Image: Supplied.

Team HRC’s Mitch Evans is drawing positives from a difficult MXGP of Portugal, both races impacted by a challenging first lap which left the Australian with a lot of work to recover.

Evans entered round four on a rise of continual progression since his 2022 return, making steps towards teammate and red plate-holder Tim Gajser as each event passed.

Unfortunately, Agueda proved to be a hurdle in the process with Evans 12th overall, however, if that result is considered a bad day it shows just how far the number 43 has come since the start of the season where he finished 17-22 at Matterely Basin.

“Today definitely didn’t go to plan as both races were pretty much ruined after the first turn,” Evans explained. “I wasn’t able to come through it cleanly and that meant I had a lot of work to do in the rest of the race, to even get to challenge with the top guys.

“In race one, I was 23rd after one lap, and in race two I was 22nd so that tells the story of how my motos started. However, I didn’t give up in either race, keeping a good pace and trying to pass as many guys as possible.

“This resulted in 15-12 results for 12th overall, which aren’t where I want to be, but it still gives me a bit of satisfaction because of where I started. Hopefully next week in Trentino I can get better starts and show my speed nearer the front of the field, because that’s where I feel I belong.”

With the MXGP World Championship resuming this weekend in Trentino, clean opening laps should see Evans much higher up the field.