Jeffrey Herlings Scores Fourth GP Victory of the Season in Portugal

Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory team won the fifth MXGP round in Agueda, Portugal, convincingly. Herlings won both heats, and has now claimed four victories out of five rounds this season.

Heavy rains leading up to the GP made for a rutty track. This suited Herlings well and he started his weekend off strongly. After claiming pole in both training sessions, he also won the qualifying heat. Antonio Cairoli took the holeshot, but Herlings rode a smart race, putting him under pressure and eventually took over the lead and the eventual win.

A good start in race one launched Herlings straight into the lead. He kept the following riders at a safe distance, and won by a comfortable margin.

Brimming with confidence,  Herlings was ready for the second race, Cairoli cut ahead in the first corner, but he quickly regained the lead. He soon had a lead of around 8 seconds, but a mistake allowed Cairoli to close up again. He recovered his rhythm, and won by a 25 second margin.

Herlings leads the world championship series with a 16 point margin over Cairoli. The next GP is on 1 May in Russia.

Overall MXGP Portugal:
1 Jeffrey Herlings 50 Pnt
2 Antonio Cairoli 44 Pnt
3 Tim Gajser 36 Pnt
4 Romain Febvre 34 Pnt
5 Glenn Coldenhoff 29 Pnt

World Championship Standings MXGP:
1 Jeffrey Herlings 241 Pnt
2 Antonio Cairoli 225 Pnt
3 Romain Febvre 169 Pnt
4 Clement Desalle 165 Pnt
5 Gautier Paulin 147 Pnt