In the opening MXGP race, it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who was fastest out of the gate and went on to claim the Fox Holeshot. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer was second ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre and Glenn Coldenhoff of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing. Team HRC’s Tim Gajser struggled in the start and started the race in around 10th position. While Herlings led, Febvre was quick to get around Seewer, as he set his sights on the Bullet. Meanwhile a little further behind there was Jeremy Van Horebeek of SDM Corse Racing Team who was having a great ride in fifth place, ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli.
Gajser was pushing his way up the field as he found himself in eighth place behind Arnaud Tonus of Hostettler Yamaha Racing. The Slovenian then made a small mistake which cost him two positions, which meant he had to start all over again. Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado was keen to salvage some important championship points as he fought inside the top 20. It was clear that the Spaniard was struggling after the crash in Germany as he only managed to come back to 16th. Herlings continued to lead, but it was clear that Febvre was not going to let him have the win. The Frenchman set the fastest lap of the race as he worked away at the gap and before he knew it, he was on the rear wheel of the factory KTM rider. On lap eight we saw Febvre take over the lead, as Herlings dropped to second. Meanwhile Seewer was still third followed by Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass.
Gajser then managed to pass Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen to move into eighth and then worked hard to get around Tonus too. Also making moves was Cairoli who finally found an opportunity to get past Van Horebeek, as Gajser also caught onto the Beta rider. Unfortunately, Van Horebeek did not finish the race as he crashed while under pressure from Gajser. In the final few laps, we saw Herlings step it up, as he caught onto the back wheel of Febvre, and it was game on for the win! Febvre did a great job to manage under immense pressure from the Dutchman and his efforts paid off as he was victorious in the first race. Herlings was second as Seewer held on to third.
In race two, it was Cairoli who took the Fox Holeshot from Herlings, Febvre, Gajser and Seewer. Cairoli’s time in the lead did not last long as the Italian made a mistake which allowed both Herlings and Febvre through. Herlings then controlled the race by 2.835 seconds but that gap came down quite quickly as Febvre was on a charge. Gajser then caught onto the back of Cairoli. The Slovenian needed to make the pass, not only for the championship points, but also for a spot on the podium. Herlings then has a small bobble which played into the hands of Febvre who wasted no time to get out in front. The Frenchman was the new race leader on lap eight and immediately stretched out his lead to 3.614 seconds.
Gajser continued to search for a way past Cairoli, as Herlings was looking to make up for lost ground. And he did just that. As Herlings closed in, Febvre started to make little errors which proved to be costly in the end as Herlings was able to pass the Frenchman on lap 16. The factory Kawasaki rider tried to respond but it was not enough, as Herlings took the win with Febvre second and Gajser third. And that’s exactly how the riders finished on the podium, with Herlings taking a 95th career Grand Prix victory. Herlings is now back in the driving seat of the MXGP championship standings as he leads the way with 460 points, while Febvre moves to second and is just six points behind, while Gajser drops to third on 450 points.
Jeffrey Herlings: “Actually today was pretty good. I raced here three years ago so I definitely knew Romain was going to be good today and that I had to step up my game. This morning you could see that nobody could really match my speed. We were two seconds ahead of the 3rd. Going into the race I knew I had to bring my A game. Actually, the set up I had for race one was pretty difficult. I was struggling a bit and got arm pump. Then I just could not hold Romain and he made a pass. I had to let him go and try to close him at the end of the race but it was too late and I could not put a good fight anymore. He won fair and square. Second race, I had a good start again. He beat me on the first turn, then I managed to pass him on the second or third turn. I was trying to pull away, but it was tough with his speed. I think I had a 2 or 3 second gap, then I had an issue. I’m lucky I did not lose much time and kept the 3 second gap. I managed to win this race and win the overall and looking forward to next weekend”.
Romain Febvre: “I was happy to win the first race, especially because I haven’t won a race in a long time so I am happy with that. Our speed with Jeffrey was really fast which made the second race really challenging because we were again 1 and 2 after a few turns, I knew it was going to be challenging until the end. Like he said, he made a mistake in the turn which allowed me to go around him and pass him. I tried to make a few fast laps to make a gap. At the end, I wasn’t that fast in a few sectors, then he caught me. Obviously, I was disappointed because I almost won at home, but anyway it’s good to be on the podium. It’s great to see a lot of fans out there. They deserved the win but I could not make it happen. We are really close in the championship which means every weekend you can take the red plate, which for me is fine. Hopefully we keep it like this until the end and we have to find something in the pocket in the few last rounds”.
Tim Gajser: “It was a difficult weekend for us. The track was really technical. Romain and Jeffrey were faster today. The start was something that I was struggling with, I couldn’t make a good start in both races, so it was hard to pass as there was one main line that was faster. In the end, we are on the podium, definitely not happy but that’s how it is, we still have a lot of races to go, just need to re-group and come back stronger”.
