With two weekends off since the first round in Argentina, Team HRC riders Tim Gajser, Brian Bogers and Calvin Vlaanderen now head to Great Britain for round two of the 2019 motocross world championship, hoping to put together a good run of results in a period of time that sees them race three weeks in a row.
First up is the MXGP of Great Britain, held at the excellent Matterley Basin facility, near the city of Winchester in Hampshire. The track is well-liked amongst pro riders and features big jumps and wide sweeping bends, all set within a layout that provides great viewing for the vast number of spectators expected to visit the first European GP of the year.
After his second place in Argentina, Gajser is hoping to go one better this weekend, something he previously achieved in 2016 when the Slovenian rider went 1-1 in dominating fashion as he swept the field on his way to his first MXGP World Championship title success. Bogers joins his colleague for round two, looking to build upon his results and race himself back into contention for the higher honours after missing so much of the 2018 campaign.
For Vlaanderen, a tie-breaker saw him miss out on the podium in Argentina but the CRF250RW rider likes the Matterley Basin track and is looking forward to getting back to racing after these last couple of weeks away from a gate drop.
Despite the March date, the weather in England is looking promising for this weekend which should help provide really good conditions for all the riders who will be riding on the track, as well as for all the fans who will be in attendance around the track. The opening rounds of the EMX250 and EMX2t are also scheduled for the weekend, so there will be plenty of action to follow, but the first MX2 free practice starts at 11:30 local time on Saturday, March 23, with racing getting underway at 12:15 on Sunday, March 24.
Tim Gajser: “Itās great to get back to racing after two weeks off. I have been training hard and putting in a lot of work in preparation for this race and I canāt wait to finally get back on a race track again after having the break.
“I really like the Matterley Basin track so Iām really looking forward to having some good races over there and having fun, which I think is the most important thing because if I can have fun, I know that I will have had a good race and a good result.”
Brian Bogers: “After Argentina I needed a few days of recovery because the travelling and the race was quite tough, but I felt good after the break and I started back training feeling refreshed and ready to try and improve myself every day.
“The weather has been quite bad in Holland so it has been tough to find decent tracks, but we made it work in mostly sand tracks. Now I will have a couple of days on hard pack as I try to get ready for Matterley Basin.”
Calvin Vlaanderen: “When I got back from Argentina, I carried on right away with the programme of what I needed to do. I think I saw what I needed to work on after that race so as soon as I got back I got straight to work and have been putting in both hours on the bike and off the bike to improve myself physically.
“Unfortunately I got quite sick midway through so I did have to take a few days off in order to recover but right now Iām back 100 per cent and training again and feeling good. I also really like Matterley Basin, itās a good track to ride and itās fun because there are so many lines and nice jumps so itāll be good racing and Iām looking forward to getting back out there on track.”
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