Tim Gajser

Gariboldi Honda rider Tim Gajser continues to get stronger and stronger. It is still funny to think at the start of the season when I spoke with HRC representative Roger Harvey about his rider’s changes in 2016. While Harvey didn’t want to get carried away, he felt Gajser was ready to be competitive straight away.

“When I asked him how he would do in 2016, or what he expected,” Harvey said. “He gave me a little smile, and didn’t really say much, but I could tell he was confident and expected to be running up front.”

As for Gajser, while he was always confident, he himself could never have expected the season to go as it has. A GP win in his debut MXGP race was more than he ever hoped for.

“I came into this season as the MXGP rookie,” Gajser said. “Like in Qatar, I didn’t expect a lot, I went there without any goal and of course I expected to do well, but I went there with the aim to just ride, have fun and enjoy myself. That is the key and every race I enter and every race I enter in the future, like Lommel and Loket, I will just go to these races to have fun, that is the key to winning.

What Gajser didn’t like was seeing his major rival Romain Febvre crashing out of the Grand Prix of Great Britain, and missing a couple of GPs.

“You know, as a rider you don’t want anyone to get injured and that is the sport, and it can happen to anyone. Every time you go out there you are risking injury. I want to wish him a quick recovery and I wish to see him back on the bike soon.”

What the Slovenian has tried to do in 2016 is get over his rivals mentally, and to be honest, it seems like some of the leading MXGP riders have been a little stung by the all-out speed of the Honda rider.

“I think that is the most important thing (mentally beating your rivals), because I believe everything is in the head. The win is in the head, you have to believe you can win before the gate drops and it is the most important part, also of all sports, just not motocross.”

Now onto Loket, where Gajser has performed well in the past. The slick circuit is perfect for his very good skills of throttle control, and as we move close to the end of the season you can be sure the fun will only get bigger and bigger for the always likeable Gajser.