There’s a very good chance that Tim Gajser will be crowned MXGP world champion this weekend at the 15th stop of the 18-round 2019 tour. And to be fair with only Sweden, Turkey and China left to run after the third Italian round of the year, which will be held at Imola, I kind of hope that he does as at least a good number of his fans will be there to see it.
With 200 points left up for grabs, Gajser has a 187-point lead which means unless Jeremy Seewer outscores the Slovenian by nine or more in the opening moto then it’s all over. Gajser would have to finish fifth or worse if Seewer were to win and to be fair the Swiss Yamaha rider has not finished better than third in a moto this year so far…
While we’re talking MXGP stats here’s a good one for you… Of all the riders currently in the top 10 of the series standings (and who are still in the running) only two have won a moto this year – Gajser obviously and eighth placed Romain Febvre. The remaining motos were won by Tony Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings and Max Anstie of course.
The MX2 class is almost as equally a foregone conclusion although I suspect Jorge Prado will have to wait until Uddevalla to uncork the champers. He’s currently only 124 points clear of Thomas Kjer Olsen so unless the Dane suffers a DNF in Italy it’s unlikely Prado will gap him by the number required.
In case you were wondering only three riders have won a moto in MX2 this year – Prado, Olsen and Jago Geerts.
So with the champions crowned and the majority of FIM medals secured – Seewer and Olsen both seem certain for silver although there are a couple of protagonists ready to fight over bronze in each division (Arnaud Tonus and Gautier Paulin in MXGP and Geerts and Tom Vialle in the MX2 class) the final two rounds could be complete snoozers.
Last year’s Turkish GP was only really notable for Prado taking out Pauls Jonass and, erm, absolutely nothing else while China is so far a total unknown. However, with a lack of interested riders and the Chinese government apparently not too keen on issuing travel visas I wouldn’t be too surprised if another monsoon – or something – causes the cancellation of the final round altogether.
You read it here first folks…
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