Herlings goes one-one and takes MXGP red-plate after victory in Argentina
BarilocheJeffrey Herlings’ debut for Honda HRC PETRONAS went perfectly on Sunday as the #84 took his 113th GP win with a dominant one-one performance that also saw him take the red-plate. After yesterday’s qualification race, where an unfortunate crash saw him finish outside the points, the maximum score of 50 points today meant he joint-leads the championship with teammate and fellow debutant Tom Vialle after his one-two-four results across the weekend. It is Herlings though that will takeover the red-plate from Vialle due winning the second moto, but both riders will head to Spain for round two, full of confidence.
For Herlings, an outside gate-pick meant his work would be a lot harder – in theory – but a rocket start on-board his Honda CRF450RW saw him take the holeshot in front of Vialle, making it an HRC one-two. Those positions swapped a few laps into the race as Herlings suffered from a bit of arm-pump and while Vialle tried to pull away, Herlings never let the gap get unmanageable and a few laps from the end, he re-passed the French rider and took the victory.
Race two didn’t start off as well, as he was bumped back to around 10th, but he made a bunch of passes in the first couple of laps to work his way forward and eventually up into second. The gap seemed insurmountable, and second would still have been good enough for the overall, but not the red-plate, so the #84 put his head down and once again made the pass for the lead near the end of the moto. A perfect day and a great start to his Honda HRC PETRONAS career and now he hopes to carry this momentum into Spain in a couple of weeks’ time.
Vialle can also be very happy with his weekend, after his two-four motos today that included leading laps in both races. Battling with Herlings in race one and then once again grabbing an excellent start in the second moto meant that he really has got to grips with the Honda CRF450RW is very quick time. Scoring 50 points over the weekend is an excellent tally and while he wasn’t sure where he’d place coming into this round, he now knows he is very much a challenger for the rest of the season.
While he wasn’t pleased with his performance in race one, Ruben Fernandez bounced back in race two and showed that he will also fight for the podium positions throughout this campaign after a fifth placed finish. Things could have been even better as the #70 was in second-position before the red-flag restart, but he put in another solid moto after that and ended up sixth overall in the GP and eight in the championship, with his home GP coming up.
Unfortunately Valerio Lata had a nasty crash in race two, landing on a fellow rider in the chaos of the first two turns. Thankfully the young Italian only has bumps and bruises so he should still be able to line-up in Spain, but he wasn’t the outcome the #18 was after, especially since he finished eighth in the first moto.
Almonte, Spain is another new venue for the series so the riders won’t know exactly what to expect on March 21-22, but after leading all MXGP sessions in Argentina, all the members of Honda HRC PETRONAS will be heading there with renewed confidence that they are very much amongst the best riders on the planet and this second round will give them another opportunity to show it.
MX2 Race 1
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 34:55.834; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:04.422; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:13.557; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:16.928; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:19.977; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:21.342; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:34.164; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:36.712; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:45.409; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +0:56.574;
MX2 Race 2
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:08.451; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:03.500; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:20.975; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:34.985; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:36.783; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:37.465; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:39.823; 8. Cas Valk (NED, TM), +1:01.988; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:08.553; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), +1:23.225;
MX2 Classification
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 38 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 37 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 30 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, TM), 20 p.; 11. Benjamin Garib (CHI, HON), 18 p.; 12. Scott Smulders (NED, HUS), 17 p.; 13. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 13 p.;
MX2 Championship
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 47 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 43 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 41 p.; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 38 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 32 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 29 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, TM), 22 p.; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 11. Benjamin Garib (CHI, HON), 18 p.; 12. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 17 p.;
I felt the second moto was a lot better than the first one, and it was a shame we had a red-flag because I was in second before we had to line-up again. Still, I felt my riding was good and it is nice to have a positive feeling. I think I showed my speed and I feel like I have to more to come and now we head to Spain and I’m excited for that because it is a home GP.
