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The French Grand Prix wrapped up in Lacapelle Marival with KTM factory riders Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle making a comeback to the top of the podium, Herlings taking back control of the MXGP championship chase.

The 12th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship delivered an amazing atmosphere thanks to the huge crowd of fans that lined the hard-packed circuit, as they cheered for their home heroes from the side-lines.

And, in true MXGP fashion, the riders treated us all to some intense battles which saw the title and championship chase remain very close.

In the opening MXGP race, it was Herlings who was fastest out of the gate and went on to claim the holeshot. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer was second ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre and Glenn Coldenhoff of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser struggled in the start and started the race in around 10th position.

While Herlings led, Febvre was quick to get around Seewer, as he set his sights on the Bullet.

Meanwhile, a little further behind, there was Jeremy Van Horebeek of SDM Corse Racing Team who was having a great ride in fifth place, ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli.

Gajser was pushing his way up the field as he found himself in eighth place behind Arnaud Tonus of Hostettler Yamaha Racing. The Slovenian then made a small mistake which cost him two positions, which meant he had to start all over again.

Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado was keen to salvage some important championship points as he fought inside the top 20. It was clear that the Spaniard was struggling after the crash in Germany as he only managed to come back to 16th.

Herlings continued to lead, but it was clear that Febvre was not going to let him have the win. The Frenchman set the fastest lap of the race as he worked away at the gap and before he knew it, he was on the rear wheel of the factory KTM rider.

On lap eight we saw Febvre take over the lead, as Herlings dropped to second. Meanwhile Seewer was still third followed by Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass.

Gajser then managed to pass Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen to move into eighth and then worked hard to get around Tonus too. Also making moves was Cairoli who finally found an opportunity to get past Van Horebeek, as Gajser also caught onto the Beta rider.

Unfortunately, Van Horebeek did not finish the race as he crashed while under pressure from Gajser.

In the final few laps, we saw Herlings step it up, as he caught onto the back wheel of Febvre, and it was game on for the win! Febvre did a great job to manage under immense pressure from the Dutchman and his efforts paid off as he was victorious in the first race. Herlings was second as Seewer held on to third.

In race two, it was Cairoli who took the holeshot from Herlings, Febvre, Gajser and Seewer.

Cairoli’s time in the lead did not last long as the Italian made a mistake which allowed both Herlings and Febvre through. Herlings then controlled the race by 2.835 seconds but that gap came down quite quickly as Febvre was on a charge.

Gajser then caught onto the back of Cairoli. The Slovenian needed to make the pass, not only for the championship points, but also for a spot on the podium.

Herlings then has a small bobble which played into the hands of Febvre who wasted no time to get out in front. The Frenchman was the new race leader on lap eight and immediately stretched out his lead to 3.614 seconds.

Gajser continued to search for a way past Cairoli, as Herlings was looking to make up for lost ground. And he did just that. As Herlings closed in, Febvre started to make little errors which proved to be costly in the end as Herlings was able to pass the Frenchman on lap 16.

The factory Kawasaki rider tried to respond but it was not enough, as Herlings took the win with Febvre second and Gajser third. And that’s exactly how the riders finished on the podium, with Herlings taking a 95th career Grand Prix victory.

Herlings is now back in the driving seat of the MXGP championship standings as he leads the way with 460 points, while Febvre moves to second and is just six points behind, while Gajser drops to third on 450 points.

“Actually today was pretty good. I raced here three years ago so I definitely knew Romain (Febvre) was going to be good today and that I had to step up my game,” said Herlings.

“This morning you could see that nobody could really match my speed. We were two seconds ahead of the 3rd. Going into the race I knew I had to bring my A game.

“Actually, the set up I had for race one was pretty difficult. I was struggling a bit and got arm pump. Then I just could not hold Romain and he made a pass. I had to let him go and try to close him at the end of the race but it was too late and I could not put a good fight anymore. He won fair and square.

“In the second race, I had a good start again. He beat me on the first turn, then I managed to pass him on the second or third turn. I was trying to pull away, but it was tough with his speed. I think I had a 2 or 3 second gap, then I had an issue.

“I’m lucky I did not lose much time and kept the 3-second gap. I managed to win this race and win the overall and looking forward to next weekend.”

Photo courtesy KTM

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RESULTS & STANDINGS:

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 34:21.708; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:00.755; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:37.609; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:39.792; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:41.014; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:44.721; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:02.787; 8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:08.373; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), +1:25.573; 10. Alberto Forato (ITA, GASGAS), +1:30.425;

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:32.068; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.305; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:21.165; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:28.199; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:29.453; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:30.145; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:50.673; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:55.934; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Beta), +1:14.691; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:21.171.

MXGP – GP Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 35 p.; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 35 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 34 p.; 7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 24 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 21 p.; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, GAS), 21 p.; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 20 p.

MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 460 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 454 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 450 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 398 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 387 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 344 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 321 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 284 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 215 p.; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 201 p.

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 34:55.130; 2. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), +0:04.885; 3. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:07.369; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.833; 5. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:11.843; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.576; 7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:18.307; 8. Wilson Todd (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:27.206; 9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:32.579; 10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +0:35.083.

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35:06.498; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:02.020; 3. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), +0:03.925; 4. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:05.081; 5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:05.998; 6. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:06.966; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.272; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:26.934; 9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:28.185; 10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:29.173.

MX2 – GP Top 10 Classification:

1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 35 p.; 5. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 34 p.; 6. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 24 p.; 9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 19 p.

MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:

1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 488 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 397 p.; 3. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 393 p.; 4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 372 p.; 5. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 359 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 336 p.; 7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 333 p.; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 313 p.; 9. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 262 p.; 10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 223 p.