Earlier in the day Jeffrey Herlings rode a spectacular opening MX2 moto and crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. But he missed the start in his second race letting Slovenian Tim Gajser escape at the front. He was already in podium contention after a handful of laps and steadily trimmed the time deficit over the rest of the race. Herlings put himself in contention to make the pass in the final lap but cross-rutted in part of the course that was half shade and half sunlight. He scrambled back onto his KTM 250 SX-F and crossed the line in second.

Jeffrey Herlings: “The start was not good in the second race but overall we had a good Sunday. We won the qualifying on Saturday and the fist moto pretty easy. I had a really bad start in the second moto but I worked my way up to the front then I had a stupid crash that was my fault. I picked up some points so I look forward to next weekend. I am not sure I would have caught Gajser. For sure I could have been close but obviously he did a great job. Hopefully I can take the win in Valkenswaard in front of my home crowd. I’ve already won there five times in a row. So that’s what we are hoping for.”

MX2 Overall Classification
1, Tim Gajser, SLO, Honda, (2 – 1)
2, Jeffrey Herlings, NED, KTM, (1 – 2)
3, Jordi Tixier, FRA, Kawasaki, (3 – 3)
4, Dylan Ferrandis, FRA, Kawasaki (5 – 4)
5, Max Anstie, GBR, Kawasaki, (4 – 7)
6, Jeremy Seewer, SUI, Suzuki, (7 – 6)
7, Valentin Guillod, SUI, Yamaha, (6 – 8)
8, Benoit Paturel, FRA, Yamaha, (12 – 5)
9, Brent Van Doninck, BEL, Yamaha, (11 – 10)
10, Julien Lieber, BEL, Yamaha, (10 – 11)

MX2 World Championship Classification
1. Herlings 172
2, Ferrandis, 159
3, Jonass, 133
4, Gajser, 126
5, Lieber, 101
6, Guillod, 101
7, Seewer, 99
8, Tonkov, 95
9, Covington, 86
10, Tixier, 75

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing welcomed Jeffrey “The Bullet” Herlings back to the podium with a double race win in the MX2 Grand Prix of Thailand on Sunday with two dominant race wins to preserve his four race two GP victory streak at the end of the second round.

Jeffrey Herlings was undoubtedly the dominant rider in the MX2 class and looked very much his old self during both races after coming into the season unsure of his position following nearly seven months of injury lay-off. He now leaves Thailand with a perfect 100-point scorecard after two GPs and now has three weeks to work on his fitness before the next round in Argentina on March 29.

Herlings: “This was a really tough weekend and I don’t have so much riding fitness yet because I have only been on the bike four weeks. The heat really got to me but we made our way through and won both motos. I also won the qualification so I can go home happy. The track is what it is and riders have to adapt but for sure it was kind of Supercross style, and with this heat, the humidity and such a track it was really tough. Sometimes you have to fight through a wall and that’s what I did. Now I have three weeks to recover so I’m going to rest, recover and start training again on Wednesday.”

Results MX2 Nakhonchaisri
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (1-1)
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT), KTM (4-2)
3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki (2-4)
4. Thomas Covington (USA), Kawasaki (5-5)
5. Valentin Guillod (SUI), Yamaha (6-6)

Standings MX2 after 2 of 18 rounds
1. Herlings, 100 points
2. Ferrandis, 78
3. Jonass, 70
4. Julien Lieber (BEL), Yamaha, 62
5. Guillod, 58

KTM Racing has announced that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is currently undergoing follow-up treatment on the leg fracture he sustained during the second half of the 2014 MX2 World Championship. Following his accident, surgeons stabilized Jeffrey’s broken femur with metal plates and screws and his treatment involves the removal if these metal elements.

Jeffrey has already had seven weeks of therapy and physical preparation under the expert guidance of the Red Bull Training Center in Austria. He will take a short respite from training for a couple of days after the surgery and then return to his preparation for the 2015 season.

Pit Beirer, Head of KTM Motorsport said Jeffrey’s follow-up treatment was an important step to him being completely well and back on his KTM 250 SX-F factory bike.

“The removal of the metal from Jeffrey’s leg means he is one step closer to being able to resume his training and prepare for the coming season,” Beirer said. “Jeffrey is a fighter and a winner and we look forward to seeing him back on the bike as soon as he gets the green light from his doctors.”
Jeffrey Herlings: “Having the metal taken from my leg is another important step in my recovery process and I’m really looking forward to being back on my bike for some solid track time ahead of the start of the season.”

Herlings, a Red Bull athlete and already a double MX2 World Champion, was the outstanding MX2 rider in 2014 and had won 12 of the first 13 GPs on the calendar. He was just five points away from securing the title at the time of his accident.

His 2014 season will be remembered for his outstanding performance and consistent winning results on the KTM 250 SX-F, and for his heroic attempt to capture the handful of points needed to win the championship by returning injured to ride in the final round in Mexico.