Motocross

Herlings on top as Geerts goes back-to-back at MXGP of Kegums

Posted:

Monday, August 17th, 2020

9:48 AM

Herlings on top as Geerts goes back-to-back at MXGP of Kegums

Jeffrey Herlings picked up his 89th career win for the Grand Prix of Kegums

The MXGP of Kegums saw the third and final Grand Prix races of the Latvian triple-header in 2020 with Jeffrey Herlings and Jago Geerts claiming victory in MXGP and MX2 respectively.

As the gate dropped for the opening MXGP race of the day, it was Standing Construct GasGas MXGP‰Ûªs Ivo Monticelli who claimed his second FOX Holeshot of the season. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing pilot Arminas Jasikonis, as well as Team HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser were also right there in the top three, as Gajser quickly moved into the lead.

Bad luck once again for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeffrey Herlings who got squeezed on the start straight and had to pick off some riders in order to get back into contention for the race win.

Additionally, the start also saw some more drama, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Arnaud Tonus and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Antonio Cairoli both going down in the first corner.

Things were not looking much better for Jeremy Seewer of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing who went down hard in turn three. Despite looking in pain, he managed to get back on his factory Yamaha and put in a few more laps, before eventually retiring from the race.

Gajser was the race leader, with Monticelli holding second and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jorge Prado in third ahead of Jasikonis. Meanwhile Herlings was up in 7th after making a decent recovery in the first lap.

Jeffrey Herlings rode to Pole Position ‰ÛÒ his first of the Latvian chapter ‰ÛÒ in the morning Timed Practice session before claiming victory. Photo: JP Acevedo

Jasikonis then started to close on Prado as he chased second place, while Herlings was also looking to move up in the race as he passed Clement Desalle of Monster Energy Kawasaki MXGP, though Desalle fired straight back making it hard for the bullet to get ahead and catch the leaders.

Herlings then found himself in a battle with Monticelli for fourth place, with Monticelli doing a great job of protecting his position, as Herlings struggled for six whole laps before he passed the GasGas rider.

By the time Herlings passed Monticelli, Jasikonis had also managed to pass Prado for second. Though as Herlings moved into fourth place, Prado was too far ahead of him.

With two minutes and two laps to go, Gajser continued to lead, with Jasikonis second and Prado third. Herlings meanwhile was 32 seconds down on the leader so a race win was looking unlikely.

In the end Gajser took the opening race win, Jasikonis finished in second, Prado was third, Herlings fourth and Romain Febvre of Monster Energy Kawasaki MXGP in the top five.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Arminas Jasikonis has continued his impressive run of form by claiming second overall at the MXGP of Kegums, a career-best result for the Lithuanian.

In race two, this time it was Tim Gajser with the FOX Holeshot as he led the group around the first corner by pitlane. Herlings was having a much better start to the race and was on Gajser‰Ûªs tail from the get-go as Prado and Cairoli also followed the two leaders.

Herlings wasted no time in the second race as he quickly made a move on Gajser and was the new race leader.

While Cairoli was adding pressure onto his KTM team-mate, he was also coming under fire from Febvre and Jasikonis. Though he managed to catch up to Prado, those two were then locked in a pretty intense battle, that saw Prado block pass Cairoli and Cairoli block pass him back. After several attempts, Cairoli eventually passed the MXGP rookie, Prado, and moved into third.

Gajser then started to catch back up to the #84 of Herlings, though something happened to the Honda rider and he went down, allowing Cairoli through to second.

Meanwhile Jasikonis made some quick passes on Prado and Febvre and was up in fourth, with his energy concentrated on catching Gajser ahead. He then passed Gajser to move into third, though Gajser wasn‰Ûªt going to let the Lithuanian run away.

As he started to catch the tall Lithuanian, his bike suddenly stopped, forcing the defending world champion out of race two due to an electrical issue.

In the end it was Herlings with the race win, followed by Cairoli who had a strong finish in second, with Jasikonis crossing the line in third place.

Overall it was Jeffrey Herlings who finally claimed a Grand Prix victory in Latvia, with Jasikonis reaching a career milestone with second overall, and Prado also making his first MXGP podium of his rookie season!

Jorge Prado (61) captured his first podium finish in the premier class.

‰ÛÏThe first race was tough. I didn‰Ûªt have a good jump, I was like fifteenth and then was struggling with arm pump, the riding just wasn‰Ûªt good," Herlings said. "The track was really sketchy overall the last three races with a lot of square bumps. I know it‰Ûªs going to be a long series, I‰Ûªve had a lot of injuries in the past and I try to be at every race, maybe not be dominant but just try to be there and be consistent, until now it‰Ûªs actually been working out.

