Tim Gajser leaves Switzerland with a top-three race two finish in what was a turbulent day for the two-time world champion at Frauenfeld, which saw the Team HRC rider twelfth at the finish line in the first moto after a coming together with an opponent soon after the start. Gajser’s team mate Todd Waters was 15th and 18that the end of the two Swiss encounters, showing some improvement from the previous round.
Gajser was battling in the middle of the pack in the opening race of the day but ended up crashing after a collision with Julian Lieber; after re-joining the moto at the very back of the field, Tim needed a few laps to regroup but was eventually able to get back up to speed and to start his comeback – which culminated in a 12th place finish. In the second race, Gajser soon found himself towards the front and after an overtake on Toni Cairoli he started charging towards the top-three. On lap 11, Tim took advantage of a small mistake by Desalle to move up to third place, which he kept all the way to the end of the race.
Todd Waters ran as high as 14th in the first moto before being overtaken by team mate Gajser with four laps to go. The first half of the second race was unfolding in a very similar way for the 27-year-old Australian rider, who unfortunately dropped a few places in the final four laps and was 18th at the chequered flag.
