International Italy: Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi win Round 1 – Riola Sardo

Honda HRC riders Tim Gajser and Ferruccio Zanchi claimed the top spots in their respective classes at the opening round of the International of Italy in Riola Sardo.

The deep sand of Riola Sardo hosted a bunch of MXGP riders who entered into action for the first time this year ahead of the MXGP World Championship season. The race had plenty of storylines such as the successful debut of Ferruccio Zanchi on the HRC Honda and other riders who test their new bikes/teams on racing terms.

As for the races itself, Tim Gajser swept both motos. In race one, Romain Febvre grabbed the holeshot but was a short-lived lead as Gajser quickly passed Coldenhoff and then Febvre for the lead. The Slovenian put on a solid ride en route to the checkered flag. Febvre applied some pressure close in the end but wasn´t enough. Meanwhile, Yamaha riders Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts charged together from behind the top five to get 3rd and 4th respectively. Spaniard Ruben Fernandez rounded the top 5.

The second moto was similar with Gajser snatching the early lead from holeshot winner Glenn Coldenhoff and pulling away. Laps later Renaux passes Coldenhoff for second and both settled right there ahead of Febvre in fourth. Once again Fernandez rode on a solid 5th. On the other hand, Jago Geerts was second at the beginning but then he washed out and remounted in sixth.

n the first MX2 race, having qualifyed fourth, Zanchi was down in 29^th as they rounded the first lap after having trouble after the opening few corners. Still, that didn’t deter the youngster from putting his head down and working his way through the field at speed. Despite being in traffic, the Team HRC rider was the fastest guy on track for numerous laps and after putting in his best lap near the end of the race, he was able to make the move into fourth place. It was a great recovery and it still gave him a shot at a solid result if he could do the same again in race two.

Things went backward in the second race as Langenfelder and Adamo were involved in a first-turn crash. Quentin Prugnieres emerged with the lead over Oliver, but Zanchi had other plans as he quickly moved into the lead. Langenfelder remounted to fourth to save a 2nd overall. On the other hand, Adamo retired.