Herlings wins Swiss qualification to close championship gap
Honda HRC PETRONAS’s Jeffrey Herlings took his first Saturday points in style, winning the MXGP of Switzerland qualification race in grimy conditions in Frauenfeld. With this result, he closed the gap at the top of the championship to seven points.
The day started off cold and sunny with Herlings posting the second fastest time in free practice. However, with so many riders it was hard to get a good lap in timed practice. As a result, the Dutchman was only able to post seventh fastest.
However, utilising the power of his Honda CRF450RW, the #84 rocketed out of the gate into second place, before moving into the lead a few laps later. Despite pressure the entire race, Herlings held on as the track conditions deteriorated due to constant drizzle. He managed to score a maximum 10 points, his first Saturday points of the season.
Valerio Lata also had his best Saturday result of the season, finishing third after an excellent day of hard-pack riding from the Italian, who is full of confidence since his fourth-place moto finish in Andalucia last weekend. The Honda CRF250RW rider posted the fastest lap in timed practice, giving him first gate-pick. He used this to full advantage to get around the first few bends in second place. Midway through the race, he did drop to third, but it was still an excellent result. This continues his upward trend.
Back in the MXGP class, Ruben Fernandez had to fight his way through the MXGP field to score his one point, after an early crash cost him a number of positions.
The #70 was in seventh when a mistake dropped him outside of the top 20, after three laps. Putting his head down and charging to the best of his ability, the Spaniard managed to get up into the points with a few laps remaining. This gives him an outside shot of a good start in this tight Frauenfeld circuit.
Unfortunately, Tom Vialle finished outside of the points in 18th place after looking poised to finish inside the top five. In wet conditions, the Frenchman’s foot slipped and got caught in his tyre, causing him to lose a number of positions as he untangled himself. After another incident, he eventually crossed the line in 18th, which isn’t what he was hoping for at the beginning of a weekend. He was hopeful of challenging near the front of the field. Still, his starting prowess always gives him a chance, and all four riders will be motivated to score good points in tomorrow’s two motos. Conditions could be similarly grim for this third MXGP of the season.
MX2 Qualifying Race
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 23:55.245;
2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:05.700;
3. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:13.022;
4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:15.106;
5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.501;
6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:19.753;
7. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:20.895;
8. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:35.814;
9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:38.274;
10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:42.199;
Ruben Fernandez 70
Annoyed with the first crash, but pleased to be able to get back into points scoring position by the end of the race. Definitely not ideal conditions out there, and hopefully things will be better tomorrow, but overall my speed was good and I think if I can get a good start, I can challenge at the front of the field.
Tom Vialle 16
Not really very happy at all with how the day ended. Never nice to be involved those sort of incidents, and now I’ll really have to get some good starts to stand a chance. It isn’t an easy track to ride, and with the rain, it made it really slippery and even trickier. I just need to focus on myself and making it happen because I really don’t think I was too far off the pace of the leaders.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
The start is really important here and I managed to get a good one today. It was nice to score maximum points, and just stop that streak, but I know tomorrow will be tough because this track isn’t the easiest to ride. It definitely isn’t my favourite circuit but I dug deep and just made sure I picked the good lines in the few spots where passes could be made.
Valerio Lata 18
I felt good on the track all day and I think it showed in my results. It is a very nice feeling to post the fastest lap in timed practice and then to get a good start on this track is very important as well. I tried to match the pace of the leader and did so for the first half of the race, but then I lost a bit of rhythm and ended up third. I really want to try and do the same in both races tomorrow and get myself near the podium.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
It was great for Jeffrey to win qualification in very difficult conditions. He was under pressure the whole race, but showed his quality to hold them off and win his first qualifying moto of the year. Valerio also had a great day and I think he is really motivated to do the same again tomorrow. Unfortunately Ruben and Tom had mistakes, which cost them very good positions but they are both going to try and get good starts tomorrow and mix it up at the front of the field.