Jeffrey Herlings, Matterley Basin bound

When Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings mentions his amazing win streak of 21 Grand Prix victories in a row (that he has attended) it isn’t hard to wonder if anyone can stop him from becoming the winningest Grand Prix rider of all time.

As it now stands he is the king of the MX2 class, and winning GP after GP is really all we expect from the sandmaster in 2014. The last Grand Prix that Herlings lost (that he actually attended) was the Grand Prix of Germany in Gaildorf in 2012, and before that it was the Grand Prix of Great Britain in Matterley Basin, a circuit that is yet to show true love to the defending World MX2 Champion.

This season Herlings’ statistics have been nothing short of amazing with practically a 99% win rate. Only riders like Stefan Everts, Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart have had this type of success in a single season and even for these three greats, it hasn’t happened more than a single season.

With 37 Grand Prix victories Herlings is equal with four times FIM Motocross World Champion Torsten Hallman who sits in seventh place on the all-time Grand Prix winners list. With Mickael Pichon on 38 wins and Eric Geboers on 39 wins, you can expect Herlings to go to fifth place on the list within the coming months.

By seasons end, given nothing drastic happens, the only riders ahead of him should be Stefan Everts with 101, Antonio Cairoli with 64, Joel Smets with 57 and Joel Robert with 50. If Herlings can win the next 10 Grand Prix’s, which seems more likely than unlikely, he could be on 47 GP wins by seasons end. It’s just ridiculous to think this kid at the age of just 19 years old has achieved so much in just five years on the Grand Prix scene.

To put it into context, the greatest Motocross rider of all time, Stefan Everts won his first World title at the age of 18 (nearly 19) and at that stage had just five GP victories. He of course now has 101 GP wins to his name.

“I want to go for the records,” Herlings told us recently. “I would like to break a lot of records in my career and while I don’t want to stay in the MX2 class forever, I have the chance to win three MX2 titles in a row and only a few riders have done that. If I can get this year’s title, then the idea of going for four in a row (which has never been done in the sports history), then that is appealing to me for sure. But first let me get 2014 done and see where I go from there.”

Amazingly going into the British Grand Prix this year this is one circuit that he hasn’t seen as much success as places like Valkenswaard or Lierop. In 2011 at the Matterley Basin circuit, Herlings scored fourth place behind Ken Roczen, Tommy Searle and Gautier Paulin, then in 2012 he was beaten out by Searle in one of the most dramatic races of the season. Of course in 2013 Herlings missed this race due to an injury at the Grand Prix of Belgium.

“I had a great fight with Tommy (Searle) in 2012 and it was really an enjoyable race,” Herlings said. “Of course I wanted to win, but I had a small crash and I lost it. I want to try and win there for sure this year. It is a circuit where you can really race and I want to do well in front of the British fans.”

Matterley Basin is for sure a circuit that appeals to Herlings with its tacky soil and big jumps. Let’s hope the young Dutchman can finally pick up a GP win at this beautifully prepared facility and move onto his goal of breaking records and making his way up the legends list.