CHAOS IN PORTUGAL

Absolutely muddy conditions all weekend long at the MXGP of Portugal brought a chaotic weekend for teams and riders. After a sloppy qualifying day on Saturday, Liam Everts backed up his qualifying race win with two moto wins on Sunday to claim his second consecutive overall MX2 win. Rick Elzinga claimed second overall with 4-2 moto finishes over Thibault Benistant’s 5-4 moto finishes. Kay de Wolf finished 3-9 for fourth overall, limiting the damage. Behind the Husqvarna rider was 2023 MX2 Champion Andrea Adamo with 6-7 moto finishes.

Simon Längenfelder finished second in the first race but suffered a crash in race two and scored 23rd after not finishing the race. He is suspected to have a collarbone injury, which will impact his run at the championship. De Wolf entered the weekend with a 26-point lead over Längenfelder but now leaves with a 30-point advantage over Längenfelder and a 58-point advantage over Everts in third place.

In the MXGP Class, Tim Gajser picked up where he left off on Saturday, as the qualifying race winner found himself in the early lead moto one. Gajser was challenged by Jeffrey Herlings out front as championship leader Jorge Prado crashed while running fourth. He stopped for new goggles and gloves and then had to make yet another pit stop on the final lap, eventually coming through the checkered flag 15th. Gajser would repass Herlings for the race lead, then suddenly the #84 machine was at a standstill on the track as his KTM expired! Gajser cruised to the moto win.

So, Gajser entered the second moto with not only the first gate pick, but also the championship lead! But in the first turn of race two, the #243 slid out! Romain Febvre, Pauls Jonass, Herlings, and Prado were out front, but then Prado crashed himself going down the first hill! Herlings would go on to take the win, lapping Prado as he took the checkered flag. Herlings finished 23-1 officially for ninth overall. Gajser finished tenth, going 1-10 for third overall as Prado finished 13th overall, going 15-12.

Finishing a steady 2-2 was Pauls Jonass to claim his and the Standing Construct Honda team’s first ever MXGP overall win ahead of Febvre’s 3-4 and Gajser.

In terms of the championship, Gajser scored 46 on the weekend compared to Prado’s 19 total points, meaning a 27-point swing in the championship as the #243 machine leaves round five with a 14-point gap on Prado.