Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has extended his contract to ride with the factory team through 2020.

The contract was agreed and signed with KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer yesterday after Herlings spent the day at the company’s new Motorsports Building at Munderfing, Austria.

Jeffrey Herlings, who will be 22 in September, already had a fixed contract with KTM until the end of 2017, but this has now been updated to be a long-term agreement with the Dutch rider. The two-time MX2 world champion will move up to the MXGP class as of 2017.

 

Beirer: “We are very pleased to sign Jeffrey through to 2020. He came to us at a very young age and we have seen him develop into a highly skilled rider on all terrains. He is an outstanding competitor, and to have 59 GP wins at such a young age is exceptional. Jeffrey is an integral part of our KTM family and we view our relationship with him as one for a lifetime.”

 

Herlings: “I’m really happy to be with the KTM family. I’ve already been there since 2009 and I’m very happy to extend my contract. Hopefully we will have a lot of championship titles and a lot of wins together. I will try to win as much as possible and I am thankful to have this chance. It’s an opportunity and we’ll try to make the best of it. This will be my last year in MX2 and I’ll try to win the title.”

 

Recognized as a very talented rider at a young age, Herlings first came to ride for KTM as a Factory Junior in 2009 after winning the World and European 85cc titles the previous year. He finished overall second in his first full season of MX2 in 2011 and went on to win the class world championship title the following two years.

In 2014 he finished a close second to his factory teammate Jordi Tixier after missing a big slice of the season through injury. He also had injury problems in 2015 but bounced back strong in 2016 to win the first twelve rounds of the current MX2 World Championship. He conceded only one moto in the first 12 rounds, when he finished second. Although he has sat out the last two rounds to heal a fractured collarbone, Herlings still has an 87-point lead in the title hunt.

Red Bull KTM factory riders were on fire at the MXGP of Lombardia on the Mantova circuit in Italy on Sunday delivering thrilling rides to the thousands of fans who came to the circuit. Jeffrey Herlings sliced through the sand like a hot knife through butter for two impressive MX2 moto wins to claim his 12th overall victory in 12 rounds.

Jeffrey Herlings delivered a stunning display of skill on his KTM 250 SX-F machine in both motos. He launched his attack with style and ease, and in both motos registered a faster lap time than Tim Gajser, the winner in the MXGP class. The fact that the track was difficult and gnarly, and pitted with deep ruts by the end of the race weekend seemed to mean nothing to the Dutch rider. He was simply in a class of his own.

Herlings: “We made a very good weekend. We were fastest in the time practice and although I had a bad start in the qualifying I managed to work my way to the front for the win to have a good gate pick for today. I had an average start in the first moto but I was in the lead after 10 minutes and won the race by around 30 seconds. Then I was second at the start of the second moto but I was in the lead after two turns and from then on we dominated.” Herlings added that his fitness level and the amount of training were his best weapons against the heat.

 

Results MX2 Mantova 2016
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (1-1)
2. Brian Bogers (NED), KTM (2-3)
3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki (3-6)
4. Thomas Covington (USA), Husqvarna (4-5)
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT), KTM (10-2)

Standings MX2 2016 after 12 of 18 rounds
1. Herlings (NED), KTM 597 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Suzuki, 428
3. Jonass (LAT), KTM 403
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA), Yamaha, 325
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS), Yamaha, 320

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is a man of all seasons and all racing surfaces, and on Sunday took his tenth victory of the season at Saint Jean d’Angely, France. He has now won every MX2 GP this season and has 19 moto wins from 20, having dropped only three points. Herlings also picked up his 57th career GP win to equal that of his now boss, Joel Smets, KTM’s Motocross Sport Director.

Jeffrey Herlings, also the first rider to win three times at the French venue, divided his race day into two different episodes. Entering a heavily watered track in his first moto, he rode cautiously in the opening stages, tucked into third place behind Jeremy Seewer and home favorite Benoit Paturel who exchanged the lead in the early laps. Twelve minutes into the race Herlings had moved into second and then began to chase down the leader. He put in his fastest lap on the KTM 250 SX-F with three laps to go and went on to win by almost six seconds.

Then after getting forced off line by another rider at the start of his second moto, Herlings fought back hard from 12th place, and at the end of lap nine closed in on race leader Max Anstie. One minute later he took control and crossed the line with a comfortable 2.5-second margin.

