Jeffrey Herlings doesn’t like to lose but even the Bullet had to concede that Lucas Coenen was the better man at Riola. The incredibly fast duo were nearly a minute ahead of the rest in moto two and that included Lucas having a crash over ten seconds ahead of Herlings late in the moto, when it looked like he had finally forced the Dutch legend to concede.
In fact, Herlings was so impressed with Coenen’s speed he doesn’t think even Jett Lawrence could have beaten him in the sand at Riola!
Herlings said: “I felt like I was the best of the rest again, but I felt like I came pretty much close to second moto, I was like in six seconds when he tipped it over, and I had another great start, the last one, and then he tipped over and I was in his rear wheel, and we were fighting until the last turn, so we finished very, very close, but mainly, I just need to be honest, he was better on the weekend, but fair play to him, I felt like I came closer, and yeah, we just keep going, keep charging, and try doing our best.
“I mean, he’s the guy that really got the pressure, and I feel like, yeah he’s at a level right now that, even though I may be Jett Lawrence’s biggest fan, I don’t even think Jett Lawrence would have stayed with the boy next to me today! Even though I’m a massive fan, I think currently he’s one of the fastest in the world, so I don’t feel ashamed, I mean, our competition, I think, is very, very strong here at MXGP. The top 10 are all top, top riders and top teams with great bikes and great facilities, so it’s not a shame to be second, but yeah, second is the first loser.”
“The second moto I was fighting and I felt like I’m coming closer, so it’s a good mental boost also. And yeah, the second moto was pushing as hard as I could. I felt like even though when the race was done, I was like, damn, are we already done? Because I felt like I could have gone still for 10 more minutes. And so physically, I’m all right. I just need to find a bit more speed.”
