Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory team finished second overall in the MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara. Herlings won the qualifying heat and the first moto. After a crash in the second moto he came home in second, which gave him second overall.
MXGP launched the second half of the 2024 FIM world championship by decamping to the island of Lombok and a double-header at the Selaparang circuit. The Grand Prix of West Nusa Tenggara was the first of back-to-back Indonesian dates at the same venue. The initial hot and humid meeting saw Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings filling the second step of the MXGP podium.
Saturday saw Herlings already up to speed and gelling with the man-made circuit. The Dutchman stalked and passed Tim Gajser to win the RAM Qualification Heat by a comfortable margin and bank 10 points as well as Pole Position.
On Sunday Herlings rode a near-perfect first moto, leading from the opening lap until the flag with a ten second margin after the 30 minutes and 2 lap distance. It was his fifth moto success of the season (making him the rider with the second highest total of wins so far in 2024). In the second race Herlings was again attacking the heavily watered terrain in P1 until a mistake put him on the ground and back to 3rd. He was able to get back to 2nd and his 1-2 card put him level on points with Jorge Prado but as runner-up for the day. It was the seventh rostrum of 2024 for the former multi world champ.
Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “1-1-2: a decent weekend. A shame about the second moto and the watering. I had to hit my handlebar and lever a few times to get them back into place after the crash but I was lucky I could ride again in 3rd place. It was tough. At the end of the moto the lines got so much deeper and rougher. I still managed to close a bit to Jorge but I didn’t want to take more risks. Not bad.”
Results MXGP West Nusa Tenggara 2024
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 2-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-2
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED), Yamaha, 4-4
7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 10-7
Standings MXGP 2024 after 11 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 555 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 533
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 497
13. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 146