MX2

We are now just over a week away from the MXGP season finale in Imola, Italy after 19 rounds of FIM Motocross World Championship racing. Today a presentation press conference was held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo & Dino Ferrari for the upcoming MXGP of Italy which it will host.

The presentation was made to onsite national and local media along with Imola City council, local police, representatives of the Italian federation (FMI), Formula Imola, the local organizer for the event.

Speaker of the Autodromo, Boris Casadio, hosted the event with guests Uberto Selvatico Estense the President of Formula Imola, WMX Rider Kiara Fontanesi, World SBK Rider Marco Melandri, and Maurizio Lelli, the Assessor of Sport and Events for the City of Imola on stage while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado joined from home via Skype from their training sessions.

The guests on stage shared their excitement to have the last stop of the 2018 Championship at the famous Italian circuit. Kiara Fontanesi expressed her joy to be racing close to home and in front of the Italian crowd for the final round where she will go for another WMX title. Jorge Prado, who will be fighting for his first ever MX2 title in just over a week mentioned that he will have busses of fans coming from Spain to see him participate in the event.

Ending with an aperitif the guests and media made a visit to the track giving many their first look at the track building where 25,000 cubic meters of soil has been moved in 11 days by more than 250 people working onsite.

Also highlighted was the fact that the venue hosted international motocross over 70 years ago and next Friday, prior to the GP, a gallery of 80 vintage bikes and photos will be inaugurated including the bike of Imola native and 1999 500cc World Champion Andrea Bartolini.

Tickets are available now and will remain online through Friday 28th for this special event. Don’t miss your chance to purchase yours, click HERE https://imola.motocross-tickets.com/en/22541-mxgp-of-imola/

Gp VIP at Imola! Click HERE for more details: https://imola.motocross-viptickets.com/en/21611-mxgp-of-imola/

Main Photo: From Left to Right: Uberto Selvatico Estense the President of Formula Imola, WMX Rider Kiara Fontanesi, World SBK Rider Marco Melandri, and Maurizio Lelli, the Assessor of Sport and Events for the City of Imola

Photos Credits: Isola Press

The worldwide recognition of MXGP and motocross is continuing to grow and attract new fans around the world. Joining the massive crowd of spectators at the MXGP of the Netherlands in Assen was Dutch politician Bruno Bruins.

MXGP gladly welcomed the Minister of Sport for the Netherlands as he witnessed fellow Dutchman Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings take the title of the 2018 MXGP World Champion last weekend.

Minister Bruno Bruins is one of several high ranking officials that has visited an MXGP round this year. The support of the public and both the local and national governments has continued to help the sport and MXGP’s growth.

Photo from left to right:

FIM/CMS Director Tony Skillington

Deputy of Sports for the Region of Drenthe Henk Jumelet

Mayor of the Community of Sint Anthonis (Jeffrey Herlings’ living place) Marleen Sijbers

Youthstream Vice President David Luongo

MXGP of the Netherlands Organizer Lee van Dam  

Minister of Sports for the Netherlands Bruno Bruins

Mayor of Assen Marco Out

Deputy of Traffic and Infrastructure for the Region of Drenthe Henk Brink

2-time Dakar winner Team Dakar de Rooy Gerard de Rooy  

Team Dakar de Rooy’s Ton van Genugten

The ninth 2018 issue of a monthly motorcycle sport magazine with some of the best interviews, features and Blogs from the heart of MXGP, MotoGP, AMA Motocross/Supercross and WorldSBK as well as tests and reviews of bikes and products from the motorcycling industry. In OTOR #179: Race Blogs, tests & the rest; galleries from MXGP in Holland, WorldSBK in Portugal, Roland’s experiences with the Honda Africa Twin Adventure and a range of Blogs and opinion across the latest OTOR issue. Conversation in the mind; a revealing talk with Bradley Smith on the mentality of a MotoGP racer and the use of psychology to help make a difference for a sport that is as tough on the head as it is on the heart. Box-made chemistry in MotoGP; with riders and crew chiefs chopping & changing and teams keeping and losing faith Neil Morrison’s excellent new MotoGP feature analyses how a rider generates his ‘speed’ away from the bike. 

