Jeffrey Herlings phenomenal at Foxhill, MXGP momentum flipped

Infinite Jeffrey Herlings: the phenomenal Dutch motocross rider sweeps the UK GP on the adrenaline-pumping drops of Foxhill. The 118th win of a Martian-like career shakes up the MXGP World Championship standings.

Herlings capitalized on Lucas Coenen’s tough moment, with the Belgian forced to retire twice due to physical issues. The 19-year-old paid a very heavy price for the nasty crash in Saturday’s qualifying, when, after clipping Maxime Renaux on a jump, he violently flipped and was run over by his KTM. The holder of the red plate as points leader bravely lined up for both races, but had to wave the white flag after just a few painful laps. The team kept quiet about the physical consequences, so there are serious doubts that Lucas Coenen will be at his best next weekend in Loket, Czech Republic.

This year JH84 has no physical issues, and it shows. It was a perfect day: The Bullet rocketed out of the gate twice and led both motos from start to finish, despite Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) and Tim Gajser (Yamaha) pushing him right to the end. The British GP podium was stellar, crowning three motocross legends. With this double strike, Jeffrey Herlings closes to just eleven points behind the lead still held by Lucas Coenen.

Great performance by the Sicilian on the KTM: fifth overall, thanks to two very solid motos, finishing in the same position each time. Alberto Forato (Fantic) did not start due to the serious crash he suffered in qualifying. With seven rounds to go, the World Championship standings are as follows: 1. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 566 points; 2. Herlings (HON) 555; 3. Febvre (Kawasaki) 494; 4. Gajser (Yamaha) 452; 5. Renaux (Yamaha) 392; 6. Fernandez (Honda) 378; 7. Adamo (KTM) 375; 8. Vialle (Honda) 317; 9. de Wolf (Husqvarna) 273; 10. Jonass (Kawasaki) 273.

Shake-up in the under-23 class as well. Guillem Farres confirmed his blistering form (seven wins in the last eight races) by winning both motos at Foxhill. The overall triumph catapulted Triumph to the top of the championship, thanks to a rough day for Sacha Coenen (KTM), who lined up banged-up due to a serious shoulder injury sustained the previous Sunday in the American series. A truly rough Sunday for the Coenen twins: Sacha, who until a few GPs ago was the undisputed MX2 leader, now finds himself 11 points down.

Valerio Lata finished the GP in ninth place, while things went very badly for Ducati rider Ferruccio Zanchi, who crashed heavily in race 1. The Tuscan rider’s weekend ended prematurely.

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