"I haven‰Ûªt won that much, because when I got here I was 4-4, 3-3 and 4-1 but I‰Ûªve been the most consistent over the races and it‰Ûªs been paying off in the championship," Herlings continued. "Going into the next race I‰Ûªll definitely have to put in some work, try to work a bit more on the starts, work on myself and try to get some more speed and confidence. But I‰Ûªm happy to finish off this Latvian trip in this way‰Û

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2‰Ûªs Jago Geerts toasted a second consecutive Grand Prix victory at round five of the FIM MX2 World Championship in Kegums,

In MX2 race one, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Ben Watson who pulled the FOX Holeshot in the race and was closely followed by Tom Vialle of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Mathys Boisrame from F&H Kawasaki Racing and Maxime Renaux of SM MC Migliori - J1 Racing.

Jago Geerts and Roan Van de Moosdijk were also not far behind the top three on the opening lap.

Renaux then went down out of third and was dropping down the order, meanwhile Geerts started to close in on Van de Moosdijk, and then went after his team-mate who was in second.

Mikkel Haarup had another tough race as we saw him go down in the early stages out of eighth and was showing down in 30th.

Conrad Mewse was also having a superb rider in fifth place, which he retained until the chequered flag dropped on lap 17.

On lap 4, Geerts moved past Watson for 2nd, while Vialle continued to lead the race with a 5 second gap over P2.

Bas Vaessen was also having a tough riding, as he crashed out of 18th, which was unfortunate for him as he was already struggling with a painful back.

Though back at the front it was Vialle who was leading the race, with Geerts slowly closing in on the KTM rider, with Watson also managing to keep a steady gap on Van de Moosdijk who was behind him in 4th place.

2 laps to go and Geerts put on a charge for the race win, though as he edged closer to Vialle, backmarkers started to play a part, with the factory Yamaha rider eventually going down after colliding with one, though fortunately still managed to stay in second which is exactly where he finished the race, with Watson in third.

The 2nd MX2 race saw another Monster Energy Yamaha Factory machine in front but this time it was Jago Geerts. Mewse had another strong start, followed by Simon Laegenfelder of Diga Procross GasGas Factory Juniors and Vialle right there as well.

Tom Vialle claimed the runner up spot in MX2 via a 1-2 result for the day.

Geerts then continue to lead Mewse with Vialle catching up to #426 and applying the pressure for second place. Vialle then moved into second and set his sights on the race leader.

Meanwhile Watson was down in 7th, ahead of Renaux and Moosdijk, with those three guys going at it, trying to pass for P7.

As Vialle pushed to catch Geerts, he made a mistake and almost lost it, though he managed to hold on. Van de Moosdijk then tried to close in on Renaux for 5th and that‰Ûªs when the battle between those two began.

Though Renaux caught second wind and started to close to the Australian Jed Beaton. Both riders then caught on to Mewse, with the Brit having to fight hard to keep them behind him. Eventually Renaux managed to move into 3rd as another Australian Nathan Crawford was seen walking back to the pits and was out of race 2.

As Van de Moosdijk was able to get a good drive on the wave section, passing Renaux for 3rd place, Beaton also lost a position to Watson who moved up into 6th position.

3 laps to go and Vialle‰Ûªs pitboard read ‰ÛÏclose the gap‰Û

Roan van de Moosdijk of the F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team has advanced to third in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship points standings after clinching his third podium in eight days at Kegums.

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:20.589
2. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:08.779
3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:21.090
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:29.165
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.391
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:33.535
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:34.644
8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:38.291
9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:44.978
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:50.164

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:26.803
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:07.898
3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:12.060
4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:23.368
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:27.988
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:31.572
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:39.249
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:49.115
9. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:57.135
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:03.116

MXGP ‰ÛÒ Overall Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 43 Points
2. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 42 Points
3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 38 Points
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 Points
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 32 Points
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 29 Points
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 28 Points
8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 25 Points
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 22 Points
10. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 21 Points

MXGP ‰ÛÒ Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 213 Points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 167 Points
3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 163 Points
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 163 Points
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 146 Points
6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 134 Points
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 131 Points
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 129 Points
9. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 120 Points
10. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 104 Points

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification:
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35:38.327
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:24.000
3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:26.607
4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:46.884
5. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:54.222
6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.541
7. Alberto Forato (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:09.778
8. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, Honda), +1:16.546
9. Nathan Crawford (AUS, Honda), +1:18.402
10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +1:18.946

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 35:50.720
2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:17.633
3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:28.173
4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.025
5. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.000
6. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:41.847
7. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:56.591
8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +1:02.988
9. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:35.063
10. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, Honda), +1:38.768

MX2 ‰ÛÒ Overall Top 10 Classification:
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 47 Points
2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 47 Points
3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 38 Points
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 36 Points
5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 33 Points
6. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 30 Points
7. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 25 Points
8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 24 Points
9. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, HON), 24 Points
10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 18 Points

MX2 ‰ÛÒ Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 217 Points
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 209 Points
3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 153 Points
4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 149 Points
5. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 148 Points
6. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 128 Points
7. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 127 Points
8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 101 Points
9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 95 Points
10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 92 Points