Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory team finished second during the annual Belgian international at the Keiheuvel in Mol. Herlings came within a smidgen of winning the first race, finishing second. An early crash in race two dropped him way down, and he fought back to fourth.
Herlings’ injured shoulder is healing well now, and he was keen to get some racing laps down at the Keiheuvel. The popular annual event attracted huge crowds, and this, coupled with good weather and a great atmosphere, made for a a pleasant day at the races. Herlings was in from, and claimed pole position.
Herlings launched just outside the top five in race one, and he worked his way up to second. He soon came within range of the leader, and set in the attack. Despite various attempts, though, the leader kept the gate closed, and Herlings finished a close second.
Herlings did not launch well at the start of race two, and to add to this, he crashed. He had to start his march through the ranks from the very rear, and he passed almost the entire field in getting to fourth.
Herlings finished second overall with these results. He hoped to set matters straight during the superfinal, pitting the top 15 of the MX1 – and MX2 classes against each other. He started in second spot. In a repeat of the first heat, he kept hammering at the lead, but the race leader would just not yield, and Herlings finished second.
“It was a wonderful event today,” Herlings commented. “There were lots of spectators, and the challenging track is always a treat. I would have loved a victory, but I just feel short in the first heat and the superfinal. I enjoyed the day, and will be training hard in the coming weeks to be in top form for the second half of the world championship series.”
Herlings will be in action again at the GP of Turkey on 5 September.
Overall international race Mol:
1 Glenn Coldenhoff 50 Pnt
2 Jeffrey Herlings 40 Pnt
3 Henry Jacobi 38 Pnt
4 Brent van Doninck 35 Pnt
5 Brian Bogers 31 Pnt