Herlings crowned Lord of Lommell
Words and images courtesy MXGP
The MXGP of Flanders ran in much hotter conditions than on Saturday, making the arduous Stedelijk Motocrossterrain Lommel circuit even more physically demanding, and it saw a stupendous battle in both Grand Prix classes that had the packed spectator banks in raptures throughout the day’s racing!
Even though it was overcast on Saturday, the circuit was tough enough for the riders in the shorter RAM Qualifying Races, so the full-length GP confrontations held in strong sunshine added even more of a physical challenge, but it was one that the very best relished as they sought to not just survive, but thrive!
The MXGP class was expected to be a battle of the sand masters, between Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s reigning World Champion Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s record GP winner Jeffrey Herlings. And it certainly delivered that battle! With some incredible riding, Herlings delivered a knockout punch to record a perfect 1-1 day, make a statement about his speed in the soft stuff, and close in further on the World Championship lead!
A similar battle was expected in MX2, but in two highly eventful races that saw most riders fall from their bikes at one point or another, it was Championship leader Kay de Wolf who claimed his sixth GP win of the season for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing and extended his advantage in the World Championship over his teammate Lucas Coenen by some margin!
The psychological warfare between the two men bidding for the “King of Sand” title, Prado and Herlings, continued in morning Warm-up as RAM Qualifying Race winner Prado was only just bested by the Dutchman, although the 0.130 second difference told Jeffrey that Jorge would be right there in the races!
The first MXGP race was, quite simply, incredible. Fans, commentators, even seasoned professionals in the crew and those who have spent a lifetime around the sport were astounded at what they saw.
It looked like Prado was the one putting his marker down at the start of the race, with a scorching pace from a typical Fox Holeshot that nobody could live with. As Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer and Calvin Vlaanderen for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP put themselves between Prado and Herlings initially, red plate holder Tim Gajser started in sixth for Team HRC and looked a little off the pace, being briefly passed by the Fantic Factory Racing machine of Brian Bogers.
Vlaanderen soon pounced on Seewer, and Herlings went through as well before the end of the first full lap, then “The Bullet” moved into second at the end of lap two. Looking up the track, he had about five seconds to make up, but Prado put the hammer down to extend the distance between him and the Dutchman. On lap four there were ten seconds between each of the leading four riders, as Romain Febvre caught his teammate Seewer, and made a pass that forced the Swiss rider to run wide and allow Gajser through, putting the two ex-Champions into fourth and fifth, where they would stay to the flag.
As if the 15-minute mark was his signal to go, Herlings started to close the gap to Prado, but then disaster struck in front of the packed gallery of fans as he collided with a lapped rider and hit the floor! With Prado still on a good pace, and the gap up to 17 seconds after Herlings remounted, the battle looked like it would never materialise.
What followed was one of the greatest recoveries from adversity in Motocross history, as somehow “The Bullet” started to claw back the lead, putting in the fastest lap of the entire race on lap 12 of 16, taking a five-second chunk out of Prado’s advantage! Carving through lapped riders, he caught the Spaniard less than a lap later, nailed a double-dune section that few had perfected all day, and flew into the lead before anyone could believe what they were seeing!
Barely relenting his speed in the final laps, Herlings himself pulled out a ten-second lead in the last three laps to claim yet another famous victory in his already incredible career.
Behind Prado was a lonely Vlaanderen, who put in another sterling ride for third. Behind Febvre and Gajser was Glenn Coldenhoff, another Dutchman on a great late charge and sixth for Fantic Factory Racing, then Kevin Horgmo backed up Saturday’s good result with seventh for Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz. Vlaanderen’s teammate Andrea Bonacorsi claimed eighth ahead of Bogers and Seewer.
Unfazed by the pace of Herlings towards the end of race one, Prado went for the same tactic again in race two, the one that has served him so well in recent years, taking yet another Fox Holeshot Award, his 14th of the year, and scampering away at the head of the field. Herlings did well to come out of turn two in fourth place behind the Kawasaki men, with Febvre passing Seewer for second into turn three.
After putting a pass on Seewer before the end of the first lap, Herlings had Febvre fall from second place and leave him a clear path to the leader. This time it was a simple eight-second gap that he had to haul in, but with a couple of rare errors from Prado as he struggled to find his line in a right-hand corner, “The Bullet” once more pounced and led from the halfway point onwards.
Herlings said: “I really need to bring my starts. Once I get 1-2 good starts then it’s okay. If we can improve on them that could be great. I think once I can get top start we can always fight for first, second or third and that’s my goal. Still 6 race to go, we came from a long way. Even if I have one DNF, I’m only 36 points behind I believe so we’ll see. For now we’re just go race by race and let’s see where it will bring me””
Behind them, Gajser had moved forward in the first full lap to reach fourth place and benefit from Febvre’s tip-over. The two former Champions fought hard, but the Frenchman, after many attempts, eventually took over third on lap twelve – a move that put him back onto the podium for the first time since his injury in France, and helped out the leading two by taking points away from the red plate holder!
Febvre admitted: “I didn’t start well yesterday but we made some changes last night. Then physically I am not where I would like to be because it was always going to be a tough race. Somehow today I felt very good and simply played with the track for 4-3 andto get back on the podium after only two GPs is amazing. I’m very happy.“
Meanwhile, Vlaanderen was having a nightmare with two crashes that left him in twelfth at the finish, while Seewer held off a late charge from Coldenhoff. The Dutchman had crashed in the RAM Qualifying Race and had to fight from poor starts all day, thoroughly deserving his hard-fought fifth overall, helped by Horgmo running wide in the later laps with a slight throttle issue.
JM Racing Honda’s local man Brent van Doninck took a solid eighth ahead of Bonacorsi and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing star Mattia Guadagnini.
Out front, Herlings cruised on the last lap but still won by over ten seconds from Prado, executing his game plan of maintaining a solid pace throughout the race and still having enough left to overhaul Prado’s initial burst of speed. It brings “The Bullet” to totals of 106 Grand Prix victories and 202 GP race wins. More importantly for him, it brings him to within 14 points of Prado, and 38 points behind Gajser at the top of the field as they head to the MXGP of Sweden in two weeks’ time. With six rounds to go, any one of the top three could still take the title and they will all give their maximum to have it their way!
Prado said: “I mean it’s been a good weekend, yesterday winning the RAM Qualifying, and today twice second. I had a veery good speed all day long but at the end of the race the ‘bullet’ was coming and on such a heavy track I was struggling to keep the same flow the whole race. I did my best to try to beat Jeffrey (Herloings) but he was quicker today and I’m very happy with my second place. Good points for the championship too. Next round ids Sweden so see you guys there!”
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:19.995; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:10.374; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:34.563; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:47.677; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:53.164; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +1:05.943; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:12.435; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:17.903; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:21.842; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +1:23.448
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:30.084; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:10.375; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:21.152; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:34.283; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:42.595; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:43.548; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:58.244; 8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +1:14.626; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:22.102; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:22.995
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 30 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 27 p.; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 10. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 20 p
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 705 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 681 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 667 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 507 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 479 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 419 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 405 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 317 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 p
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 722 points; 2. GASGAS, 681 p.; 3. KTM, 679 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 594 p.; 5. Yamaha, 548 p.; 6. Fantic, 450 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 221 p.; 8. Beta, 149 p