Exclusive Interview: Tim Gajser on losing the red plate – MXGP of China

Gajser China 24 crash

Two crashes in the opening moto of the MXGP of China saw Tim Gajser losing the red plate for the first time since Round 9 in Latvia. Then in Race 2, Gajser finished 2nd behind overall winner and new championship leader Jorge Prado who claimed the red plate by 7 points heading to the final round in Spain in two weeks time.

Despite the nightmare scenario, Gajser was kind enough to reflect on his day with Lorenzo Resta.

TIM GAJSER LOST THE RED PLATE

Unfortunately for Gajser, his day got off to the worse possible start in the motos as he was involved in a second-turn crash that immediately dropped him to the back of the pack. From there, he quickly regrouped and was charging through the field, before he got involved in another incident that dropped him down to 15th again. Once again, he made a number of passes before damage, as a result from that second incident, meant he could only cruise around the Shanghai circuit and he dropped down to finish in 17th place.

That meant he lost the virtual red-plate for the first time since round nine in Latvia, with the deficit of four points heading into race two. He got a much better start this time out and quickly was into second place, but although he pressured the leader, he couldn’t find a way around and had to settle for second and is now seven points behind in the 2024 MXGP Championship, with one round remaining.

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