Trento - Tim Gajser won the penultimate race of the MXGP class of the FIM Motocross World Championship season in Italy's Pietramurata on Wednesday having already secured the title of world champion by finishing second in the first leg. This is the third title for the 24-year-old Slovenian motocross racer after the 2016 and 2019 seasons.

The native of Ptuj started the penultimate race of the season with a 73-point advantage ahead of the closest competitor, and was able to finish the first leg in second place despite the poor start.

What helped Gajser is that his fiercest rival Antonio Cairoli of Italy crashed during the tenth lap, enabling the Slovenian to pass him and secure an insurmountable advantage for the remainder of the season.

He then went on to dominate the second leg, leading from start to finish, to win the race with 47 points, two points ahead of Swiss racer Jeremy Seewer and nine points ahead of French Romain Febvre in third.

It is the fourth career title for Gajser, who currently rides for Honda Gariboldi, as he also holds the world champion title in the weaker MX2 class from 2015.

"I'm at a loss for words, I have four titles, I'm truly happy," Gajser said. Holding the golden helmet in his hand, he thanked "everyone who's helped me on this path, my girlfriend, and above all, to my supporters, who can unfortunately not be here with me today due to the pandemic. It's absolutely unbelievable," he was quoted as saying by RTV Slovenija.