Read it HERE: http://ontrackoffroad.com/magazines/otor-179-september-18th/

(ASSEN) The Netherlands, 18 September 2018 – With the Dutch Motocross community behind him at his home round in Assen, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has made history by taking his first ever MXGP World Championship title with 3 other FIM Motocross World Championship titles to his name in MX2. Herlings first competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2010 during the MXGP of Bulgaria in Sevlievo. Since his first MX2 race in Bulgaria at age 15 the Dutchman has gone on to win 83 World Championship GP’s including the MXGP of the Netherlands in Valkenswaard only 2 weeks after his premier in Bulgaria.

In only his second season in the premier MXGP class Herlings has won 31 of the 38 races held across 16 different countries. 19 rounds into the 20 of the year Herlings has only missed the podium once at a race he didn’t even attend in Ottobiano. In 16 of the podiums achieved Herlings took the top spot and the other 2 marked his worst finishes of the year in 2nd only to Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing’s Clement Desalle and 9 time World Champions from Red Bull KTM Antonio Cairoli.

The “Bullet” from Geldrop, Netherlands, had not only a consistent season but a dominant one, leading 428 laps, Herlings has led 127 laps more than the rest of the field combined. Winning the first 2 rounds of the championship in Argentina and Valkenswaard with fights through the pack and past defending Champion Cairoli the Dutchman showed he was more than ready to fight for his first MXGP title.

The competition from Cairoli however pushed Herlings to be on his game at all times especially after losing to the Italian at round 3 in Spain. Herlings quickly took the fight back to Cairoli his home round, nicknamed the “Lions Den” by Herlings, in Trentino, Italy for round 4 and again in Portugal. The second defeat for Herlings came in Russia to Desalle but unaffected by the loss he went on to win the next 12 rounds he entered via 11 double race wins. Herlings season was not without problems though as he suffered a broken collarbone just prior to the Fiat Professional MXGP of Lombardia and was forced to sit the weekend out.

Questioned by many if his form and fitness would stay true after the injury Herlings returned to racing at the first of 2 Indonesian rounds and proved that he had barely skipped a beat and even with the pain of a healing fracture was faster than the other competitors. Now crowned the best rider in the World Championship Herlings’ amazing season is still not over with the final round of the MXGP championship at Imola and the Monster FIM Motocross of Nations still to come at RedBud.

The ever popular question of “who can stop the Bullet” is still yet to be answered and by the looks of it will remain a mystery for the unforeseeable future, with a well deserved fourth FIM Motocross World Championship gold plate in his hands at age only 24 Herlings is far from done.

Congratulations to Jeffrey and your whole team at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing on your fourth FIM Motocross World Championship title!

Watch the 2018 MXGP World Champion, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, Best Moments HERE

Jeffrey Herlings - BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Name and surname Jeffrey Herlings

Nationality: Dutch

Place of birth: Geldrop

Date of birth (d/m/y): 12/09/1994

Website: www.jeffreyherlings.eu

First GP raced: 2010 Grand Prix of Bulgaria, Sevlievo, MX2

World Titles 4 (1 MXGP, 3 MX2)

First World Title: 2012, MX2

GP wins: 83 (22 MXGP, 61 MX2)

First GP win: 2010 Grand Prix of the Netherlands, Valkenswaard, MX2

Last GP win: 2018, MXGP of The Netherlands, Assen, MXGP

2018 FIM Motocross World Champion; Red Bull KTM Factory Racing/MXGP

Other results

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Youthstream

FIM

TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2014 and together with MXGP are running the fastest lap competition across each season.

The way it works is: at each and every round of the MXGP season, the rider that sets the best lap time in each class, MXGP and MX2, will receive 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition. The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the season in MXGP and MX2 classes, and has the most points, will be awarded.

At the MXGP of The Netherlands held in Assen KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Motorsports 114 Honda’s Hunter Lawrence set the TAG HEUER fastest lap in MXGP and MX2 respectively. 

Here below you have the details:

MXGP: Jeffrey Herlings at Race 1 Lap 3 with 01.38:924

MX2: Hunter Lawrence at Race 1 Lap 1 with 01.40:932

Check out MXGP.com home page for the Top 3 TAG Heuer Best Lap competition’s ranking.

