Jeffrey Herlings Wins Season-Opener GP in Great Britain

Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team won the first round of the 2020 MXGP world championship series in Matterley Basin, Great Britain. With first and second in the heats respectively, he took overall honours and is the championship points leader.

The track at Matterley Basin suffered severe winds and storms on Friday and Saturday, and the organizers curtailed the normal qualifying program, with a single qualifying session determining the gate picks for Sunday’s races. It was difficult to post a good lap in the short time available, and Jeffrey did the best to claim the fourth gate.

A good start in the first race got him in with the leading group. He immediately pushed through to the lead. With controlled riding, he managed to increase his lead throughout the race, and he crossed the line with a comfortable margin on the second-placed rider.

Herlings again slotted into the top five off the gate in race two. The track had by now become treacherous, and the low-setting sun made visibility difficult. This caused him some trouble in getting passed Antonio Cairoli for second position, and by then leader Tim Gajser had already made a gap. Realizing that second position in the race was sufficient for the overall win, Jeffrey kept it safe and secured the victory.

“I didn’t have unrealistic expectations coming here. The first heat went perfectly, but the track was very tricky in the second. The low sun made visibility very difficult, and I was happy with overall victory under the circumstances. Now it’s off to my home GP at Valkenswaard and I’m looking forward to that,” Herlings commented.

Overall Grand Prix of Great Britain:
1 Jeffrey Herlings. 47 Pnt
2 Tim Gajser 38 Pnt
3 Antonio Cairoli 38 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 35 Pnt
5 Mitch Evans 34 Pnt

 

Gallery: