Former world champion Tim Gajser was clearly relishing his return to MXGP action in Valkenswaard today after being forced out of the opening round in Argentina two weeks ago with a broken jaw.

Speaking before grinding out a gutsy third in this afternoon’s qualifying race, the Slovenian was in good spirits.

“I’m so happy to be finally making my season debut,” he said. “I feel ready to go – I’ve ridden three times already and I’m getting more and more comfortable on the bike.

“It will obviously be harder than normal not only because I’m back from injury but also because the other guys already have one round under their belts. But nevertheless I’m in good shape, I’ve been training a lot and I got back the few kilograms I lost due to the inability to eat properly in the early part of the recovery.”

When the gate dropped on the qualifying race, the 21-year-old gated third but lost a place early on. When Herlings crashed he moved up a position and held on despite pressure from defending champion Tony Cairoli.

“I felt good today. I’m just thankful and happy to be back racing after such a big crash – it was kind of a little miracle to return so soon!

“The qualifying race went well – I got a great start and although in the early stages I wasn’t aggressive enough I managed to get into a nice rhythm and on a couple of occasions I got closer to Gautier [Paulin].

“It was difficult to overtake, however, because there was one main line and when I tried to choose a different one I almost got stuck. I’m happy with the result and with the bike so I would like to thank the team for the great job done and everyone around me for the invaluable support.”