Sunday. He proved with his timed practice time that he has the speed to win motos, just like he has done in previous years here, so now it will just be a case of putting himself in a position to win when the gate drops tomorrow. Mitch Evans 43 Finishing second is great, but I know I should have been first, and that’s a bit frustrating. A small mistake on the last lap dropped me a spot and I had to settle for P2 when I crossed the line. Still, my speed was good all day, having the fastest lap in timed practice so I just have to concentrate on the starts tomorrow and if I can get near the front, I know I can win the motos. Mitch Evans Tim Gajser 243 Solid day today, finishing in fifth in the qualification. It isn’t ideal but after the first lap it was very difficult to make up any time, or pass anyone so I just settled into a pace and couldn’t really work my way forward. Hopefully the track will be a bit better for racing tomorrow and more lines develop, and then I can try and finish this title-winning season strongly. Tim Gajser Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager - MXGP It was great to see Mitch and Tim finish first and second in timed practice today, giving them first and second gate pick for the qualification races. Unfortunately, they couldn’t replicate that in the qualifying race, but second and fifth is still good and gives them both a chance to get good results in the important motos tomorrow. Marcus Pereira de Freitas Qualification Race Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap 1 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 23:49.609 2 Evans Mitch 43 AUS Team HRC - MXGP 0:04.114 3 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:08.819 4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA Honda 114 Motorsports 0:10.953 Source: Honda Racing Corporation Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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