Herlings takes 1-1 in the first Grand Prix in Qatar

Jeffrey Herlings, who lost much of the last two seasons with race injuries put in two confident motos for what was his 48th career overall MX2 victory. Dylan Ferrandis was second and Herlings factory teammate Pauls Jonass finished third overall with a 3-3 moto result.

Herlings opened his bid for the win with a well-judged first moto. He was fifth at the start, with both of his younger factory teammates in front of him, and with Ferrandis in the lead. Herlings kept his distance in third place while Ferrandis and second placed Jeremy Seewer fought it out in the front in the opening laps. Then ten minutes into the race, Herlings moved up to second to shadow Ferrandis and successfully attacked for the lead in the final stages.

Boosted by his first moto win, Herlings got away well in his second race and was in the lead at the first corner. Ten minutes into the race he already had a three second lead and went on to ride, untroubled, to a confident 17-second win to seal the GP and leave with 50 points on his scorecard.

Herlings: “I didn’t really feel I was riding like I should be this weekend except in the second moto, when I felt comfortable and could get the max out of my riding. This weekend we were winning but we didn’t dominate but in the last moto, we did. Now we go to Thailand, it’s going to be warm but I want to make the best of it. I feel physically and mentally strong and I didn’t feel threatened by Ferrandis in the first moto. I felt comfortable and strong right to the end and when I had the opportunity and the right moment to make the pass I did it.” Herlings will return to Europe to train this week ahead of the next round in Thailand next weekend.

Overall Grand Prix MX2 Qatar:

1 Jeffrey Herlings 50 Pnt

2 Dylan Ferrandis 44 Pnt

3 Pauls Jonass 40 Pnt

4 Jeremy Seewer 34 Pnt

5 Brent van Doninck 31 Pnt