Jeffrey Herlings rallied late in moto two to run down Romain Febvre for the win in the race to take second overall after tough first moto that saw a bad start and a sixth place finish – but it was still enough to take second overall on a tie-break with Tim Gajser who went 1-6!
Herlings banzais past Febvre on the final lap! What a pass as the Bullet crushes the French fans in moto 2. pic.twitter.com/1Oqp9xaAP8
— Denny Stephenson 2 (@dbo360x) May 19, 2024
Gajser won the first moto in style and held off a charging Prado at the end but crashed in the mud in race two while chasing Herlings for second to then salvage sixth – and get the red plate back by four points over Jorge Prado who went 2-7 on the day!
Herlings said: “It was a tough one, luckily made it happen at the end. I feel like I am in the corner of the boxing ring and been counted to 8 already a couple of times but I keep pulling along and keep coming back! It is not over to it’s over. Yeah, I need to work on some things a bit but second overall is good. I have got the speed, I have got the fitness but still need to make everything click together but for now it’s okay, looking forward to the next round in Germany in two weeks time.”
Gajser said: “The first race was pretty nice with the sun, the track conditions were almost perfect. For the second one the storm came before our race and the start was crucial. I was not too bad, i was third and pushing for Jeffrey, I wanted to pass him but quite early in the race I ran out of tear-offs and roll-offs, I knew I had to pass, then I got cross-rutted and had a big crash down the hill. My gloves were wet and it was not easy to ride at the end, I didn’t know if I should stop and get fresh gloves and fresh goggles but then i stayed out there and finished sixth. I am happy the red plate is back on our bike and looking forward to Germany.”
UPDATE: Gajser actually ended up with the overall win after Seewer and Horgmo got docked two positions in the second moto.
