Six years ago a 15-year-old Jeffrey Herlings won his first MX2 Grand Prix for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team at home in Valkenswaard in the Netherlands. On Easter Monday the Dutch rider, now 21 and who in the meantime has two world championship titles to his name, won his 50th GP in a style that has marked him as one of the best motocross riders of his generation.

Jeffrey Herlings has never been beaten at Valkenswaard and Monday’s race was his seventh GP win on that circuit. He took a clean 1-1 moto victory and in both races finished with impressive margins to retain his perfect scorecard for the 2016 season. After just three of 18 rounds he has won all the motos and already has a 38-point lead in the MX2 World Championship.

Herlings started on pole and while conceding the holeshot in his opening moto to teammate Jonass, he quickly took control of the race in only the second lap. He went on to build an impressive lead on a track that had been deluged with rain only 30 minutes beforehand. When he took the checkered flag Herlings had a 36-second lead and Jonass, second behind Herlings, had also laid the foundation stone for a solid end result.

Buoyed by his first race win, and riding in front of his army of loyal Dutch fans, Herlings went out strong in his second moto, grabbed the holeshot and had already taken a six-second lead by the end of the opening lap. Meanwhile Jonass quickly advanced into second past Alexandr Tonkov and the two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammates went on to dominate the rest of the race. At the end of the 30-minutes plus two laps race, Herlings had such an impressive lead, he had lapped riders up to tenth position and backed off in the final lap to enjoy his victory.

Herlings: “It was a really good weekend. We were fast in each practice and I had three good starts. That was important on this track especially with the heavy rain we had before the first moto. I took my time in the first moto to get into the lead and once I was there I rode my own race. The second moto I took the holeshot and checked out. I’m really pleased with my riding and happy and grateful that I won. Now I’m looking forward to the next GP.”

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

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings made an impressive return to the MX2 track on Sunday in the opening round of the Italian International Motocross Championship at Alghero in Sardinia, a series that serves as a warm-up to the MXGP World Championship.

The Dutch rider took a dominant victory in the MX2 class then went finish fourth in the combined Elite Class, the only MX2 rider in the top 12 finishers. In his MX2 race he crossed the line an impressive one minute 20 second ahead of second placed Michele Cervellin. Beset by injuries in the past two seasons that prevented him defending his two MX2 world titles, Herlings has been working hard on his preparation and rehabilitation.

Herlings said it had definitely been a good weekend. “It was disappointing over the past two years because of the injuries so now we are just trying to get back what belongs to us and that’s the championship. We’ve had some good preparation and I’m looking forward to Qatar (the opening round of the 2016 world championship) and some more preparation. The bike is doing good, we’ve had two good weeks of testing with the team and everything is looking really positive.”

Speaking about his race day Herlings said the track at Alghero suited him well, even though it wasn’t the deep sand that is his usual natural habitat. “I enjoyed the track a lot but it wasn’t so easy with the 250 because there was only one line and it was difficult to pass. But the practice was good,” he added. Herlings races next week at the Hawkstone Park International, another one of his favorite venues and where he has many British fans.

Round One (of three)
at Alghero, Sardinia

MX2 Race
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM, 29 minutes 25.557
2. Michele Cervellin (NED), Honda, 30:45.138
3. Max Anstie (GBR), Husqvarna, 30:45.543
4. Karel Kutsar (EST), KTM, 31:08.070
5. Alvin Ostlund (SWE), Yamaha, 31:19.937

MX2 Championship points after round one
1. Herlings 120
2. Cervellin 100
3. Anstie 80
4. Kutsar 65
5. Ostlund

Former two time world champion Jeffrey Herlings got the green light from his doctor this week to start riding again. Herlings dislocated his hip at the Grand Prix in the Czech Republic and broke his pelvis as well.

It took him four months to recover from these injuries but this week the good news came from his doctor that he is fit enough to start riding again.

Herlings has to take it easy in the first couple of weeks and started with some enduro riding on Tuesday. The plan is to ride on Thursday and Saturday as well this week. In the beginning of December he will travel to Spain to start his preparation for the upcoming season.

Herlings has three months to be fit for the first Grand Prix of the season in Qatar. Last year he only had 2,5 weeks so things are looking much more positive for the Bullit!