I felt the second moto was a lot better than the first one, and it was a shame we had a red-flag because I was in second before we had to line-up again. Still, I felt my riding was good and it is nice to have a positive feeling. I think I showed my speed and I feel like I have to more to come and now we head to Spain and I’m excited for that because it is a home GP.
It feel really nice to be here, up on the podium. I didn’t really know what to expect coming in, because there is a lot of good riders in the GPs. Obviously yesterday was good and I felt comfortable taking the win in the qualification race. Then today, again I was feeling good and it was nice to lead some of the race before Jeffrey passed me. My intensity was pretty good in the first few laps, but I did make a couple of mistakes later, but overall I am very happy with my first weekend with Honda HRC PETRONAS.
It feel really nice to be here, up on the podium. I didn’t really know what to expect coming in, because there is a lot of good riders in the GPs. Obviously yesterday was good and I felt comfortable taking the win in the qualification race. Then today, again I was feeling good and it was nice to lead some of the race before Jeffrey passed me. My intensity was pretty good in the first few laps, but I did make a couple of mistakes later, but overall I am very happy with my first weekend with Honda HRC PETRONAS.
Going one-one in my first outing for Honda HRC PETRONAS is great and a big thank you to everyone in the team who has worked so hard in these couple of months to help make this happen. It wasn’t easy, because in race one I got a bit of arm-pump after grabbing the holeshot but I studied Tom’s lines and then made the pass near the end of the race. Then race two, it was a bit chaotic with the restart but I felt I judged my energy levels well and was able to close the gap and then made the pass again near the end. Going one-one and taking the red-plate is about as good as it as it could have gone today, so I’m hoping to keep this going.
Going one-one in my first outing for Honda HRC PETRONAS is great and a big thank you to everyone in the team who has worked so hard in these couple of months to help make this happen. It wasn’t easy, because in race one I got a bit of arm-pump after grabbing the holeshot but I studied Tom’s lines and then made the pass near the end of the race. Then race two, it was a bit chaotic with the restart but I felt I judged my energy levels well and was able to close the gap and then made the pass again near the end. Going one-one and taking the red-plate is about as good as it as it could have gone today, so I’m hoping to keep this going.
Definitely a day to forget. Eighth place in race one wasn’t the a performance I was totally happy with, so I was really motivated for race two and got a good start. However another rider made a mistake around the first turn so I had to back off, and then I tried to recover the situation but I ended up landing on another rider who was also caught up in the chaos. A real shame but the aim is to be back ready for Spain in a couple of weeks’ time.
Definitely a day to forget. Eighth place in race one wasn’t the a performance I was totally happy with, so I was really motivated for race two and got a good start. However another rider made a mistake around the first turn so I had to back off, and then I tried to recover the situation but I ended up landing on another rider who was also caught up in the chaos. A real shame but the aim is to be back ready for Spain in a couple of weeks’ time.
A really great start for the whole of Honda HRC PETRONAS, to win the qualifying race with Tom yesterday and then for Jeffrey to go one-one today and taking the red-plate into Spain. I think we showed that our whole team is strong, with Tom getting third place overall today and leading laps in the first race. Ruben also showed in the second moto that he is going to a force this year and we are really excited to have all three guys fighting for the win and podium spots. Unfortunately Valerio wasn’t able to finish the second race after a nasty crash but he should be okay for Spain in a couple of weeks. A big thanks to all of the team for all their hard work!
A really great start for the whole of Honda HRC PETRONAS, to win the qualifying race with Tom yesterday and then for Jeffrey to go one-one today and taking the red-plate into Spain. I think we showed that our whole team is strong, with Tom getting third place overall today and leading laps in the first race. Ruben also showed in the second moto that he is going to a force this year and we are really excited to have all three guys fighting for the win and podium spots. Unfortunately Valerio wasn’t able to finish the second race after a nasty crash but he should be okay for Spain in a couple of weeks. A big thanks to all of the team for all their hard work!
