Big news from the MXGP world as points leader Tim Gajser will miss this weekend’s race at the MXGP of Portugal. The Honda HRC rider suffered a shoulder injury at the last round in Switzerland and initially planned on racing but the injury seems to be worse than anticipated. Gajser, a five-time world champion, has won three of the first six rounds this season and is still 27 points ahead of Romain Febvre going into this weekend.
“Obviously, everyone knows that I dislocated my shoulder in Switzerland, but despite the best care possible since leaving the track, I will be unable to line-up for the MXGP of Portugal,” Gajser said. “I tried my hardest with all the physiotherapy and we did everything we could to be ready for this weekend, but it just hasn’t worked out. There was hope earlier in the week, as things were going well, but this is an injury you can’t force or rush to be better than it is. Of course, I am extremely disappointed to be missing any racing and now we will see what we can do in the coming days to figure out our next move. I’d like to say a big thanks for all the messages of support I have received from all my fans, and I hope to see you at the races soon.”
“It has been a stressful weekend off from the championship as we’ve had a lot to deal with, after three GPs in a row and just with everything that happened in Switzerland,” said Honda HRC team manager Marcus Pereira de Freitas. “Sometimes things can be going so well, but then disaster strikes so quickly in motocross and you have to be ready for that. It is a big shame that Tim won’t be with the team in Portugal. He had been riding so well and dominating the championship, and he was doing everything possible to try and line-up this weekend, but it was just too soon. We will see what happens over the next few days and make a plan from there, but now we have to make sure that Ruben, Ferro and Valerio are riding their best and help them as much as possible.”