ASSEN (The Netherlands) 16 September 2018 - The women of motocross made the trip to Assen this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2018 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship. Just as the MXGP and MX2 World Championships are finishing out the season with the final two rounds of the Netherlands and Italy so are the women. Taking her first overall victory of the 2018 season via double race wins today was MXFONTA Yamaha’s Kiara Fontanesi.

In the days prior to the event Yamaha announced that the Red Plate holder Courtney Duncan from the Altherm Yamaha JCR team would miss the remainder of the championship with injury. While the news was not what anyone wanted to hear, it did give a new outlook to the championship.

Race 1 took place Saturday morning and tested each of the riders on track with the rough and sandy conditions. The early lead went to Germany’s Larissa Papenmeier with Stephanie Laier 2nd and Fontanesi 3rd.

Fontanesi quickly got by Laier and then took over the lead from Papenmeier after the German fell on lap 5. Papenmeier got back up in 9th and worked her way forward to 6th by the finish. Fontanesi managed to ride a crash free race and take the win after struggling here the past several years. Taking second was Laier as Nancy van de Ven took 3rd in front of her home crowd.

Race 2 was again led by Papenmier off of the start with KTM Silver Action’s Amandine Verstappen in second, Laier 3rd, and Fontanesi chasing the group in 4th. Papenmeier’s strong start and lead was under pressure from the hard charging Verstappen.

Papenmeier held off the Belgian at first but then both her and Verstappen were passed by Fontanesi at the end of the finish straight. 2 laps later Papenmeier fell and again dropped a hand full of spots for the second day in a row.

Taking over second was Van de ven after passing Verstappen on the same lap. Fontanesi was too far ahead though. The #8 took the win while 2nd in the race and overall was Nancy van de Ven as Verstappen took third in the race and 4th overall leaving the final overall podium spot to Laier.

Fontanesi’s strong finish and consistent weekend allowed her to not only claim the win and overall but also the championship leaders red plate before heading into her home round and season finale at Imola in 2-week time.

WMX Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 25:21.346; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:01.524; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:12.250; 4. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:14.668; 5. Natalie Kane (IRL, Honda), +0:37.076; 6. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:51.221; 7. Line Dam (DEN, Honda), +0:59.770; 8. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +1:10.008; 9. Avrie Berry (USA, KTM), +1:18.956; 10. Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +1:45.216.

WMX Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 25:00.293; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:06.534; 3. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:11.180; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:13.730; 5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +0:34.684; 6. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:40.534; 7. Line Dam (DEN, Honda), +0:49.130; 8. Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +0:56.684; 9. Avrie Berry (USA, KTM), +1:04.307; 10. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +1:45.727.

WMX Overall Top Ten: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 30 p.; 6. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 28 p.; 8. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Avrie Berry (USA, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Natalie Kane (IRL, HON), 23 p.

WMX Championship Top Ten: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 213 points; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 205 p.; 3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 191 p.; 4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, YAM), 184 p.; 5. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 152 p.; 6. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 146 p.; 7. Natalie Kane (IRL, HON), 132 p.; 8. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 122 p.; 9. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 90 p.; 10. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 86 p.

WMX Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha, 247 points; 2. Suzuki, 191 p.; 3. KTM, 176 p.; 4. Honda, 140 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 41 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 13 p.

Main Photo: WMX Start

Bottom Photos: 1. Kiara Fontanesi; 2. WMX Podium

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP of The Netherlands – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1,560m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 22°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 40,000

WMX was be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

NEXT STOP

The final round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship will take place in Imola, Italy on September the 30^th.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of the Netherlands

ASSEN (The Netherlands) 16 September 2018 - The 2018 MXGP of the Netherlands was full of action throughout the weekend and the European Championships of EMX125 presented by FMF Racing and EMX250 added to massive racing event. Team Suzuki Germany’s Jett Lawrence and RD10’s Raivo Dankers took advantage of their final opportunities of the season and claimed the respective overall wins today in Assen.

The final rounds of the 2018 season for both European Championship classes provided great racing in front of a massive crowd over the pair of Dutch race days. While the EMX250 Champion Mathys Boisrame from Honda Redmoto Assomotor was crowned at the penultimate round of Bulgaria weeks ago the EMX125 presented by FMF Racing title was yet to be decided. This weekend not only crowned Yamaha Europe EMX125’s Thibault Benistant the new 125 champion but also sealed the championship result of both classes for the entire field.

