Connect with us
       

Features

Flashback: Herlings’ masterclass at Mantova clinches 2021 MXGP crown

Dutchman unstoppable.

Published

on

Heading into the final round of what was a truly remarkable 2021 MXGP season, the top three of Romain Febvre, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser were separated by just 15 points.


Words: Edward Stratmann | Lead Image: Ray Archer


Although the Slovenian star still held a mathematical chance of pulling an upset, the real battle was between Febvre and Herlings, as the Frenchman carried a three point advantage heading into the last round at Mantova.

In the case of Herlings, it was a minor miracle he was still even in contention after Ivo Monticelli landed on him in Oss that caused him to miss three motos due to a broken shoulder blade.

Moreover, just when he’d done all the hard work to relentlessly fight his way back, more adversity ensued when he had to DNF a moto in Trentino and endured a slew of crashes in the rounds prior to the closing stop of the series, thus seeing him relinquish his championship lead at the most inopportune moment.

“Every point counts right now, so it’s (now) three. It’s going to be an all-out war on Wednesday. There’s a lot on the line. Different riders, different countries and different manufacturers all going towards the same goal, which is the world title. It doesn’t matter who wins it. I think we both deserve it anyway. Even Tim. So, it will be a good one on Wednesday,” insisted Herlings ahead of the season defining showdown.

Admitting he struggled sleeping and felt the pressure mounting in the build up to the mouthwatering finale, there certainly weren’t any signs of this, for the flying Dutchman impressively bagged his 13th pole position of the campaign to kick off the day in style.

With the tension palpable ahead of the first moto and Febvre lining up next to Herlings on the gate, anticipation was through the roof for what was to come.

While Herlings got squeezed at the start by Febvre heading into the first turn, it was admirable how he salvaged the situation to come out fourth by the second corner.

The Bullet then wisely weighed things up as he adjusted to the track, observed the lines on offer, examined spots to overtake and studied what Jorge Prado, Febvre and Jeremy Seewer were doing in front of him.

Patiently biding his time and allowing himself to settle into a rhythm, it wasn’t long before he moved into third when Seewer tipped over ahead of him.

Herlings then quickly went about getting to the rear wheel of Febvre’s Kawasaki, who was growing increasingly annoyed at Prado holding him up, which certainly worked in the favour of the #84.

After watching Febvre keep failing in his attempts to get by the Spaniard, the way Herlings emphatically breezed by him with a calculated, aggressive scythe down the inside would’ve been a great source of frustration for the #3.

Within 20 seconds, Herlings then took the lead from his Red Bull KTM colleague, who, it must be said, offered little resistance. From here, Herlings went about immediately extending his advantage by laying down some heaters to gain some vital separation, knowing Prado would keep acting as a valuable blocker behind him.

Looking fast and imperious on the rugged track, he seized his chance to get away, for he briskly established a two second lead over Febvre by the time he’d finally got around Prado.

By the time the moto had been running for 12 minutes, the ultra fast Herlings had already extended his ascendancy to 4.5 seconds, as he flexed his muscles in this duel for supremacy.

To his credit, however, Febvre wouldn’t go down without a fight, for he responded admirably to not only eat 2.5 seconds into the KTM star’s lead in three laps but also to bridge the gap to 1.8 seconds with 13 minutes left on the clock.

The dynamic duo then exchanged heaters, going back and forth for the subsequent laps. Seeming comfortable, managing the gap smoothly and not letting Febvre get within striking range, some late arm-pump threatened to derail Herlings’ moto, though, with him noticeably suffering by taking one arm of the bars over certain jumps.

To make matters even more captivating for the crowd, Gajser then joined the battle in the closing stages, as all three men were separated by just three seconds heading into the last three laps. Ultimately, however, Herlings would hold his nerve and come out on top in this entertaining scrap just ahead of Febvre and Gajser to set up a grandstand finish.

Ray Archer

Venturing to the gate level on 683 points with Febvre for the final moto of the crusade, the equation was simple for Herlings and his rival – winner takes all.

Slotting in beside one another to add to the drama on the gate, Febvre did ostensibly the exact same manoeuvre to cut his adversary off just prior to the opening turn. But, this time, Herlings kept in touch far better, going round the following bend neck and neck with his foe.

Both men then instantly turned their focus to hunting down Prado out front, and duly scorched by him rapidly to lay the foundation for a straight-up shootout for glory.

Wanting to impose himself early on the rough, treacherous surface, that’s precisely what Herlings did by assertively parking Febvre into the bank on one of the bowl-like sweeper turns to propel himself into the lead.

Putting the hammer down to affirm his position at the head of the field, it was a joy to watch him finding his flow, as he masterfully picked up his front wheel over certain obstacles, floated over the bumps, dealt seamlessly with the gnarly holes and generally handled the Mantova circuit with aplomb while extending his superiority.

Clearly feeling the pressure to keep up with Herlings, who’d roared ahead to the tune of 3.6s, disaster then struck nine minutes in for the chasing Febvre, who lost control before the FC Moto jump and devastatingly looped out.

Losing a whopping 10 seconds while he picked himself up and remounted, Febvre’s championship aspirations went up in smoke following this decisive, unfortunate incident.

Meanwhile, Herlings could now continue riding his own race in the knowledge he had a large gap to work with. Riding with assuredness and intelligence while still logging some wicked laps, by the midway point, Herlings had the luxury of a 15 second gap over Febvre.

Although Gajser produced a late charge for the win in the final minutes, there’d be no denying the Dutchman, who skillfully withstood Galjser’s harrying to claim the title authoritatively by virtue of his scintillating 1-1.

By the numbers, the fact he recorded the fastest lap time in both motos, was the only man in the 1.55s in both motos and that the next fastest man in the second race (Gajser) was in the 1.57s further underlined that he was on another level throughout the day.

Delivering such an exceptional display right when it mattered most to secure his fifth world title and reigning triumphant in one of the most exciting championship battles in the history of the sport, Herlings was unquestionably a deserved winner.

“I’m super-happy but at the same time I feel bad for the other two guys. I want to thank both of them for a great championship,” an exhausted yet jubilant Herlings explained.

“My riding was terrible today! In the first moto I was just so scared to crash that I was riding very tight and got arm-pump. It was really bad but I still managed to bring it in. After four-five laps in the second Romain crashed and that gave me some seconds but at the same time I did not want to go full gas and make a mistake.

“I stayed in my comfort zone and was thinking and thinking. Tim came a bit closer but I just carried on doing my thing and didn’t look back. I went into training mode. I’m very happy to have made it happen and to go 1-1 today – even though my riding sucked – is really good. This wasn’t an easy championship. All three of us kept charging until the last moto.”

Ray Archer

Digging deep and dealing with the hardship that was thrown in his direction manfully to ultimately get the job done to conclude the season magnificently, in a campaign where he bagged 15 race wins and nine grand prix victories, his mastery at Mantova was a fitting way to cap off his remarkable year.

Further cementing his place in the record books as one of the fastest men ever and joining the likes of Roger De Coster, Georges Jobe, Eric Geboers, Joel Smets and now Gajser on five world titles, 2023 looms as another opportunity to enhance his legacy.

Only time will tell if he, in fact, can, as injuries have plagued him throughout his career. But if he can stay healthy along with all the other MXGP heavy hitters, the fans should be in for a real treat watching Febvre, Gajser and Herlings rekindle their tremendous battle from 2021.

Features

Stat Attack: Indianapolis Supercross Review

See now.

Published

on

With the tenth round of AMA Supercross in the books, statistics maestro Paul Pearcy has provided MX Vice with some brilliant numbers to tuck into from what was a great night of action. Enjoy

250 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Max Anstie: 49.492
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.492; (Max got top spot because his time came in the first session, while Tom’s time came in the second session)
  3. Pierce Brown: 49.719

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Jeremy Martin
  2. Ryder Floyd
  3. Hardy Munoz
  • Laps Led
  1. Jeremy Martin: 5
  2. Hardy Munoz: 2
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 52.413
  2. Preston Boespflug: 53.150
  3. Gage Linville: 53.549
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 53.655
  2. Preston Boespflug: 54.259
  3. Ryder Floyd: 54.373

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo
  2. Haiden Deegan
  3. Seth Hammaker
  • Laps Led
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  2. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.561
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.660
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 49.854
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.830
  2. Haiden Deegan: 51.086
  3. Seth Hammaker: 51.907
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Preston Boespflug: 2.970
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.184
  3. Jalek Swoll: 3.287

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Haiden Deegan
  2. Cameron Mcadoo
  3. Tom Vialle
  • Laps Led
  1. Haiden Deegan: 12
  2. Jalek Swoll: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.493
  2. Tom Vialle: 50.690
  3. Pierce Brown: 50.868
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 51.522
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 52.214
  3. Tom Vialle: 52.580
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Jeremy Hand: 2.040
  2. Coty Schock: 2.315
  3. Max Anstie: 2.634

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Tom Vialle
  2. Pierce Brown
  3. Cameron Mcadoo
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 49.844
  2. Chance Hymas: 50.020
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.175
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 51.493
  2. Pierce Brown: 51.563
  3. Haiden Deegan: 51.892
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Marshal Weltin: 1.984
  2. Seth Hammaker: 1.997
  3. Nick Romano: 2.233

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo; (1st win of the season, 80% podium rate this year)
  2. Tom Vialle; (80% podium rate this year)
  3. Haiden Deegan; (40% podium rate this season)
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13; (Tom is now tied with Austin Forkner for most laps led this season at 37.  34% of total laps raced)
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  3. Haiden Deegan: 12
  4. Jalek Swoll: 1
  5. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Tom Vialle: 3rd 
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.333
  3. Jalek Swoll: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 98
  2. Tom Vialle: 96
  3. Pierce Brown: 87
  4. Haiden Deegan: 82
  5. Coty Schock: 79
  6. Seth Hammaker: 72
  7. Daxton Bennick: 71
  8. Max Anstie: 62
  9. Chance Hymas: 60
  10. Jalek Swoll: 58

450 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.523
  2. Eli Tomac: 48.554
  3. Cooper Webb: 48.568; (The difference between 1st and 3rd was .045 seconds.)

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Kyle Chisholm
  2. Justin Starling
  3. Devin Simonson
  • Laps Led
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 7
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ty Masterpool: 52.415
  2. Kyle Chisholm: 52.810
  3. Freddie Noren: 53.248
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 54.223
  2. Ryan Breece: 54.271
  3. Freddie Noren: 54.390

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.639
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.225
  3. Cooper Webb: 49.581
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 51.023
  2. Cooper Webb: 51.383
  3. Ken Roczen: 51.402
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Aaron Plessinger: 2.774
  2. Eli Tomac: 3.095
  3. Chase Sexton: 3.785

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 49.499
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.713
  3. Chase Sexton: 49.849
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.735
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.884
  3. Ken Roczen: 50.908 (That’s a difference of .173 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Ken Roczen: 2.537
  2. Malcolm Stewart: 2.641
  3. Chase Sexton: 2.676

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Chase Sexton 
  3. Ken Roczen
  • Laps Led
  1. Ken Roczen: 10
  2. Jett Lawrence: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ken Roczen: 49.131
  2. Chase Sexton: 49.284
  3. Jett Lawrence: 49.314
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.477
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.483
  3. Cooper Webb: 50.594; (That’s a difference of .117 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Chase Sexton: 2.528
  2. Cooper Webb: 2.885
  3. Jason Anderson: 3.079

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence; (The only other person to have a perfect sweep at a triple crown was Ken Roczen in 2020 also on a Honda.  Jett has now won 50% of the races this season, with a 60% podium rate)
  2. Ken Roczen; (Ken has a 50% podium rate this year)
  3. Chase Sexton; (Chase has a 50% podium rate this year)
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 26; (Jett now has 130 laps led, 50.7% of total laps)
  2. Ken Roczen: 22; (Ken has the second most laps led at 49, Just 19% of total laps)
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Ken Roczen: 1st 
  2. Jett Lawrence: 2nd 
  3. Jason Anderson: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Jett Lawrence: 210
  2. Cooper Webb: 189
  3. Chase Sexton: 185
  4. Ken Roczen: 175
  5. Eli Tomac: 174
  6. Jason Anderson: 165
  7. Aaron Plessinger: 162
  8. Justin Cooper: 120
  9. Justin Barcia: 109
  10. Dylan Ferrandis: 107

Lead Image: HRC

Love what we do? Please read this article as we try to raise £30,000.

Continue Reading

British MX Nationals

Thank you. It’s been a hell of a ride.

Published

on

Since buying back MX Vice in November 2019, it has been challenging. One of those crystal balls would have been handy for navigating some problematic situations. Who would have thought COVID-19 would be a thing?

Those who follow MX Vice know we started from nothing but an idea. A fan who loved the sport created a Facebook page, website, and social media presence that would become disruptive. It has made numerous talented media people who were allowed to run with it for over thirteen years. Being in the UK/Europe has always been difficult; I’ve always believed that if we were a US media company, we would have been embraced and appreciated for our work ethic and the content we produce. We always cast one eye over the US in Europe, and you can’t blame the top European riders for doing the same.

MX Vice has always tried to give people a voice, especially the riders who are not in the limelight and the teams that put so much into the sport. We love people’s passion and sacrifice to improve and challenge themselves. That, for me, was the natural pull, not the money but the passion and sacrifice. We all know we would not be in motocross if it were about the money. I always considered MX Vice the media version of Steve Dixon’s team in MXGP (which I have a huge amount of respect for), where we have always tried to challenge without the factory budgets.

We knew it would be tough this year with so many businesses and brands cutting marketing budgets and reducing costs; this was never going to be good for us. We have just had two incredible months of stats, with January and February bringing in over 1 million people to the website, which is quite bittersweet. As much as the funds are low, so is my energy and health. COVID impacted me more than I could ever envisaged. My health has deteriorated ever since I caught COVID; my immune system is not in a great place, and when I try and work to the standard I set myself, my body breaks on me, and it takes me days to recover. Ed Stratmann has been a revelation since he took the editorial reigns and has pushed MX Vice to new heights, which is incredible given the lack of resources he has had to work with and support from myself. I have been missing from the podcast show to reduce my time, as I am now self-employed and working for two companies to pay the bills.

Every journey ends, and that’s not what we want. Over the past 13 years, we have given it everything, leaving no stone unturned. We’re proud of how we have disrupted, challenged decisions, held organisations accountable, and illuminated incredible stories.

We will have an auction for signed shirts donated by riders, podcast equipment, and memorabilia to pay off the invoices of some contributors. If, however, you want to see MX Vice continue, you can donate here: https://ko-fi.com/mxvice or purchase a shirt or memorabilia. If we meet our target of £25,000, which is currently outstanding to run this year, then Ed and I will continue. However, we fully expect this won’t happen due to the large sum required.

It’s hard out there at the moment. Take care of your health and family, and never lose your passion for the most fantastic sport in the world.

Burf.

Continue Reading

Features

Lit Kit Gallery: MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina

The best from round 1.

Published

on

Check out some of the freshest fits, helmets and more from the MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina. Lead Image: Nestaan Husqvarna – Full Spectrum.

Photo credits: Red Bull KTM – Ray Archer / Nestaan Husqvarna – Full Spectrum / Yamaha MXGP – Full Spectrum + Eva Szabadfi / JM Honda / Kawasaki MXGP / Fantic MXGP / Yamaha MX2 – Full Spectrum / HRC MXGP / GasGas – Juan Pablo Acevedo


Continue Reading

Latest