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| KTM's youngster
Herlings cracks second MX2 GP victory in Latvia |
| Jeffrey Herlings the 15-year-old
"wunderkind" of the Red Bull KTM Factory
Racing Team broke his recent run of bad luck Sunday in
winning style in Kegums Latvia to deliver a brilliant
3-1 moto result to take his second GP career victory
in a style fitting of a champion. |
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But while Herlings was the hero of the circuit,
especially in the second moto, which was anyone's race until
the last seconds, teammate Marvin Musquin finished a solid
fourth with a 1-7 result and retains his stranglehold on the
red number plate as the championship leader with a massive 74
points advantage. Factory teammate Shaun Simpson was tenth.
Herlings was fast out of the start gates and with a maturity
beyond his years, successfully fended off vicious attacks by
both rival Ken Roczen and Frenchman Steven Frossard. The young
Dutchman rode a tight and clever line on the tricky course
that was part deep sandy burns and part hard surface and hung
to deliver a thrilling finish that had the Latvian crowd on
their feet.
Jeffrey Herlings: I'm really satisfied with my weekend.
I've had my ups and downs this season. I started really good
in the first five rounds then I had three bad rounds so it
felt awesome to be back on top again. This was my second GP
win. In the first heat I was in the lead after two corners and
then I got passed by Marvin and Ken (Roczen) and I finished
third. Then I took the holeshot in the second and I had a long
fight with Steven (Frossard) but I fought hard and I was able
to win the moto and the GP."
Musquin, with his usual elegant and winning style was
untouchable in the first moto but fell on the first corner in
the second. He then found himself dead last trailing the
27-man field and systematically picked off his opponents top
finish a very creditable seventh.
Marvin Musquin when asked about the second moto said:
"I crashed on the first corner. They had put a lot of
water on the track so I crashed and stopped my bike. I was
very angry but I made a good and strong comeback to finish
seventh. This week I lost just three points in the
championship so now I need to be very focused and try to be on
the podium every weekend. I think Sweden is a good track but
not so easy but like all races, I will do my best."
Did not gel with the track, Simpson says
Shaun Simpson said he had walked the track and had a positive
impression before the race. "It looked cool, "he
said. It had nice jumps and was quite different to what we're
just to. But when we started to ride it was clear there was
some fast and slippery in parts. I tried many different liens
but somehow I just didn't gel with the track."
Results MX2
1 Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM 20-25—45
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 22-20—42
3. Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki18-22—40
4. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 25-14--39
5. Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha14-18—32
Other KTM
6. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM
10. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM
11. Jake Nicholls, Britain, KTM
12. Valentin Teillet, France, KTM
Standings
1 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 404
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 330
3. Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki, 308
4. Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM, 286
5. Zach Osborne, USA, 249
6. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM 246
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| Young Herlings flying high in Latvia |
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| Musquin untouchable in first moto |
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| Shaun Simpson overall 10th |
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| Cairoli blasts
to victory in second moto to finish 2nd overall in
Latvia MX1 GP |
| Red Bull KTM factor rider and
championship leader Tony Cairoli may have been hemmed
in during the first MX1 moto at Kegums in the Latvian
GP on Sunday but he certainly made up for it in the
second. Cairoli rounded off his day with a 4-1 result
on the sandy track and overall second place in the GP. |
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The Italian maestro was a close second behind
hole-shotter and factory teammate Max Nagl going into the
first corner in the second moto but he snatched the lead
before completion of the first lap and never looked threatened
from that point onwards. When Tony whipped his 350 SX-F
through the finish line of the second moto he was 13.4 seconds
ahead of second placed Clement Desalle, who had won the first
moto and emerged as the GP winner. Cairoli continues to have
his hands on the red plate as championship leader and is 61
points ahead of his closes rival.
Tony Cairoli: I had problems in the first moto because
I lost a lot of time trying to get past Philippaerts and I
only managed fourth. So I wanted to win the second moto and to
show my speed and be aggressive right from the beginning. That
worked and I won and was second overall."
Tough guy Max
Nagl's brilliant holeshot in the second moto was another
positive sign for the German rider currently hampered by a
cracked collarbone and is only riding because surgeons have
been able to secure it with a titanium plate and screws. Just
one week after his crash, Nagl rode in the German GP and still
far from healed, tackled the Latvian GP today. He finished
with a 7-7 result for good championship points and is
currently fifth in the standings, just one point shy of fourth
place. Max, only able to ride with the help of pain killing
injections, is still in the running for a good place overall
and now only has to manage to pick up some more points in
Udevalla, Sweden next weekend then can rest and heal his
shoulder during the mid season break. On Sunday he drew
praise from KTM racing official Heinz Kinigadner who said
between the two motos: "If Max makes good points again
this weekend like he did in Germany, we are happy for him.
He's a REALLY tough guy!"
Nagl still on pain killing injections
Nagl however was not very satisfied with his racing as it was
not quite as good as last week in Germany. He said that the
injections for the pain were giving him stomach pains and
other side effects and he hopes to be able to just use regular
pain killing tablets next week in Sweden. "It was better
for me in the second heat," he said. "I got the
holeshot and I led the race for four laps but them I got tired
because I haven't been able to train. I hope to be able to
train once this week so my rhythm will be better next week. I
like Sweden and I won ther last year so I have good memories
of going there!"
Rui Goncalves, the third Red Bull KTM factory rider also had
his best result for the current season after missing the first
two GPs and working himself back into the competition after
major shoulder surgery. The Portuguese rider finished overall
tenth.
Rui Goncalves: It was my best race so far this season
after my injury. I had two good motos and managed to finish in
the top 10. This makes me happy and more motivated to keep
improving. I had consistent lap times in the second moto and
I'm getting better every week. Now I am looking forward to go
to Sweden.
The next race is in Udevalla, Sweden.
MX 1 Result
1 Clement Desalle, Belgium, Suzuki, 25-22—47
2. Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM, 18-25—43
3. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki20-20—40
4. Evgeny Bobryshev, Russia, Honda, 22-18—40
5. Xavier Boog, France, Kawasaki, 15-16—31
Other KTM
7. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 14-14—28
10. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 10-12--22
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| Cairoli in blistering form in second
moto |
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| Nagl still doing it tough with broken
collar bone |
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| Rui Goncalves consulting with team
boss Stefan Everts |
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