Source: Supplied.

Words: Adam Wheeler

Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser admits he was mentally destroyed after the pre-season accident at Mantova during the Internazionali d’Italia where he broke his jaw in two places and was forced to miss the opening round of the current MXGP campaign in Argentina.

The Slovenian has been trying to rediscover the form and fitness that saw him romp away with the 2016 MXGP series in his first attempt, and has managed two podium finishes in the last four rounds of the season.

Gajser is still affected by the crash and the subsequent surgery and is likely to have an operation to have the plate removed from his face as soon as the ’18 contest finishes at Imola in Italy at the end of September.

“I think I am still a work-in-progress,” he said at last week’s MXGP of Germany. “I still feel that something is missing. Physically I am 100 percent and I thought in Spain that ‘we’re coming’, but I can still be even faster. I feel I am in good shape but it is about the mental side, about believing you can do it and that’s the point I am at now.”

Gajser picked up his first podium appearance at the MXGP of Portugal, one week after the Spanish fixture, but missed out in Russia and Latvia before posting a second place finish for his best classification so far at Teutschenthal.

The number 243 admitted his big fall in February was harder to get over than he anticipated: “After a crash like that mentally I was a bit destroyed. Mentally, I put it in the past but there were other reminders like I couldn’t feel my lips or part of my jaw. I just tried to forget about it when I get on the bike and enjoy myself.”

Red Bull KTM have won seven of the eight MXGPs this season so far. Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has appeared on all eight podiums while Tony Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has missed just one. Gasjer is sixth in the standings and 165 points away from the Dutchman in what is his third season on the CRF450R.