Tim Gajser says his 2019 MXGP World Championship is sinking in after extended downtime between races, as the series heads to Turkey this weekend for the penultimate round.

The Honda HRC rider has been overwhelmed with media attention from his home country Slovenia, making for a busy month in Agust after claiming the title at the Swedish grand prix before travelling to Italy for the MXGP of Imola.

“Since Sweden we’ve had quite a busy couple of weeks because of all the Slovenian media who want to speak to me after winning the MXGP World championship,” said Gajser. “We had a cool parade too in Maribor with a lot of fans which was nice. A lot of fans have spoken to me and reached out to me and it is just amazing to be champion again, and I think it is finally sinking in that I have achieved the title.

“It’s all been crazy with Sweden the week after winning in Imola so now that I had a little bit of time to think, it has become real. However I was also able to train quite hard though so I’m feeling ready and I can’t wait to go to Turkey. I really liked the track last year as it was quite technical with some nice jumps, especially after a weekend off from racing.

“There are two races to go in the MXGPs and then the Motocross of Nations and then I’ll do Monster Cup so in total there are four races and I’m feeling really motivated to do well in each of them. A big thanks to my fans and now I hope to go out and have fun in these last four events.”

The MXGP series will wrap up in Shanghai, China, one week after the upcoming Turkish grand prix.