The Grand Prix of Switzerland represented the third weekend in a row of FIM World Championship action for Jeffrey Herlings as MXGP landed in the rain-hit and rough terrain of Frauenfeld. Jeffrey Herlings finished runner-up for his thirteenth podium of the season with the KTM 450 SX-F.
Hot sunshine initially bathed the facility of Frauenfeld; a short distance from the city of Zurich for the Swiss GP and the third MXGP fixture in succession after trips to Sweden and the Netherlands. Red Bull KTM came into the latest meeting having won three of the last five rounds and with Jeffrey Herlings on an eleven-podium streak.
Herlings had to battle back from top ten and mid-pack starts in the two motos. The Dutchman was strong and adventurous with his lines and although he was not able to add to his moto win tally of 12 in 2024 to-date, he did reach 2nd place both times for the next best score. Jeffrey is still 3rd in the championship and needs 22 points more than Jorge Prado to move into P2.
Three races – Turkey, China and Spain – remain on the calendar and with a maximum haul of 180 points to win. The habitual stop for MXGP on Turkish soil means the eighteenth Grand Prix of the year will rush around the flat hardpack of Afyonkarahisar in a fortnight.
Jeffrey Herlings, 2nd and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “Today was tough. My start was actually really good in the first moto but somehow I still ended up having to work back from 10th to 2nd. Second moto – I don’t know how – I was almost last. I did a lot of passing and by the time I got to 2nd then Tim [Gajser] had too much of a gap. In the sand you can go for it and make a three-lap sprint but here you push and end-up going backwards. I showed I had great speed again and I think my starts will be better in the next races because of the higher elevation. We’ll see. We’ve also been working on 2025 already and think we’ll also have something really good on the technical side for next year. I like Turkey and I was good in China the last time we went. The end of the season is coming quick and hopefully we can add another win.”
Results MXGP Switzerland 2024
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 1-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-2
3. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 3-3
Standings MXGP 2024 after 17 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 860 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 842
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 818