The previous round of the EMX250 Championship in Bulgaria crowned Honda RedMoto Assomotor’s Mathys Boisrame 2018 champion a few weeks ago leaving the weekend open for others to take the final win of the season.

The finale was taken advantage of first by Team DIGA Procross’ Dylan Walsh but Team Suzuki Germany’s Jett Lawrence took the spot by the end of the first lap. LRT KTM’s Tom Vialle then took the lead from Lawrence before Walsh went out with a mechanical issue.

Several riders were swallowed up by the technical sand such as KTM Silver Action’s Gianluca Facchetti and BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Moreau. Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo took third position from WZ-Racing’s Jeremy Sydow while Lawrence reclaimed the lead and won the race by 13 seconds. Taking second was Vialle followed by Horgmo and Sydow while the series champion, Boisrame, finished 19th.

Today Lawrence took the lead and held on to it until the finish under the watchful eye of Horgmo who ran 2nd the entire race as well. Vialle was again riding strong in 3rd but a mistake dropped him to 9th.

The 3rd place spot of Vialle was then given to Apico Honda Factory Racing’s Steven Clarke ahead of Walsh in 4th. Gold plate holder Boisrame had a much better race 2 with a top ten start he moved from 9th all the way up to 4th past MX88 Carglass Honda Racing’s Freek van der Vlist.

At the finish double race wins gave Jett Lawrence his first EMX250 Overall win ahead of Horgmo and Clarke. In the overall top three Lawrence and Horgmo again took the top 2 spots but Vialle took 3rd with his 2-7 finishes.

EMX250 Race 1 Top 10: 1. Jett Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), 29:59.962; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:13.121; 3. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:19.664; 4. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), +0:20.825; 5. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:22.458; 6. Erik Willems (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:30.519; 7. Todd Kellett (GBR, KTM), +0:33.302; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:35.824; 9. Caleb Grothues (AUS, Yamaha), +0:43.782; 10. Josiah Natzke (NZL, Honda), +0:46.647.

EMX250 Race 2 Top 10: 1. Jett Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), 29:48.870; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:02.580; 3. Steven Clarke (GBR, Honda), +0:54.657; 4. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Honda), +0:57.423; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:59.377; 6. Freek van der Vlist (NED, Honda), +1:07.073; 7. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +1:08.327; 8. Martin Barr (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:09.381; 9. Caleb Grothues (AUS, Yamaha), +1:10.155; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:11.486.

EMX250 Overall Top 10: 1. Jett Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 50 points; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 29 p.; 5. Caleb Grothues (AUS, YAM), 24 p.; 6. Todd Kellett (GBR, KTM), 22 p.; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 22 p.; 8. Steven Clarke (GBR, HON), 21 p.; 9. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, HON), 20 p.; 10. Martin Barr (GBR, HUS), 20 p.

EMX250 Championship Top 10: 1. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, HON), 366 points; 2. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 312 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 274 p.; 4. Martin Barr (GBR, HUS), 273 p.; 5. Steven Clarke (GBR, HON), 264 p.; 6. Dylan Walsh (NZL, HUS), 239 p.; 7. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 237 p.; 8. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 227 p.; 9. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 191 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 453 points; 2. Husqvarna, 441 p.; 3. KTM, 392 p.; 4. Yamaha, 376 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 328 p.; 6. Suzuki, 155 p.

Main Photo

FIM Europe Vice President Martin de Graaff, Thibault Benistant, Mathys Boisrame, Youthstream Vice President David Luongo

Bottom Photos: 1. Mathys Boisrame; 2. Jett Lawrence

Two days of racing scheduled Race 1 of EMX125 presented by FMF Racing as the first EMX event Saturday morning and all eyes were on Yamaha Europe EMX125’s Thibault Benistant and Maddi Racing Husqvarna’s Mattia Guadagnini. The red plate holder Benistant came into the race with the chance to become Europe Champion and Guadagnini was the only one who could potential spoil the party.

When the racing kicked off however it was neither Benistant or Guadagini in the lead, it was instead F4E Racing KTM’s Kjell Verbruggen. Guadagnini was all the way back in 14th on the first lap while Benistant was well outside the points scoring positions in 26th. The poor starts combined with the challenging sand of Assen created a massive amount of work for the Frenchman and the Italian.

Benistant moved his way forward but so too did Guadagnini. Guadagnini made it up to 7th after his 14th place start and Benistant went from 26th to 17th but fell on the last lap still finishing 20th position for a single championship point. The single point however was the only one needed to give the 26-point gap required to clinch his first ever European championship title in dramatic fashion. Verbruggen won the race with Filip Olsson 2nd, Yamaha Europe EMX125’s Rick Elzinga 3rd, RD10’s Raivo Dankers 4th, and F4E Racing KTM’s Mario Lucas Sanz in 5th.

Today’s Race 2 started off with yesterday’s 4th place finisher Dankers in the lead with Matias Versterinen chasing along with Motoblouz HB Racing’s Florian Miot. Versterinen held a strong second as Dankers was long gone for 12 laps but on the 13th both Miot and Elzinga went past to take over 2nd and 3rd. The new champion, Benistant, started race 2 in 16th and quickly worked his way through the field to 8th were he slotted in behind Guadagnini.

At the Finish it was a race and overall win for Dankers with Miot second, and Elzinga 3rd. The Overall podium led by Dankers was completed by Elzinga with his 3-3 finishes and Verbruggen with his win in race 1 and 6th in race 2.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top 10: 1. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, KTM), 29:52.376; 2. Filip Olsson (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:01.008; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:18.741; 4. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), +0:34.695; 5. Mario Lucas Sanz (ESP, KTM), +0:50.480; 6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +0:54.219; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:55.047; 8. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), +0:57.676; 9. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +0:59.916; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:07.566.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top 10: 1. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 30:11.381; 2. Florian Miot (FRA, KTM), +0:13.746; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.612; 4. Matias Vesterinen (FIN, KTM), +0:28.880; 5. Raf Meuwissen (NED, KTM), +0:33.604; 6. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, KTM), +0:33.654; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:47.227; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.572; 9. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), +1:00.850; 10. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), +1:03.262.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top 10: 1. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 43 points; 2. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Florian Miot (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 5. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 28 p.; 6. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), 24 p.; 7. Mario Lucas Sanz (ESP, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Filip Olsson (SWE, HUS), 22 p.; 9. Raf Meuwissen (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 21 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top 10: 1. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 249 points; 2. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 224 p.; 3. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 202 p.; 4. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 194 p.; 5. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 189 p.; 6. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), 186 p.; 7. Filip Olsson (SWE, HUS), 156 p.; 8. Emil Weckman (FIN, KTM), 150 p.; 9. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), 145 p.; 10. Raf Meuwissen (NED, KTM), 141 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 375 points; 2. Husqvarna, 311 p.; 3. Yamaha, 285 p.; 4. TM, 15 p.

Main Photo: EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Start

Bottom Photos: 1. Thibault Benistant; 2. Raivo Dankers

Watch Thibault Benistant, EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Champion Best Moments HERE

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP of The Netherlands – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1,560m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 22°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 40,000

MXGP was be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of the Netherlands

ASSEN (The Netherlands) 16 September 2018 - The most challenging season in the history of the FIM Motocross World Championship crowned Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings 2018 MXGP Champion and overall winner today in Assen while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado topped MX2.

The MXGP of the Netherlands was the massive home stage for a handful of Dutch riders this weekend but none where watched closer than the now 24-year old Herlings. An electric atmosphere created by tens of thousands of MXGP fans filled the air at Assen, nicknamed the “Cathedral of Speed”. The venue has hosted some of the top motorsports athletes in the world as they made history and today was no exception. The magnitude of the event was not just evident by the massive crowd but also with special guests like the Minister of Sport for the Netherlands Bruno Bruins, the Mayor of Assen Marco Out, and many others watching the racing and taking part in the podium ceremonies.

Photo from left to right:

FIM/CMS Director Tony Skillington

Deputy of Sports for the Region of Drenthe Henk Jumelet

Mayor of the Community of Sint Anthonis (Jeffrey Herlings’ living place) Marleen Sijbers

Youthstream Vice President David Luongo

MXGP of the Netherlands Organizer Lee van Dam  

Minister of Sports for the Netherlands Bruno Bruins

Mayor of Assen Marco Out

Deputy of Traffic and Infrastructure for the Region of Drenthe Henk Brink

2-time Dakar winner Team Dakar de Rooy Gerard de Rooy  

Team Dakar de Rooy’s Ton van Genugten

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has been impeccable this season with 16 wins of the 19 races so far. Today the life long dream of the “bullet” came true as he was crowned World Champion at the highest level of motocross, the MXGP FIM Motocross World Championship.

Coming into race 1 Herlings needed to finish 16th or higher to clinch the title but off the gate his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rival Antonio Cairoli took the FOX Holeshot. A test of Herlings’ mentality ensued and even with the option to let Cairoli get away, the Dutchman pushed forward.

Giving chase to the two leaders was the third Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Glenn Coldenhoff. The second Dutch rider in the top three brought the crowd to their feet with the pressure of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie bearing down on the #259.

Massive roars from the crowd were common but none matched the magnitude of those heard as Herlings took the lead away from Cairoli. Cairoli fought back immediately along the roller straight next to the grandstands but Herlings maintained the position.

Lap after lap Herlings grew his lead over Cairoli while the Italian did the same to the rest of the field. Meanwhile Coldenhoff was still under pressure from Anstie for third and on lap 8 the Brit was finally past after a crash from the Dutchman. Also taking advantage of the misfortune for Coldenhoff was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who moved from 5th to 4th. A strong start from Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP’s Shaun Simpson positioned him 7th for the first 2 laps before gaining a spot on Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Julien Lieber.

Simpson was finished the race 6th as Herlings took an emotion charged and dominate race win lapping up to 7th position and earning him the title of MXGP World Champion for the first time in his career. The celebrations started immediately for Herlings who joined his team, family, and friends while Cairoli took second and Anstie third.

MXGP Race 2 came just 2 hours later and Herlings lined back up with the new number 1 plate. The Dutch crowd were again full of vigor as Coldenhoff took the Fox Holeshot. Herlings ran second while Cairoli was 5th but the Italian jumped to 3rd by the second straight.

Herlings then made a rare mistake and fell while in pursuit of Coldenhoff for the lead. The fall dropped Herlings to 6th behind Anstie but only briefly as he jumped long to get by the Brit. Next on the running order for Herlings was Gajser but Cairoli was making successful moves for the lead on Coldenhoff. With Cairoli in the lead Herlings quickly dispatched both Gajser and Coldenhoff to reclaim 2nd. Anstie also moved by Gajser and closed on Coldenhoff the following laps.

Herlings then lined up Cairoli for a pass but the Sicilian responded well to keep the new World Champion at bay. Not long after the pass attempt for Herlings lapped riders and bad line choice from Cairoli allowed the Dutchman into the lead.

At the finish it was a massive victory for Herlings ahead of Cairoli, Coldenhoff, and Anstie. In the Overall standings it was a clear victory and strong finish to a perfect weekend for Herlings with Cairoli second and Anstie third.

Jeffrey Herlings: “I don't really know what to say, it has been an amazing day! It has been a blessing to be in my shoes today. Everyone says to enjoy the day but it is so hard, I remember waking up this morning and now we are here, everything has happened so fast. To do this in front of the home crowd at Assen's TT circuit it is amazing, it is really a special day."

Antonio Cairoli: "For me it is an honor to be second behind Jeffrey because he is definitely the fastest rider in the world at the moment and I'm not taking second to just anyone. I know I can be more competitive but it is a nice challenge and congratulations to him and thanks to Red Bull KTM for helping us to 1st and 2nd this season."

Max Anstie: “I definitely enjoy being up on the podium with these guys and seeing the crowd it is unbelievable. It was something special today and I have not seen this many people since I don't know when."

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:42.385; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:38.961; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:08.037; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:10.886; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:11.149; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:18.646; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 9. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s).

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:57.897; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:07.631; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:40.172; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:41.933; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:12.454; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:27.244; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:44.321; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:53.877; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s).

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 27 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 26 p.; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 22 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 883 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 782 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 645 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 625 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 544 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 541 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 511 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 445 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 404 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 366 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 947 points; 2. Kawasaki, 664 p.; 3. Yamaha, 654 p.; 4. Honda, 640 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 610 p.; 6. Suzuki, 267 p.; 7. TM, 227 p.

MXGP Photos

Main Photo: Jeffrey Herlings & Antonio Cairoli

Bottom Photos: 1. MXGP Start 2. Max Anstie

The MX2 Championship coming into Assen was separated at the front by 24 points between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Pauls Jonass. Yesterday’s Qualifying Race gave Prado the advantage with pole position. The first gate pick took Prado to his 24th Fox Holeshot of the year while Jonass crashed in the first turn.

Prado had the lead stolen away by Honda 114 Motorsports Hunter Lawrence just before the waves on the opening lap and then came under pressure from Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington.

Meanwhile Covington’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Thomas Kjer Olsen fought over 4th with Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Ben Watson. The Dane of Olsen took the spot and then moved on to catch Covington.

Prado then took the lead from Lawrence in a switchback section by going inside to inside as opposed to the outside inside approach of the Australian. Lawrence then fell out a second time a couple of laps later which moved Covington and Olsen forward to second and third.

Jonass was pushing his way through the field up into the top ten from the first turn crash. Covington lost 2nd to Olsen and then nearly lost 3rd to Lawrence but another mistake from the Australian gave Covington breathing room. Jonass eventually made it up to 8th after passing Hitachi KTM UK’s Conrad Mewse while Prado took the win with Olsen 2nd and Covington 3rd.

MX2 Race 2 started in the same order for the top three as Race 1 finished with Prado scoring Fox Holeshot number 25 ahead of Olsen and Covington. Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen had the Dutch crowd behind him as he passed Covington for third along the tribune and again several laps later as he took second from Olsen.

Watson passed Jonass for 5th and held the position for 5 laps before the Latvian was back past. Jonass was unable to leave the #919 behind however and Watson made a pass stick with 3 laps to go. A lap prior to Watson’s pass Covington took over 3rd from Olsen after a mistake sent the Dane down.

At the finish Prado took his second race win of the day with Vlaanderen second, Covington third, Olsen 4th, and Watson 5th. The overall result had Prado on top with 50 points while Covington took 2nd and Olsen 3rd making it the second consecutive MX2 round that Husqvarna has both factory riders on the podium.

Jorge Prado: “First of all congrats to Jeffrey Herlings as he has had an amazing season. My weekend went pretty well, yesterday I took the win in the qualifying race which was good for the confidence today where I won both races so I couldn't ask for a better weekend."

Thomas Covington: “I am pretty happy to be back on the podium in the sand since it is not really my forte. In the second race I knew I needed to pass one more guy to get on the podium, I saw TKO ahead of me and I was just giving everything to get ahead of him...he ended going down but we both ended up on the podium so it is good for the whole team."

Thomas Kjer Olsen: “Overall my weekend was good. I was pretty comfortable going into today and I felt like I was riding really good and the bike was working good so it is cool to be on the podium again."

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:14.374; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:06.207; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:10.027; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:12.331; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:23.068; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:29.770; 7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:36.515; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:36.858; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:38.351; 10. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:43.764.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:24.408; 2. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:07.591; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:15.909; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:18.212; 5. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:19.609; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:26.899; 7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:42.290; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:48.350; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:50.004; 10. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:51.541.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points; 2. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 40 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 38 p.; 5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34 p.; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, HON), 26 p.; 9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 24 p.; 10. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 20 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 823 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 777 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 633 p.; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 585 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 565 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 521 p.; 7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 366 p.; 8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 365 p.; 9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, HON), 331 p.; 10. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 311 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 918 points; 2. Husqvarna, 772 p.; 3. Honda, 662 p.; 4. Yamaha, 646 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 434 p.; 6. TM, 119 p.

MX2 Photos

Main Photo: Jorge Prado

Bottom Photos: 1. Thomas Covington 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen

Watch the 2018 MXGP World Champion, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings Best Moments HERE

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP of The Netherlands – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1,560m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 22°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 40,000

MXGP was be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

NEXT STOP

The 20th and final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place in Imola, Italy on September the 30^th.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of the Netherlands