Honda HRC PETRONAS’ Jeffrey Herlings put in a great performance at the MXGP of France qualification race to take victory in scorching conditions at Lacapelle-Marival. The 10pts for winning, means he now sits just two points off the championship lead after what has been an excellent start to his debut season for the team.
The #84 was second behind his teammate Tom Vialle for the first few bends but quickly moved into the lead where he then proceeded to control the rest of the race. On what was a pretty tight and technical circuit, the start was especially important, and it was impressive to see the two Honda CRF450RWs showing their power.
Unfortunately for Vialle, a nasty crash in the first few laps, dropped him down the field when he was looking comfortable in second place. Despite trying his best to get into points-scoring placings, he could only manage to reach 13th place, but given his starting-prowess, he could easily get the holeshot tomorrow as well and give himself a chance of victory at his home GP.
The third member of the MXGP contingent, Ruben Fernandez also had a great start, with the three riders riding in first, second and fourth on the first couple of laps. However, given the four-week break and the bumpy nature of the track, arm-pump affected the Spaniard and he dropped a few spots to seventh. It was still a good ride though and it has given him confidence that he isn’t that far away from the leading pack and that’ll be his aim in the two GP-scoring motos tomorrow.
In the MX2 class, Valerio Lata had a great start on-board his Honda CRF250RW, but he wasn’t able to keep the pace in these extremely tough weather conditions and ended up dropping to 10th. It wasn’t the finish the Italian was after, but it was encouraging to see him running up front in the early part of the race.
With temperatures expected to be above 30C tomorrow, all the riders know that it’ll be tough-going in France, but all four will be doing their upmost to challenge at the front of the field and try to get themselves on the podium.
MX2 Qualification Results
- Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), 23:46.460; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:04.517; 3. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:06.002; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:09.815; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:10.663; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:14.359; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:15.983; 8. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:18.256; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Ducati), +0:18.910; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:23.332;
Rubén Fernández 70
Honda HRC PETRONAS
My riding was good, so I’m happy with that, I’m just a bit frustrated to get arm-pump and that really stopped me from finishing where I think I deserved. That’s racing though and I’ll be doing my best to make sure it doesn’t affect me tomorrow, where hopefully I can get two more good starts and keep my speed throughout the motos.
Tom Vialle 16
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Annoyed to have crashed and let slip my position because I’d got the holeshot and was riding well behind Jeffrey. I’d felt pretty good today, and it’s been nice to be at my home GP and just getting to experience all the support from the crowd so hopefully they’ll be supporting me tomorrow. I won’t have the best gate-pick for the races but I know I’m capable of getting starts so that’s what I’ll be aiming for. I’ll be trying my hardest to get on the podium as the race here in 2021 was such a great moment for me and I’d like to try and repeat that if possible.
Jeffrey Herlings 84
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Very happy to get such a good start and move into the lead and just control the race. We’ve done a lot of work in this break from the GPs, both racing and testing, so it is great to see all that paying off already. Another two good starts tomorrow is important because the track is a bit sketchy and isn’t easy to stay smooth on, so that’s the goal to just try to keep it rolling. I’ve had some good races here in France already this year and the crowd have been great, and I’m sure they’ll be even more of them tomorrow.
Valerio Lata 18
Honda HRC PETRONAS
Pretty disappointed with my performance because I had the opportunity to score some good points and get my season going, after this break. However I know I have work to do and I will keep fighting to make that happen in every moto.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas –
Honda HRC PETRONAS
A very warm weekend for us here in France, but everyone seems to be coping with the temperature well. All four guys got good starts, which shows how good the Honda CRF machine is, and while not all of them are happy with their end results, we showed as a team that we are really strong right now, especially in the MXGP class. Jeffrey winning qualification means he is just two points off the championship lead so getting the red-plate is a real possibility, while Tom and Ruben both showed enough speed to suggest that they are fully capable of getting on the podium here in France as well
