Image: Supplied.

Australian Mitch Evans broke through to claim an impressive Superfinal victory at Mantova’s last round of the 2020 Italian International Motocross Championship over the weekend.

The Team HRC newcomer, who’s been highly-impressive in the lead up to his rookie premier class campaign in the MXGP World Championship, raced to fourth in the opening MX1 encounter before defeating reigning world champion and teammate Tim Gajser (Team HRC) in the combined Superfinal.

The result secured the Queenslander second in the Superfinal and MX1 championship standings, providing a boost of confidence heading into the 20-round world championship.

“I had a great time riding this Internazionali d’Italia, especially finishing off with a win in the Superfinal here,” Evans commented. “I followed Tim for a little bit, but I had good lines so I made the pass and just tried to ride forward and concentrate on what I was doing.

“It is awesome to get a race win and now I know what it’s like, I hope I can repeat it during the season. However, I also know that it won’t be easy so I need to keep training hard and working with the team to make sure my level stays consistently high.”

Fellow Australian Nathan Crawford (Team Honda 114 Motorsports) was 14th in MX2 and 12th in the Superfinal, while compatriot Caleb Grothues (RT973 Suzuki) recorded a DNF in the opening MX2 outing.