Honda HRC PETRONAS’s Jeffrey Herlings had his best weekend points total of the season, after yesterday’s qualification race and then going two-two in the two motos today, giving him second overall at the MXGP of Sardegna.
Yesterday’s victory gave Herlings first gate-pick and he used that to good advantage to sweep around the first corner in the leading pack in both races, before quickly moving towards the front of the field. In the first race, the #84 got into the lead by the time the first lap was completed and although he held onto that for the first few laps, eventually he had to settle for second as they crossed the line. Race two saw him become the chaser, keeping the leader with sight the majority of the moto before really charging at the end, when he finished just over one second behind. Victory in the race would have given him the overall so it was tough to take for the renown sand rider, but he knows what he has to do and he is still very well placed in the championship standings.
Fifth place overall went to Ruben Fernandez, who showed that his winter work has paid off and that sand isn’t the treacherous surface that it once was for the Spaniard. Tow good starts, followed by two mistake-free motos showed a level of speed and consistency that hasn’t always been easy for the #70, especially at this difficult Riola Sardo circuit.
Frenchman Tom Vialle was unfortunately a victim in both races, which ruined his chances of a podium spot. The Honda CRF450RW rider hasn’t raced anything like this type of track since departing the series a few years back, but he looked at home early on in both races, taking a holeshot in race one and racing inside the top three until the second third of race two. It was just a couple of small mistakes which cost him and on this surface, that really stalls your momentum and drops you down the standings easily. Still, he can be happy with the majority of his riding and will hoping to bounce back in Trentino next weekend.
Valerio Lata will also be hoping for a better outcome after a disappointing weekend was rounded off by a technical issue in race two. The Italian has another home race in Pietramurata in a weeks’ time, where he feels much more comfortable, and he’ll be looking to be much closer to the top positions when he takes to that hard-pack track.
MX2 Race 1
- Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35:26.597; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:12.967; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:28.886; 4. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:35.822; 5. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:37.946; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:38.661; 7. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:48.135; 8. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:53.443; 9. Cas Valk (NED, TM), +0:57.828; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:12.315;
MX2 Race 2
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:46.884; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:08.311; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:13.956; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:22.690; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:25.607; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.995; 7. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:48.615; 8. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +0:52.819; 9. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:00.190; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:06.344;… 20. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -7 lap(s);
MX2 GP Overall
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 47 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 35 p.; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 26 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 25 p.; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, HUS), 19 p.; … 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 12 p.;
MX2 Championship
- Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 205 points; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 181 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 166 p.; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 162 p.; 5. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 153 p.; 6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 143 p.; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 118 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 114 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 105 p.; 10. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KAW), 87 p.;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Very happy with my riding today and I think I showed my improvement in the deep sand, after all my work this winter. With 14th gate-pick, I managed to get two good starts and just put myself in the right position in both races. Conditions were very tough out there and I’m riding against a lot of sand specialists, so the goal was to ride consistently and try to avoid any big mistakes. I think I did that well, so to go five-five is a good result and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.
Tom Vialle 16
Honda HRC PETRONAS
A frustrating day because I felt I rode a lot better than my results show. My starts were good in both races – including a holeshot in race one – and my speed was good for the majority of both races, I moved into third midway through the second moto and I felt good, but overall I just made too many mistakes in this deep sand and that really costs you a lot of energy. It’s frustrating because I definitely could have got more points, but it was still good to see that my sand riding is still amongst the best in the world.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I came close in that second moto, and I felt like I had enough energy to go for another 10 minutes, I just need to improve my speed to really fight for the win. The first moto, I got a good start, in fact in both races I got good starts, so that’s a positive but I couldn’t keep Lucas behind me. I gave it everything and I’m happy that I was able to match his speed for a bit and really close up near the end but winning is the goal and I know the Honda HRC PETRONAS team are working really hard to make that happen so it’s down to me to get on the top step of the podium.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
I never really felt the flow and the second moto was tough. I know that sand isn’t my strongest, but I really need to fight and work out a way to get closer to the front because there was definitely a chance to score good points in both races. Next weekend is Trentino, which is much better for me, and I know I want to rebound and do my very best.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Three riders in the top seven in the MXGP class just shows the level that everyone is performing at right now. I know Jeffrey is a little disappointed to have come so close to winning, but he still rode excellently and we can see the improvements each time and know there is more to come. Ruben was fast and made no mistakes, which is great to see at a track that he doesn’t like and has struggled at previously. It shows the work he has done and we are very proud of his efforts. Tom showed his starting prowess once again and if it wasn’t for a couple of small mistakes in both races, he could have been on the podium. Still, it was a good showing on a really tough track and gives us a lot of confidence for Trentino next weekend. Things didn’t go so well for Valerio, so we will try and get him in a positive frame of mind for a race that he is really looking forward to.
