There is one big secret behind Tim Gajser’s rapid emergence and success as an MXGP athlete in 2016: union jack socks. We were as surprised as the next man to see the HRC rider sporting Britain’s colours under his knee braces in a candid moment while changing in the Gariboldi awning at the Grand Prix of Europe for some Fox photos recently. And judging by his laughter and finger pointing (as if we’d spill the beans…?) the Slovenian was also not expecting to explain his underwear livery. So there you have it: British power for the second MXGP rookie in as many years to dazzle the establishment in the premier class.

Clothing preferences and jokes aside one of the most common questions surrounding Tim Gajser in MXGP right now is: ‘how?’. With every pole position secured, lap led and Grand Prix win banked (now four from the six in 2016) the surprise factor diminishes slightly but Gajser is still defying expectations. At the aforementioned Grand Prix of Europe he’d win the first moto in what was a total reverse of his experience at Valkenswaard the previous year where a massive crash on Saturday led to his worst weekend of the ’15 term.

At Kegums last weekend the 243 looked a little ragged. For the first time this season ‘250-Tim’ was back in play as he pushed the CRF450RW harder than we’d seen to-date. The subsequent speed was devastating and effective…but also edgy and put the nineteen year old on the periphery of another race crash. The ‘he’s due a big one’ feeling is a case of déjà vu when onlookers were throwing the same claims towards Romain Febvre twelve months ago…and look how that turned out.

While the likes of Tony Cairoli, Febvre and even Jeremy Van Horebeek and Max Nagl will still have a lot to say in the ’16 title story – and that’s not forgetting the skills and alternative mindset of athletes like Gautier Paulin and Clement Desalle – Gajser has made a big play to be the second newcomer to lift MXGP honours. “Actually I’m a bit surprised,” he admits after sitting down, fully dressed and asked to turn a mirror on his season so far. “I knew I was quick and was fast in testing and in the pre-season races but I was saying in interviews that I had no idea where I would be and didn’t want to put pressure on myself.”

It seems like you are another guy on the 450; where is the rev-happy aggressive rider from MX2?

Now I think I am the real Tim! I was training a lot with a 450 and riding like I do now in practice all the time but coming to a race you are a bit nervous and switching back to a 250 meant something different. Perhaps that’s why I was giving it a lot of revs and, well, not riding it so nicely. This year I have worked a lot with my Dad on the style because the 450 means a completely different type of riding; you don’t use the clutch so much, you don’t rev, you don’t shift as much and I think it just suits me more.

Riding a 450 is one thing but racing it against Cairoli, Paulin, Desalle and Febvre is another…

Every time you go out there: you learn. And every time it can be better because there are always small mistakes. I knew the bike from practice but being there with those rivals somehow makes it different. Back in Slovenia I train alone so that was the big adjustment.

Is it mental thing? Taking practice speed to a Grand Prix track…

I think so. A Grand Prix track can be so different each week and you have to be prepared for anything and everything; sand, rain, mud, hard-pack. You have to be consistent everywhere and I think I have made good gains in the sand because two-three years ago I was not that good and didn’t train in it that much. We spent a lot of time in Sardinia. We had a problem with the bike in the pre-season races so we had to test to solve that and things keep coming up to face or deal with. I’m comfortable now and a good example is Valkenswaard because last year it was one of my worst races of the season…

To read the rest of the article in the latest OTOR then head HERE