Motocross

Herlings Racks Up Win Number Eleven at MXGP of Czech Republic

Posted:

Monday, July 23rd, 2018

9:18 AM

Jeffery Herlings took win number 11 and now leads the MXGP standings by 30 points. Photo: Youthstream

Jeffrey Herlings has notched up MXGP round win number eleven, and ninth 1-1, at round fourteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship at the iconic Grand Prix circuit of Loket while Jorge Prado took the championship lead with victory in the MX2 class.

Championship contebders Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli both came into the weekend on the mend. Cairoli with the more recent fractures to his thumb and Herlings with the newly plated collar bone. The injuries provided no change in the racing however as both led the field throughout the weekend.

At the gate drop of MXGP Race 1 Cairoli was fastest but Herlings was quick to take the Sicilian‰Ûªs lead. The spectator favorite this weekend was Team HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser who‰Ûªs following made the trip from Slovenia to cheer him on. Gajser‰Ûªs start placed him in the battle for the top three.

Gajser was followed by Frenchman Gautier Paulin and Alessandro Lupino. Gajser‰Ûªs focus was however on Cairoli as he latched on to speed of the 9-time champion.

Paulin was first to make a mistake when he fell at the top of the uphill to Pit Lane allowing Lupino and Clement Desalle past. Desalle continued to make gains with a pass on Lupino.

Antonio Cairoli revealed that he was also suffering injury in Loket but still managed to take second overall in MXGP and keep sight of Herlings in the championship chase. Credit: Youthstream

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Jeremy Van Horebeek was also on the move forward climbing from 8th on lap one to pass Glenn Coldenhoff and Paulin before making it by Lupino for 5th.

At the front Herlings continued to grow his lead and Cairoli kept Gajser at bay. Lupino would lose a position back to Paulin before having one more taken by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Romain Febvre. At the finish of Race 1 Herlings took the win 31.99 seconds ahead of Cairoli, Gajser, Desalle, and Van Horebeek.

Race 2 started nearly identical for Cairoli and Herlings with another Fox Holeshot going to the Italian but the first official lap belonged to Herlings. Gajser was again 3rd and Paulin 4th but Van Horebeek was off to an improved 5th. Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP‰Ûªs Shaun Simpson was also riding much better than recently in 6th before losing a spot to Febvre.

Both Van Horebeek and Febvre found a way past Paulin in the same corner on lap 7. The following lap the Yamaha riders switched positions with Febvre in 4th and Van Horebeek 5th. Herlings began to find his rhythm and better lines around the halfway points which gave him the extra edge to pull a gap over Cairoli.

HRC's Tim Gajser continued his recent good form with another podium in the MXGP class and now sits 4th in the standings. Photo: Youthstream

At the finish Herlings won, with Cairoli 2nd, then Gajser, Febvre, and Van Horebeek rounded out the top five. In the overall the podium was clear with the top 3 the same as in both races Herlings, Cairoli, and Gajser while 4th and 5th were taken by Febvre and Van Horebeek.

‰ÛÏIt was really good today," Herlings said. "We had a good start gate and I passed Tony on the first lap of the first moto and pulled a gap directly. In the second moto I was again leading early-on and battled with Tony for a while but was able to escape. I‰Ûªm really happy with this win and now to get to Lommel in two weeks time. I‰Ûªll do my best and go for the win in Belgium; the podium is the goal but it is a sand race and quite close to my house so I definitely want to fight for the best we can get.‰Û

Aussie Todd Waters is still struggling with pace after as he gets back up to speed after missing race time though injury. @shotbybavo_11

Crowd favourite Tim Gasjer took a pair of third places and was happy with his weekend.

"Yes, I‰Ûªm quite happy with my performance this weekend," Gasjer said. "The podium is always the goal so I‰Ûªm happy we got there. I was consistent in both races and managed to stay in the top-five after the start, which is especially important on a track like Loket.

"My riding was good, although I‰Ûªve had a bit of arm pump towards the end of both races, so I think we must work on that. I‰Ûªd also like to say thank you to everyone who supported me here, to my team who are working so hard with me to get these results and to all the fans that made the trip from Slovenia. Next up is Lommel, which is one of the toughest GPs of the season: it is in summer and in the deep sand, so I‰Ûªm planning to get as much sand riding done in this weekend off as possible in order to prepare for it. I am looking forward to it though and I hope I can get another podium."

Todd Waters showed some good signs of improvement in the early laps of race one, but his still not-perfect fitness condition due to the late season debut ‰ÛÒ and the three-round absence following the collarbone injury in Latvia ‰ÛÒ paid its toll as the Australian rider did not manage to keep a competitive pace throughout the encounter and in the following moto. Waters was 16th and 22nd in the two races.

Jorge Prado(61) took an 11 point lead in the MX2 championship after taking the MX2 class win. Credit: Youthstream

MX2

Though the MXGP races were pretty clean cut the MX2 class was wildly unpredictable and thrilling until the final checkered flag had flown and the scores were tallied.

MX2 Race 1 kicked off with the now common Fox Holeshot from Jorge Prado. Closely behind was American Thomas Covington while his regular front runner Thomas Kjer Olsen came through the first corner in dead last.

