Image: Supplied.

The MXGP of Germany marked a promising step in the right direction for Mitch Evans, with the Kawasaki Racing Team rider pleased to ‘finally be in the battle again’ as his push towards the front continues.

Evans notched his best qualifying race result of the season on Saturday at Teutschenthal, being a 10th-place finish ahead of the two motos on Sunday.

The number 43 went even better the following day, working his way to be ninth in moto one before running inside the top five in the second race to ultimately cross the line in P6, landing him seventh overall for the round – his best result in the 2023 MXGP World Championship so far.

“It’s nice to finally be in the battle again and going home with a smile on my face,” explained Evans. “We have made a lot of progress lately, both with my bike settings and my fitness.

“For a long time I wasn’t able to do full training, but pain-wise I’m now 100 percent and last week I changed my training program and I already feel much better. I was also happier with my starts this weekend.

“The Kawasaki is unreal off the start, but it calls for a different technique to my previous bike and I still need to get completely used to it, the rest is down to me now and then the holeshots will come. I’m looking forward to getting back into the top five, perhaps already in Indonesia, I got sick there last year but the track and the fans were really great.”

Evans was sidelined throughout the opening rounds with a thumb injury sustained prior to the season-opener. He has been building since his return in Portugal, with the next stop on the 2023 MXGP World Championship calendar to take place at Sumbawa, Indonesia on 25 June.