Herlings: “We made it ten in a row this season, I’ve only lost one moto where I finished second and we should be really happy. This track is not one of my favorites but my first moto was good, the second not so good but overall with the qualifying and the two motos we won all three races. I think we can look back on a very good weekend.”

 

Herlings said he was looking forward to racing the next round in Matterley Basin, UK, adding that the tracks that follow would suit him well. Commenting on his 57th career victory, the Dutch rider said he hoped to achieve his long-term goal to surpass the existing current record of 100 career GP wins.

Results MX2 Saint Jean d’Angely 2016
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (1-1)
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA), Yamaha (2-3)
3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Suzuki (3-4)
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT), KTM (5-5)
5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki (6-7)

Standings MX2 2016 after 10 of 18 rounds
1. Herlings, 497 points
2. Seewer, 363
3. Jonass, 332
4. Paturel, 293
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS), Yamaha, 269

Jeffrey Herlings was riding with a badly swollen ankle from a race incident in the last round but the afternoon kicked off with an opening MX2 race that evolved onto a thriller that had the fans on their toes and the commentators breathless with excitement. The holeshot went to Dylan Ferrandis while the two KTM riders Herlings and Pauls Jonass were 3-5 out of the gates. 18 minutes into the race Herlings had advanced to second and the two front-runners settled down to a dogfight that lasted right up to the checkered flag. The race went to Ferrandis and Herlings was gracious in his first race defeat this season, congratulating his rival as they wrapped up the race.

But it was in the second MX2 moto that Herlings bounced back to his usual devastating form with his KTM 250 SX-F, taking an early lead on the rollercoaster circuit of Arco and going on to control the race. The early laps were dominated by a slew of KTMs at the front of the field while the two riders that have emerged as Herlings closest rivals, Ferrandis and Jeremy Seewer, were buried down in the pack. They were able to work their way closer to the front during the course of the race although Jonass did a masterly job to hold off Ferrandis in the final stages of the second moto.

Herlings: “It was a difficult weekend and even half way through the week we weren’t even sure we could be here. My ankle was very big and swollen and on Thursday I couldn’t really walk properly. We came here with the hope of picking up some points and we came out on top and that was pretty surprising. Obviously I lost the first race and won the second moto and took the overall, so in some way I’m relieved because the pressure of being undefeated is gone. But I’m still kind of sad that I can’t break the record any more. Now I’m looking forward to Spain in two weeks. It’s also a track that I don’t fancy the most but I hope to make the best of it there as well.”

 

Results MX2 Pietramurata 2016
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (2-1)
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT), KTM (3-2)
4. Samuele Bernardini (ITA), TM (6-6)

Standings MX2 2016 after 8 of 18 rounds
1. Herlings, 397 points
2. Seewer, 297
3. Jonass, 260
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA), Yamaha, 211
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS), Yamaha, 210

Once again Jeffrey Herlings was the stand out rider for the team, sealing another two race wins for a sixth straight MX2 GP victory. He has won every race of the season in a very dominant style. The Dutch rider simply made short work of a track that was soft and sketchy on the surface but frequently hard and slick underneath, and where many other riders were caught out because of the level of difficulty it offered. He crossed the line 32 seconds in front of the second-placed rider in the opening moto, and by more than a minute in race two, surprising riders down to eighth place as he charged past them with apparent ease.

 

Herlings: “I felt good all weekend and I started out fast in the practices so I got the inside gate for the qualifying, which is pretty good for this track. We managed to pull a good start and won the qualifying for the best gate pick for the main races. Both starts were good for us. I think I was fourth at the start of the first race and got to the front in the first two laps and managed to win. Then I pulled a holeshot in the second moto and did what I had to do.” Herlings said he suffered with a little arm pump in the first moto but put it down to the big time gap between the warm-up and the races.

 

Results MX2 Kegums 2016
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (1-1)
2. Max Anstie (GBR), Husqvarna (2-2)
3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Suzuki (4-3)
4. Petar Petrov (BUL), Kawasaki (6-4)
5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki (5-6)

Standings MX2 2016 after 6 of 18 rounds
1. Herlings, 300 points
2. Seewer, 230
3. Jonass, 193
4. Petrov, 165
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS), Yamaha, 163