The transition to Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP has not gone entirely to plan for five-time world champion Tim Gajser, although there have been encouraging signs along the way – including a third-place overall finish in the sands of Lommel on Sunday. In this Debrief feature, Gajser reflects on the weekend and the team’s ongoing progress behind the scenes.

Image: Supplied.

Back on the MXGP podium

Yeah, it was a decent weekend. I mean, it’s no secret I was struggling a little bit with the setup and with everything. The track was also not easy, especially in the second moto. We made some changes for the second moto and, actually, I felt a bit worse than in the first one. In the first one, I had a nice flow and I could follow Kay [de Wolf]. But overall, we are learning and getting better and better. It’s always nice to be on the podium here in Lommel. It’s the toughest GP of the year, so yeah, it was a solid day.

Ongoing bike development

Everybody in the team is working really hard, but it seems like we’re not there yet. We’re coming, but slowly. We’re working hard, and it’s always nice to finish on the podium. That’s always a goal, so yeah.

Image: Supplied.

Differences between Honda and Yamaha

I mean, they’re two different bikes. Like Jeffrey [Herlings] said, the Honda is quite a powerful, snappy bike. We’re searching for a little bit of that because the Yamaha feels a little bit lazier off the bottom. That’s why we were also struggling with the starts from the beginning, but now we’re improving, the starts are getting better and I can be in the top five or top seven off the gate, sometimes even better. Today the starts were not bad – obviously, it’s a little bit of a bigger bike and a bit heavier, so the settings have to be adapted a little bit. We’re still figuring it out, I’m still getting used to it, and like I said, we’re testing a lot and working hard all the time.