HRC Honda rider Jeffrey Herlings delivered another strong performance today in a sweltering Lommel. The Bullet won not only the qualifying on Saturday but also both races on Sunday. Kay de Wolf finished second ahead of Slovenian Yamaha rider Tim Gajser. Lucas Coenen did not compete today and thus loses his second place in the standings to Frenchman Romain Febvre.
First series
Jeffrey Herlings took the holeshot, closely followed by Adamo, Gajser, and Vialle. Kay de Wolf quickly moved up to P3 at the expense of Adamo. Romain Febvre was running in sixth place, while Jago Geerts came through in tenth and Brent Van Doninck in P19.
In lap three, De Wolf overtook Gajser to take P2. Meanwhile, Herlings had already pulled ten seconds ahead of his compatriot. Further back, Adamo had to relinquish his position following an attack by Febvre, who thus moved up in the standings.
Herlings rode a dominant race and won with a lead of over 40 seconds over De Wolf. Gajser managed to fend off a late attack from Febvre and took third place.
Second series
Jeffrey Herlings took the holeshot in race two with Tom Vialle very close behind him. Third-placed Romain Febvre quickly pulled alongside Vialle, with a very active Tim Gajser in P4. Gajser managed to get past Vialle at the start of the second lap. Kay de Wolf had a poor start outside the top ten but was able to make up many places immediately. Brent Van Doninck started in P19 with Jago Geerts just behind him.
In no time, De Wolf was already in P4 and then began his hunt for Tim Gajser. The Slovenian swerved slightly in the brutal sand gullies of Lommel and lost his position to Kay de Wolf.
At the front, Jeffrey Herlings once again pulled away from his opponents and already had a 15-second lead over Romain Febvre halfway through. However, he made it clear several times at the pit lane that there was a problem with the clutch, but he managed to maintain his lead. Meanwhile, Jago Geerts had been working hard and was in P12 with five minutes left on the clock.
With two laps to go, Kay de Wolf touched the rear wheel of Romain Febvre. Febvre crashed in the duel, was able to continue, but lost his position to the Dutchman. Febvre must have sustained some damage to his bike, because the Kawasaki gave out during the final meters. Thus, Febvre saw a podium finish go up in smoke.
Jeffrey Herlings wins the race and, of course, the GP. Kay de Wolf finished second ahead of Tim Gajser. On the podium, Herlings is flanked by Kay de Wolf and Tim Gajser. Jeffrey Herlings extends his lead in the World Championship standings and now has a 104-point advantage over Romain Febvre, who has taken over second place from Lucas Coenen.
In two weeks, the world championship continues in Uddevalla, Sweden.
MXGP Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:33.732; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:45.474; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:46.826; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:58.311; 5. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +1:25.908; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:32.593; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:37.688; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:42.078; 9. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:51.325; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:58.772; 11. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +2:06.188; 12. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +2:07.869; 13. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 14. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 15. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, Fantic), -1 laps; 16. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Ducati), -1 lap(s); 17. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Fantic), -1 lap(s); 20. Cato Nickel (GER, Honda), -2 lap(s); 21. Thomas Vermijl (BEL, GASGAS), -2 lap(s); 22. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), -7 lap(s); 23. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -17 lap(s);
MXGP Race 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), 34:39.461; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:39.633; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, Honda), +0:54.242; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:54.762; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:26.840; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:28.648; 7. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:30.752; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:43.225; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:45.085; 10. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), +1:48.011; 11. Jago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1:50.45112. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), +2:13.960; 13. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 14. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 15. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), -1 lap(s); 16. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, Fantic), -1 laps; 17. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Fantic), -1 lap(s); 19. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Ducati), -1 lap(s); 21. Cato Nickel (GER, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Thomas Vermijl (BEL, GASGAS), -2 lap(s); 23. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -5 lap(s);
MXGP Overalls
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 38 pts.; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 36 pts.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 31 pts.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 29 points; 7. Ben Watson (GBR, TRI), 26 points; 8. Isaac Gifting (SWE, YAM), 26 p.; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 26 p.; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NORTH, HON), 23 pts.; 11. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), 19 p.; 12. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 19 p.; 13. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 17 p.; 14. Brent Van doninck (BEL, FAN), 11 p.; 15. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 9 p.; 16. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 9 p.m.; 17. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), 8 pts.; 18. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 7 pts.; 19. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, DUC), 6 p.; 20. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, FAN), 5 p.; 21. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 2 pts.; 22. Cato Nickel (GER, HON), 1 p.; 23. Thomas Vermijl (BEL, GAS), 0 points; 24. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), 0 pts.;
MXGP standings after 14 GPs
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 675 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 571 p.; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 566 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 534 pts.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 450 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 446 pts.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 425 p.; 8. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 409 p.; 9. Kay de Wolf (DOWN, HOUSE), 345 p.; 10. Paul Jonas (LAT, KAW), 273 points; 11. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 245 p.; 12. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 242 p.; 13. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 213 p.; 14. Alberto Forato (ITA, FAN), 200 p.; 15. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 187 pts.; 16. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 153 p.; 17. Brent Van doninck (BEL, FAN), 141 p.18. Ben Watson (GBR, TRI), 128 p.; 19. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), 92 p.; 20. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KTM), 83 p.; 21. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 69 p.; 22. Isaac Gifting (SWE, YAM), 63 p.; 23. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), 55 p.; 24. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 50 pts.; 25. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, DUC), 49 pts.; 26. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 42 p.; 27. Thibault Benistant (FRA, HON), 40 pts.; 28. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 29 pts.; 29. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, FAN), 27 p.; 30. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 23 pts.; 31. Romain Pape (FRA, YAM), 16 p.; 32. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), 14 p.; 33. Taylor Hammal (GBR, KAW), 10 pts.; 34. Cato Nickel (GER, HON), 10 pts.; 35. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KAW), 10 p.m.; 36. Enzo Lopes (BRA, HON), 7 p.; 37. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, HON), 6 p.; 38. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 5 pts.; 39. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), 5 p.; 40. Cameron Anthony Durow (RSA, KTM), 5 p.; 41. Joaquin Poli (ARG, KAW), 5 pts.; 42. Slade Smith (RSA, YAM), 4 pts.; 43. Markuss Kokins (LAT, GAS), 4 pts.; 44. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 3 pts.; 45. Tristan Purdon (RSA, KAW), 3 pts.; 46. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, HON), 3 pts.; 47. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), 3 pts.; 48. Brian Hsu (GER, HON), 3 p.; 49. Lars van Berkel (NED, FAN), 3 p.; 50. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 2 p.; 51. Matthew Malan (RSA, YAM), 2 p.m.; 52. Victor Alonso (ESP, DUC), 2 pts.; 53. Jayden Proctor (RSA, YAM), 2 pts.; 54. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), 2 pts.; 55. Ander Valentin (ESP, TRI), 1 p.; 56. Bogdan Krajewski (FRA, YAM), 1 pt.; 57. Tom Grimshaw (GBR, HON), 1 p.; 58. Philip Olsson (SWE, HON), 1 p.;
Photos: Gino Maes
Editorial team: Danny Hermans
