Jeffrey Herlings takes 96th GP victory with flying colours!
After a third place in race one, Jeffrey Herlings put things in order in the second MXGP round in Arroyomolinos, Spain. The Red Bull KTM rider raced authoritatively to the series victory in the revival. Not only did he not only record the 96th GP victory of his career, but thanks to Romain Febvre's fourth place (1-7), Jeffrey is also more firmly in the saddle in terms of the World Championship leadership.
To the delight of the fans, Jorge Prado took the holeshot in the first heat ahead of Romain Febvre, Glen Coldenhoff, Tim Gajser and SR Honda Motoblouz' Benoît Paturel. The poor start of Jeffrey Herlings, who initially started in the top 10, forced him to make a strong effort to catch up.
Roman Febvre strikes
After a short duel, Febvre gained the upper hand over Coldenhoff and advanced to second place, while Gajser also dealt with “the Hoff”. Febvre crept a little closer to leader Prado throughout the lap. In the 7th lap the Frenchman was on the rear wheel of his Red Bull KTM rival. The former MXGP world champion planned a first attack but choked in one of the deep ruts. Two laps later the time had come and “RF3” made a successful overtake.
Febvre was then able to quickly open a gap of several seconds on Prado. He in turn had to watch out for Gajser who had set his sights on P2. Tiga looked for an overtaking opportunity but Prado, strongly encouraged by the home crowd, held on well. In the penultimate round, Gajser's match underwent a complete metamorphosis! He lost control at the back and had to watch passively as Herlings passed him! The Bullet, who eventually finished third in Prado's wheel, was the great animator of this round. He subsequently dealt with Jonass, Cairoli and Paturel. After contact with Coldenhoff, the latter crashed and was knocked back to P10.
After an unremarkable but solid race, Jeremy Seewer finished fifth ahead of Pauls Jonass and Tony Cairoli. The efforts of Paturel, the first private driver, were rewarded with a nice 8th place. Calvin Vlaanderen and Brian Bogers finished 12th and 13th respectively. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Beta) was the best Belgian in 16th. The decisive second race starts at 16:10 PM!
Demonstration Jeffrey Herlings, strong Brian Bogers!
Just before the pit lane, Herlings surprised leader Prado with a clever overtaking maneuver. The Spaniard then had to pay particular attention to the danger coming from behind because Tim Gajser had gone on the attack. Tiga also defeated Prado in the second part of the race, but “The Bullet” remained far out of reach. The duel for third place between Prado and teammate Cairoli was one of hard versus soft. The nine-time world champion came alongside and made his presence felt, but his young heir to the throne did not simply give up. In front of an enthusiastic crowd, the two-time MX2 world champion crossed the line in third place. This allowed him to take second place on the podium.
However, the big winner of the day was Herlings. After a catch-up race in the first heat, things looked less good for the Jumbo Supermarkets ambassador, but in the second heat the roles were reversed because now Febvre has to give chase! Thanks to this 96th GP victory, the 27-year-old Brabander comes one step closer to Stefan Everts' record number of GP victories. That stands at 101 and has held steady since 2006.
The next World Cup round in Pietramurata, Italy heralds a busy final sprint. The riders will have no fewer than 5 races to choose from in just over two weeks. Three of them take place on the hard Pietramurata/Arco di Trento. The riders will once again work in Mantova for the last two GPs. One thing is certain, with a lead of 12 and 15 points respectively over Febvre and Gasjer, Herlings enters the final straight line from pole position!
Today there was no more for the Belgians than an extra role. Only Beta factory rider Jeremy Van Horebeek collected points. Thanks to a 16th and 15th place, he finished 15th in the final standings, just behind Calvin Vlaanderen (12-16).
MXGP Spain race 1
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:26.873; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:01.741; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:02.805; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:12.719; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:18.366; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:19.087; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:37.901; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), +0:40.735; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:41.431; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:44.620; 11. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:46.357; 12. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:46.962; 13. Brian Bogers (NED, GASGAS), +0:47.922; 14. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), +0:48.257; 15. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:00.730; 16. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Beta), +1:06.719; 17. Valentine Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:11.511; 18. Lawrence Locurcio (VEN, KTM), +1:14.407; 19. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:17.587; 20. Vsevolod Brylyakov (MFR, Honda), +1:19.052; 21. Alberto Forato (ROCK, GASGAS), +1:22.344; 22. Brent Vandoninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:23.528; 23. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +1:25.215; 24. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:31.042; 25. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:37.485; 26. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +1:39.338; 27. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 28. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 29. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 30. Joan Cros (ESP, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s);
MXGP Spain Race 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:16.305; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:04.281; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:11.717; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:17.614; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:21.626; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, GASGAS), +0:24.537; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.027; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:39.716; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), +0:52.759; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), +0:53.402; 11. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:55.880; 12. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, House), +1:02.153; 13. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +1:08.114; 14. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +1:09.792; 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Beta), +1:11.907; 16. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +1:15.304; 17. Vsevolod Brylyakov (MFR, Honda), +1:17.159; 18. Lorenzo Locurcio (VEN, KTM), +1:21.989; 19. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:26.855; 20. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +1:36.515; 21. Brent Vandoninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:42.385; 22. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:46.718; 23. Alberto Forato (ITA, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 24. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 25. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 26. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 27. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 28. Joan Cros (ESP, Kawasaki), -5 lap(s);
MXGP Spain final standings
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 45 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 40 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 39 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 31 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 25 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, GAS), 23 p.; 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 22 p.; 11. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 19 p.; 12. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 18 p.; 13. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 18 p.; 14. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 14 p.; 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, BET), 11 p.; 16. Henry Jacobi (GER, HON), 8 p.; 17. Lawrence Locurcio (VEN, KTM), 6 p.; 18. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 6 p.; 19. Vsevolod Brylyakov (MFR, HON), 5 p.; 20. Valentine Guillod (SUI, YAM), 4 p.; 21. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 2 p.; 22. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 2 p.; 23. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 1 p.;
World Championship MXGP standings after 13 rounds
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 505 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 493 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 490 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 440 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 419 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 373 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 352 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 302 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 233 p.; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 220 p.; 11. Brian Bogers (NED, GAS), 209 p.; 12. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 203 p.; 13. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 197 p.; 14. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, BET), 156 p.; 15. Henry Jacobi (GER, HON), 135 p.; 16. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 120 p.; 17. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 112 p.; 18. Alberto Forato (ITA, GAS), 108 p.; 19. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, YAM), 98 p.; 20. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 91 p.; 21. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 87 p.; 22. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 64 p.; 23. Ivo Monticelli (NOW, COW), 54 p.; 24. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 50 p.; 25. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 39 p.; 26. Lawrence Locurcio (VEN, KTM), 35 p.; 27. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 33 p.; 28. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 30 p.; 29. Vsevolod Brylyakov (MFR, HON), 30 p.; 30. Cyril Genot (BEL, KTM), 15 p.; 31. Valentine Guillod (SUI, YAM), 13 p.; 32. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HUS), 10 p.; 33. Evgeny Bobryshev (MFR, HUS), 6 p.; 34. Lars van Berkel (NED, HON), 5 p.; 35. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, BET), 4 p.; 36. Nathan Watson (GBR, HON), 4 p.; 37. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 4 p.; 38. Maxime Desprey (FRA, YAM), 3 p.; 39. Hardy Roosiorg (EST, KTM), 1 p.; 40. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 1 p.; 41. Morgan Lesiard (STONE, HON), 1 p.; 42. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 1 p.
Photos: Red Bull content pool/Samo Vidic, MXGP, Ray Archer
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