Herlings kills Cairoli twice in final rounds!
The word legendary is used a little too often, but what we saw today in the MXGP class will go down in history as one of the most legendary races in history! Jeffrey Herlings timed his attacks to perfection and that caused a lot of irritation for Antonio Cairoli
During the MXGP Grand Prix of Matterley Basin in Winchester, the crowd present was treated to one of the better races we have seen in recent decades. In the first heat we saw Antonio Cairoli take the holeshot and the Italian was immediately followed by his challenger for the title, Jeffrey Herlings. However, the Dutchman did not immediately launch an attack and it even seemed for a while that the lead that Antonio Cairoli built up could not be closed for the championship leader. Until a few laps from the end Jeffrey Herlings suddenly drove towards Antonio Cairoli. With a few laps to go, the archrivals were in each other's wheel and it was time to wait for an attack from number 84. This came into one of the beautiful corners of the Matterley circuit and this in a Stefan Everts way, standing up on the pedals in third or even fourth gear. The Italian Antonio Cairoli quickly countered this attack and Jeffrey Herlings started looking for a new opportunity. He saw this opportunity in the corner that led them to the starting field or should we say suffering for Tony Cairoli?! Jeffrey Herlings positioned himself on the inside with two laps to go and wanted to push Antonio Cairoli all the way to the outside, but not everyone understood this and so the competitors came into contact with each other. The nine-time world champion fell to the ground and Jeffrey Herlings steamed through to victory. Antonio Cairoli secured second place ahead of Tim Gajser ahead of Clément Desalle and Romain Febvre.
In the second series, the start immediately set the mood. Both Tim Gajser and Antonio Cairoli sandwiched Jeffrey Herlings. As a result, the Dutchman started in approximately sixth or seventh place. A temporary setback because the man in form quickly passed his fellow competitors, putting him in second position again. This time, however, Antonio Cairoli seemed stronger than in the first heat, every fast lap from the Dutchman was answered by a fast lap from the Sicilian world champion. We had an epic duel between the two men over a gap of about three seconds. Halfway through the race the series seemed to tilt in favor of Antonio Cairoli, but with a few laps to go there was suddenly Jeffrey Herlings again! The three-time world champion achieved one fastest lap time after another and found himself in the wheel of his fellow brand in no time. In the very last lap the man, who this year was from another planet, found a place to get past Tony Cairoli. This in front of a frenzied crowd, who also saw that Antonio Cairoli had no answer to this attack in the last round. Jeffrey Herlings stormed through this semi-final lap at full speed to win the series and the Grand Prix with the fastest lap time of the weekend. This for Antonio Cairoli and Romain Febvre, whose third place in this heat and his fifth place in the first series were enough to join them on the podium. Clément Desalle again had a strong run and was in third place for a long time, until a small slip threw him back to fifth place. In his quest to catch up, the French-speaking Belgian was able to catch Tim Gajser, but the match was not long enough for him to also be able to remount Romain Febvre!
Very frustrated Antonio Cairoli
Just after the finish we saw a very disappointed and very frustrated Antonio Cairoli, driving towards the front wheel of Jeffrey Herlings. There was no shaking of hands at first, and the Sicilian showed himself to be a very bad loser, unworthy of a world champion. In the interview, Jeffrey Herlings also said that it was a conscious choice not to sit in Antonio Cairoli's wheel for the entire match. “I didn't plan on eating Tony's roast for an entire match, so I timed my attacks at the end of the match,” said a satisfied Herlings, who is now 54 points ahead of Antonio Cairoli.
What about the other lowlanders?
Glenn Coldenhoff did very well with two sixth places, these two sixth places also gave him sixth place in the daily rankings. In the first moto we saw Jeremy Van Horebeek score a strong seventh place, but only two weeks after dislocating his shoulder in the second moto he left the race. Julien Lieber also only scored in the first heat and this with an eighth place because he also left the race in the second heat. Kevin Strijbos in turn had a constructive weekend with a sixteenth and thirteenth place. Our other lowlander Nathan Renkens did not score any points.
