The 12th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship has concluded on the island of Sumbawa which was the host of the 2022 MXGP of Indonesia and saw Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle secure perfect 1-1 scores. The brand-new venue of Samota Rocket Motor Circuit received raving reviews from the riders, who enjoyed the track that was specifically built for the event. Along with the forty thousand fans that lined the circuit and cheered on their favourite riders. The Indonesian Grand Prix delivered a lot of excitement on and off the track, with a beautiful opening ceremony which included speeches from the officials, beautiful traditional performances and an impressive air show.
In MXGP race one, it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who grabbed the Fox Holeshot, as Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Ben Watson hit the gate and was left with quite a bit of work to do as he started last. Gajser led the way with Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, Honda 114 Motorsports’ Ruben Fernandez, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre right behind. Febvre then got passed by Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who got straight onto the rear wheel of Coldenhoff for fourth. Though Febvre was not going to go down without a fight, as he looked to re-group immediately.
A couple of laps later, Jonass crashed and dropped back to ninth. The Latvian got going quickly and was able to pass Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen for eighth, and the Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini to finish the race seventh. Vlaanderen later suffered a bike issue and pulled out of the race. Team HRC’s Mitch Evans passed F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Jed Beaton for sixth on lap five, as Fernandez lost a bit of ground to Prado, though he remained closed and pushed his fellow Spaniard. In the end, Gajser took his 12th race win of the season ahead of Prado, Fernandez, Coldenhoff and Fernandez.
In the second race, the Fox Holeshot went to Prado as Gajser got squeezed on the start by Febvre and dropped back to fourth. Fernandez was able to get around Gajser too, though the Slovenian passed him back a couple of corners later. Prado was looking good in first place, while Gajser began to focus on Febvre who was just ahead. It took the Honda rider a lap to find his way up to second, as he flew past Febvre. A lap later he was onto the rear wheel of Prado and was also able to find his way into the lead. Further behind, Evans continued his strong run as he closed in on Jonass for fifth. The pair battled closely for three laps, before Jonass crashed. The Latvian got going fairly quickly and only lost two positions to Fernandez and Coldenhoff.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer, who suffered with food poising all weekend, was fighting strong inside the top 10. The Swiss had Guadagnini and Vlaanderen just ahead of him. Gajser and Prado maintained a consistent gap to one another, as the Spaniard did not let the Slovenian get away easy. Febvre was third and being pushed by Fernandez, who was on his way to another podium finish. In the end, Gajser was able to go 1-1 ahead of Prado and Febvre who crossed the line third. Fernandez finished fourth ahead of Evans. Two race wins put Gajser on the podium, Prado finished second on the box for the fourth time this season, ahead of Fernandez who celebrated his second podium of 2022. Gajser now has an impressive 125 point lead over Prado who moves up to second ahead of Seewer who drops to third.
Tim Gajser: “I’m super happy. I was enjoying all the weekend; the track was super nice. We also had nice fans; we got a really nice welcome here in Indonesia. Overall, I am super happy, going one-one in the races. Thanks to my team, we have been working super hard to get back in good shape. Bike is good. Now we take a little bit of rest and then we are back to it in two weeks”.
Jorge Prado: “It was a good weekend. I felt a little bit better than yesterday; it was a tough track and Tim was unstoppable this weekend, I tried really hard. I got a good start in the second race, but Tim had better pace and passed me but I stayed with him the whole race and Romain was pushing me but I held on. We are going up and now have some time until the next race and I will try to get some rest, do some good training and step it up”.
Ruben Fernandez: “This weekend was good for me overall. Since Saturday, I felt good with the track, third in time practice, third in qualifying and third in the first race, and fourth in the second one for third overall which was very solid. Finally I made it, two Spanish flags on the podium, so I think the Spanish motocross fans will be happy”.
