Herlings dominates, Brent Van Doninck stuns!
Jeffrey Herlings let the reconnaissance round pass him by. Nevertheless, he immediately gained steam and dominated from start to finish! Due to Roan van de Moosdijk's P20 finish, the Netherlands must do everything they can for the last round. The surprise of this series, however, was the excellent performance of Brent Van Doninck who finished 4th. Liam Everts also did well for the Belgians in 13th.
Due to the persistent rain, the track for this second series was even more difficult compared to the opening race. The Swiss Valentin Guillod took the holeshot ahead of Jeffrey Herlings and Rene Hofer, but Brent Van Doninck also finished well in fifth position!
Herlings almost immediately referred Guillod to second place, but the Italians were also in good shape with Guadagnini fourth and Alessandro Lupino sixth. In the chaos of the first round, Liam Everts kept a cool head. He steered his KTM to a top-15 place in the early stages, making him the fourth MX2 rider.
Commotion after seven minutes of match! Tom Vialle, who was second in the first race, had to retire after 7 minutes of racing due to a blocked rear wheel. The chain on his KTM was gone. This obviously puts a lot of pressure on the French team. Many drivers suffered from poor visibility, which meant that the pit lane was busy.
While Herlings gave a masterclass in mud riding at the front, Roan van de Moosdijk was set back by a fall halfway through the race. For the French, the chalice was not yet completely emptied. After Vialle, Mathys also got Boisrame. With a smoking engine, the Kawasaki rider tried to limit the damage as much as possible. In the end he only finished 19th. After 30 minutes plus two laps, Jeffrey Herlings won with almost 50 seconds ahead of the surprising Valentin Guillod. Incredible!
Home riders Guadagnini and Lupino made a mistake, but with a very regular 6th and 7th place, the Italians did take the lead in the country classification. The fact that Belgium is second for the decisive final series can safely be called a miracle. However, Johan Boonen's young team made an impression. Neither 'veteran' Brent Van Doninck nor Liam Everts encountered any problems in the tough conditions of the Crossodromo Tazio Nuvolari. Although he did not feel completely well, Van Doninck continued. The Gebben Van Venrooy rider saw his good series rewarded with fourth place, P3 in the Open class.
Everts, the youngest of the Belgian team, finished the first round as sixth MX2 rider. Now the KTM rider did even better. He finished in the wheel of veteran Shaun Simpson and was fourth in MX2. In the MX2 daily rankings we find Everts in 5th. Congratulations Liamski, talk about a strong Nations debut!
Race 2 results – MX2/Open
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:33.811; 2. Valentine Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:49.117; 3. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:50.463; 4. Brent Vandoninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:59.303; 5. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +1:09.370; 6. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), +1:19.682; 7. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), +1:22.312; 8. Isaac Gifting (SWE, GASGAS), +1:23.152; 9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:45.469; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (MFR, Husqvarna), +1:56.140; 11. Harry Kullas (EST, Yamaha), +2:04.274; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +2:06.108; 13. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +2:06.991; 14. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +2:08.860; 15. Timur Petrashin (MFR, KTM), +2:12.861; 16. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Husqvarna), +2:15.912; 17. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +2:17.333; 18. Petr Polak (CZE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 19. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 20. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 21. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Ander Valentine (ESP, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Jacob Piccolo (CAN, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 25. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Jan Wagenknecht (CZE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 27. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 28. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 29. Tyler Medaglia (CAN, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 30. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 31. Jere Havisto (FIN, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 32. Erlandas Mackonis (LTU, KTM), -1 lap(s); 33. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), -2 lap(s); 34. Tristan Purdon (RSA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 35. Nikolay Malinov (BUL, KTM), -2 lap(s); 36. Petar Petrov (BUL, Honda), -3 lap(s); 37. Yago Martinez (ESP, KTM), -8 lap(s); 38. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), -14 lap(s); 39. Toms Macuks (LAT, GRASS), -16 lap(s); 40. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Husqvarna), -16 lap(s).
MX of Nations standings country rankings
- Italy 39 points
- Belgium 40 points
- Great Britain 51 points
- Russia 51 points
- Netherlands 54 points
- Austria 61 points
- Switzerland 66 points
- France 68 points
- Estonia 74 points
- Denmark 77 points
- Germany 83 points
- Canada 87 points
- Lithuania 104 points
- Finland 104 points
- Latvia 106 points
Photos: Gino Maes
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