MXGP Matterley Basin – Grand Prix Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:58.965; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:10.188; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:14.527; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:32.384; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:47.533; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:50.591; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:58.183; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:01.933; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:06.611; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Suzuki), +1:09.122; 11. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), +1:12.214; 12. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:16.858; 13. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:19.845; 14. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:20.998; 15. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Honda), +1:22.278; 16. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +1:27.871; 17. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:29.305; 18. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:30.270; 19. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), +1:30.841; 20. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:32.119; 21. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:48.119; 22. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:49.154; 23. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:49.191; 24. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), +2:12.067; 25. Paul Albert (POR, Yamaha), +2:19.044; 26. Ander Valentine (ESP, Husqvarna), +2:35.184; 27. Tomasz Wysocki (POL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 28. Stefan Ekerold (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 29. Simone Zecchina (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 30. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 31. Nathan Renkens (BEL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 32. Matiss Car (LAT, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 33. Petar Petrov (BUL, Honda), -2 lap(s);
MXGP Matterley Basin – Grand Prix Race 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:26.698; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.150; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:40.145; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:42.049; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:54.266; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:58.266; 7. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:59.513; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:01.221; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Suzuki), +1:32.712; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:39.421; 11. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:42.659; 12. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:43.495; 13. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +1:45.231; 14. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), +1:47.524; 15. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:57.661; 16. Valentine Guillod (SUI, KTM), +2:00.220; 17. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Kawasaki), +2:01.551; 18. Petar Petrov (BUL, Honda), +2:02.111; 19. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +2:08.063; 20. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +2:17.395; 21. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), +2:18.433; 22. Ander Valentine (ESP, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Stefan Ekerold (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Nathan Renkens (BEL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 25. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Simone Zecchina (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 27. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Honda), -7 lap(s); 28. Matiss Car (LAT, Kawasaki), -8 lap(s); 29. Tomasz Wysocki (POL, KTM), -8 lap(s); 30. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), -10 lap(s); 31. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), -14 lap(s); 32. Paul Albert (POR, Yamaha), -14 lap(s); 33. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), -15 lap(s);
MXGP Matterley Basin – Total Result
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BELL, COW), 36 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, SUZ), 23 p.; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, CAW), 23 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 17 p.; 11. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), 17 p.; 12. Alessandro Lupino (NOW, COW), 14 p.; 13. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 14 p.; 14. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 13 p.; 15. Julien Lieber (BELL, COWS), 13 p.; 16. Valentine Guillod (SUI, KTM), 12 p.; 17. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 10 p.; 18. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 9 p.; 19. Maxime Desprey (FRA, CAW), 8 p.; 20. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HON), 6 p.; 21. Petar Petrov (BULL, HON), 3 p.; 22. Tunnel Leok (EST, HUS), 3 p.; 23. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), 2 p.; 24. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 1 p.; 25. Ander Valentine (ESP, HUS), 0 p.; 26. Stefan Ekerold (GER, KTM), 0 p.; 27. Nathan Renkens (BELL, HON), 0 p.; 28. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 0 p.; 29. Simone Zecchina (ITA, YAM), 0 p.; 30. Matiss Carriage (LAT, COW), 0 p.; 31. Tomasz Wysocki (POL, KTM), 0 p.; 32. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, YAM), 0 p.; 33. Paul Albert (POR, YAM), 0 p.;
MXGP – World Championship standings
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 436 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 382 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BELL, COWS), 314 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 291 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 267 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 257 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 237 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 207 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 198 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BELL, COWS), 162 p.; 11. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), 160 p.; 12. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, SUZ), 139 p.; 13. Alessandro Lupin (NOW, CAW), 119 p.; 14. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 113 p.; 15. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HON), p.111; 16. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 94 p.; 17. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 86 p.; 18. Maxime Desprey (FRA, CAW), 83 p.; 19. Leok Tunnel (EST, HUS), 54 p.; 20. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 52 p.; 21. Tommy Searle (GBR, CAW), 50 p.; 22. Benoit Paturel (FRA, KTM), 40p.; 23. Petar Petrov (BUL, HON), 35 p.; 24. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), 19 p.; 25. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, YAM), 18 p.; 26. Harry Kullas (EAST, HUS), 15 p.; 27. Valentine Guillod (SUI, KTM), 12 p.; 28. Ander Valentine (ESP, HUS), 8 p.; 29. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 5 p.; 30. Jethro Salazar (PER, HON), 5 p.; 31. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, YAM), 3 p.; 32. Stefan Ekerold (GER, KTM), 3 p.; 33. Paul Albert (POR, YAM), 2 p.; 34. Sven Van der Mierden (DOWN, YAM), 1 p.;
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven
Photo: Paul Weyten
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