Yamaha SM Action M.C. Migliori‰Ûªs Michele Cervellin was impressive at the start of the race in 3rd with Team HRC‰Ûªs Calvin Vlaanderen 4th. The MX2 red plate holder at the beginning weekend, Pauls Jonass, was back in 6th position looking for a way by Henry Jacobi.

Jonass found a way into the top 5 in lap 2 while Vlaanderen passed Cervellin for 3rd. 2 laps later Cervellin was dropped further back as both Jonass and Honda 114 Motorsport‰Ûªs Hunter Lawrence made passes on the Italian. Clawing their way through the field after poor starts were Thomas Kjer Olsen and Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team‰Ûªs Ben Watson.

HRC's Calvin Vlaanderen tied with Prago on points but was awarded second overall on count back. Credit: Youthstream

Just before halfway through the race Vlaanderen gained massive ground on Prado in second and by lap 10 was past the Spaniard. Vlaanderen‰Ûªs confidence showed in his riding and 4 laps after passing Prado he was pressuring Covington for the lead.

With 4 laps to go Vlaanderen claimed the lead and gapped both Covington and Prado. Across the finish Vlaanderen won by 2.5 seconds over Covington with Prado 3rd, Jonass 4th, and Lawrence 5th.

Prado‰Ûªs holeshot prowess showed again in Race 2 for his 17th Fox Holeshot of the season. One of the few other riders to score a holeshot this year is Jacobi who was second on the first lap today. Covington was 3rd and struggled to make it past Jacobi until lap 2 at which point Prado had grown a sizable gap.

Again 6th on the first lap was Jonass with Yamaha SM Action M.C. Migliori‰Ûªs Maxime Renaux just ahead. Vlaanderen was back in 8th behind Watson who fell on the finish during lap 3 and would be unable to rejoin after his bike was damaged. Jonass charged past Olsen and Jacobi after also getting Renaux. The moves of Jonass got him to third behind Covington who responded and started to close on the lead of Prado.

American Thomas Covington finished rounded out the MX2 podium. Photo: Youthstream

Vlaanderen was also charging forward and was one of the fastest rider on track with the exception of the start. By the 7th lap the HRC rider was up to 4th and closing on Jonass who had lost ground to Covington. In the later stages of the race Vlaanderen was all over Jonass for third and the pair swapped positions before the #10 made a pass stick.

Jonass then lost ground to Olsen while his teammate Prado was losing time to the other Husqvarna of Covington. Olsen made his pass on Jonass with 3 laps to go but Covington wasn‰Ûªt able to do the same for the lead. Making stabs at Prado for the race win and overall proved fruitless and Covington was forced to settle for 2nd.

With Prado taking the win, Covington 2nd, and Vlaanderen 3rd the overall went to Prado‰Ûªs 3-1 opposed to Vlaanderen‰Ûªs 1-3 while Covington‰Ûªs 2-2 gave him the final podium spot. Prado‰Ûªs victory combined with the 4th overall from Jonass gives the Red plate to Prado for the first time in his career with a 11 point advantage heading to Lommel in 2 week‰Ûªs time.

‰ÛÏYesterday everybody was riding really fast and today again. It was hard in the first race battling from the beginning till the end. I am really happy with the win and now leading the points,‰Û

Aussie Hunter Lawrence is back up to speed after recently returning from injury. He finished 6th overall. Photo: @shotbybavo_11

MXGP Results

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:28.981
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:31.992
3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:35.048
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:42.339
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:47.791
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:51.183
7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.685
8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:57.076
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:00.975
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:01.390

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:33.827
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:31.568
3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:37.056
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:51.917
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:57.637
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:00.420
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:02.022
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:02.791
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:03.549
10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +1:30.621

MXGP Overall Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 Points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 Points
3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 40 Points
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 32 Points
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 Points
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 32 Points
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 30 Points
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 24 Points
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 24 Points
10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 19 Points

MXGP Championship Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 633 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 603 Points
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 479 Points
4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 450 Points
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 432 Points
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 419 Points
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 353 Points
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 319 Points
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 312 Points
10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 231 Points

MX2 Results

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), 33:49.461
2. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:02.429
3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:03.000
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:04.957
5. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:06.680
6. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:16.661
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:31.581
8. Henry Jacobi (GER, Husqvarna), +0:37.706
9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:43.039
10. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:47.676

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 33:59.877
2. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:01.736
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:10.271
4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:14.561
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:20.793
6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:40.508
7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:45.749
8. Henry Jacobi (GER, Husqvarna), +0:46.400
9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:53.877
10. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:57.247

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 45 points
2. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 45 Points
3. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 44 Points
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34 Points
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 32 Points
6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, HON), 31 Points
7. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 26 Points
8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 24 Points
9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 24 Points
10. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 22 Points

MX2 Championship Top Ten:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 595 points
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 584 Points
3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 454 Points
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 427 Points
5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 414 Points
6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 375 Points
7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 310 Points
8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 279 Points
9. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 249 Points
10. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 218 Points