HRC and Honda may have triumphed in the 2016 Grand Prix of Patagonia Argentina through the efforts of outstanding MXGP rookie Tim Gajser but for the winless factory team and the plight of Evgeny Bobryshev, Neuquen continues to be a site of frustration.
Neuquen was inaugurated last year and current Rockstar Husqvarna racer Max Nagl claimed the top step of the podium while Bobryshev was struck by a rear-brake-less Shaun Simpson and crashed, going on to classify eighth overall.
It was only the third round of a resounding comeback to the top level by #777 after three injury-plagued seasons and ‘Bobby’ would go on to finish third in the 2015 MXGP Championship standings. Last week his poor Argentine luck rattled on with a 4-12 for seventh overall and a second moto fall that left him somewhat battered.
“I feel very sore all over from the crash because it was pretty heavy, on the landing of a jump, so I was in pain to finish the race,” he commented.
While Gajser flies with two wins and four podium finishes from the four Grands Prix of the season so far Bobryshev is trying to catch-up and has yet to reach the top three since the 2016-opener at Losail in Qatar.
The 28-year-old Russian has been competing alone from inside the HRC awning as Gautier Paulin recovers from his fractured vertebra and rib due to a training accident. The Frenchman is rumoured to be in contention for a racing return for the Grand Prix of Latvia in three weeks time.
