Isak Gifting at the MXGP of Sweden // Photo credits: Infront Moto Racing
If you have been watching or following any of the last 2 races of the FIM MXGP World Championship, you might have noticed, there is a rider, who is crossing the paths of many factory teams. Ladies and gentleman – meet Isak Gifting.
Isak is a 25-year old from Sweden, racing for JK Racing Yamaha in the MXGP class. And this weekend he is having his home GP in Uddevalla. But the main reason for this article is not merely that, but rather his impressive results and the momentum that he is carrying at the moment.
Before we say anything about his momentum, do you remember last year’s MXGP of Sweden? Remember the Swedish combo and the viking helmet? Isak, if you are by any chance reading this, please do it again as it looked EPIC!
Now, back to the main topic.
One thing is for sure, most of the people who will be watching the action live in Uddevalla, would love to see Gifting on the podium. Can he make it?
Let’s brake down the competition.
At the moment it seems that Lucas Coenen and Romain Febvre are a class above everyone else, but even they have made mistakes and other riders have won motos. But as the championship battle is getting tighter and tighter, the motivation to win every single race is huge for both of them, as they are separated by only 9 points.
Big news emerged last week, that 5-time world champion Tim Gajser is coming back. We will see, how he will return after the injury, but seeing videos on his social media, he looks fast. Remember, before his crash at the MXGP of Switzerland, he was the favorite to win this year’s title, leading the championship by more than 40 points.
Also Jeffrey Herlings is getting back the strength in his shoulders and he has shown, he’s got the speed in Lommel. Besides him, also Glenn Coldenhoff is riding very impressive this season.
So, the competition for the podium is incredibly tough and the stakes are high, but so it is also Isak’s motivation to celebrate in front of his home crowd.
The momentum
Gifting had an amazing ride at the last GP in Lommel (known as one of the most demanding motocross tracks in the world). Finishing first moto in 4th place, behind only Febvre, Coenen and Vlaanderen. Second moto was good as well, finishing 9th. All that resulted in 6th overall.
Going one weekend further to the MXGP of Czech Republic. Again, great start at the first race, rode in the top 4 for a while, only by the end of the moto faded to 7th spot. But second race was even better. Start was great again, but this time he explained to everyone who he is. He held his composure and finished 4th, making an overall 5th place, his best result this season.
But there is one important detail. In that second race, the only riders whose best lap time was under 1:50 were: Lucas Coenen, Romain Febvre, Glenn Coldenhoff and Isak Gifting.
That’s elite company. And don’t forget – he is not a factory rider. That makes such result even more impressive.
This season he has had 6 TOP 10 overall results and 4 TOP 6. Considering the momentum he is carrying at the moment, he might add one this weekend. Maybe even a TOP 5.
MXGP of Sweden
Uddevalla is a hard pack track, similar to Loket, where he finished 5th.
If he can just manage to get 2 good starts, everything is possible. And Isak will be pumped, he will do everything he can to make a show for the home fans. It’s going to be loud in Uddevalla and everything will be blue and yellow. From Swedish or Viking styled clothes to the smoke flying through the air.
On hard pack tracks like these it is very important, how the organizers prepare the track as they can make the track with more lines, more passing options, or it can get to a one line track, making it a train-like race. Hopefully we see the first option.
In any way, Isak Gifting is writing a beautiful and exciting story this season and making a career result at his home GP, would be just a perfect cherry on the cake.
He is the underdog, crossing the paths of the elite factory teams. The competition is always stiff for a factory ride, but maybe, just maybe, we will soon see number 517 under a factory tent in the paddock.
Isak, good luck!
And if you would prefer to listen to the story, you can also do it here: