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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle dominated the MXGP and MX2 races to go 1-1 in their respective categories to win the MXGP of Trentino.

Once again, both classes delivered on some intense battles and very close racing in Italy, especially in MXGP as the top four battled within just a few seconds of one another in both heats.

This was a treat for the huge crowd of fans that lined the hard-pack circuit and who were keen to cheer on their favourites.

And they will do it all again on Wednesday (Thursday morning NZ time) as the FIM Motocross World championship will continue with the MXGP of Pietramurata for round 15 of the series.

In MXGP race one, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer who grabbed the holeshot from his team-mate Ben Watson, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings.

Meanwhile, Slovenia’s defending world champion Tim Gajser, from Team HRC, started around sixth position.

Watson then crashed which allowed Herlings through as Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre followed the Dutchman. Gajser then got around Prado as well for fourth and was the fastest rider out on track in one of the first few laps.

Febvre then looked for a way to launch an attack onto Herlings as the pair pushed on and urged on the leader, Seewer, who set his best lap of the race. Herlings kept it close to Seewer as Febvre and Gajser were also searching for an opportunity to pass.

The racing within the top four was extremely close, as the gap was just 2.573 between Herlings in first place and Gajser who was down in fourth.

Further down the field Prado, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff were having a good fight for fifth.

Herlings then close in on Seewer, who had Febvre closing in on him, who had Gajser chasing him down too … in the end, Herlings made a nice move on the Swiss on lap 11 to take over the lead.

Prado then crashed but only lost three positions, finishing the race in 8th ahead of Mathys Boisrame who made his debut with Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team in the MXGP class.

In the end Herlings won ahead of Seewer and Febvre, with Gajser fourth after struggling to pass the Frenchman ahead of him. Coldenhoff had a good first heat to end in fifth place ahead of Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass.

In the second heat, the Fox Holeshot went to JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi as a couple of riders got tangled up in the first corner, this included Olsen and Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Brian Bogers.

Herlings and Gajser started the race 12th and 13th, while Jacobi led Febvre, Coldenhoff and Honda SR Motoblouz rider Benoit Paturel. The German’s time in the lead did not last long as Febvre was in the driving seat by the end of the first lap. Coldenhoff went through as well.

Gajser then managed to make up some good positions as he got by Watson for fifth as Herlings followed through.

The Slovenian then got around Paturel and set his sights on Jacobi who made it a little bit harder to pass, but by lap four he was ahead of the JM Honda rider. Herlings did the same not too long after.

Seewer had to fight through the field in the second race as he got around his team-mate Watson for seventh. The Swiss made a couple of more passes and finished the race fifth, but it was not enough for a podium.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had more bad luck in race two, as he also DNF’d the second race after struggling from his crash in race one.

Prado also struggled with Bogers and Jonass ahead of him. The two GasGas riders managed to come back to 12th and 13th, while Prado finished in 17th.

Febvre then started to come under pressure from Coldenhoff who brought the gap down to 1.920. Gajser also caught onto the pair and was looking for the perfect moment to pass. As the battle for the lead went on, it looked like Febvre struggled with arm pump as he started to make mistakes.

Herlings then joined the three-way battle for first as he took third from Gajser. Coldenhoff also made a pass as he moved into the lead on lap 12.

The Dutchman led for five laps before being caught by his fellow countryman Herlings.

Gajser and Febvre then fought for third as the factory Honda rider was eventually able to secure the position after the pair made contact in one of the corners.

In the end Herlings was the race winner as Coldenhoff was able to fend off Gajser in third, while Febvre and Seewer rounded out the top five.

With two race wins, Herlings added a fifth GP victory in Trentino to become the most successful rider at this venue, with Coldenhoff and Gajser tied on points in second and third places.

In fact, Coldenhoff, Gajser, Febvre and Seewer all finished with 38 points, while Herlings was on 50.

Herlings now leads the MXGP standings 24 points over Febvre, while Gajser is just three points behind.

Jeffrey Herlings: “It wasn’t an easy one. In the first race Jeremy was leading, riding smooth and at a good pace so it was tough to pass him.

“But, at one point, I knew I had to go because the boys behind me started pushing, so I had to pass him.

“The second race, I was caught up a bit in the start. Tim and I were somewhere around 10th or 12th and we both fought our way back to the front. He was one place ahead of me. At one point we caught up to the leader and I managed to pass him.

“Then I had to defend and pass Romain. It was a tough run, but I am happy to have won.

“I feel like I am in a very good shape right now, but I should never underestimate the competition from Tim, Romain or Glen today. It can be anyone’s race. So, I will keep charging till the end. We are only 17 days away and a lot of things may happen during the last four races”.

Photo courtesy KTM Europe

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RESULTS & STANDINGS:

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:14.099; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:02.146; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.665; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:04.234; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:41.383; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:44.401; 7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:48.810; 8. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +1:09.882; 9. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.696; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), +1:11.881.

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:32.192; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:01.454; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:02.211; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.132; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:31.200; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), +0:56.020; 7. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:58.077; 8. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +1:05.634; 9. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:11.256; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:13.66.

MXGP – GP Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 38 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 38 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 38 p.; 6. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 24 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 24 p.; 8. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 22 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 20 p.

MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 555 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 531 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 528 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 457 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 419 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 411 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 376 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 340 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 250 p.; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 239 p.

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 34:46.430; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:02.789; 3. Isak Gifting (SWE, GASGAS), +0:09.063; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:18.322; 5. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:20.012; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.797; 7. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:31.889; 8. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:32.782; 9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +0:38.032; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:39.451.

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 34:53.616; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:01.183; 3. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:25.585; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:29.065; 5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:36.189; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:51.411; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), +0:51.596; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:07.560; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, GASGAS), +1:10.806; 10. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +1:12.339.

MX2 – GP Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44 p.; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 36 p.; 4. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Isak Gifting (SWE, GAS), 32 p.; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 22 p.; 10. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 19 p.

MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:

1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 563 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 471 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 467 p.; 4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 443 p.; 5. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 429 p.; 6. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 393 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 366 p.; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 362 p.; 9. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 328 p.; 10. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 245 p.