Harry Norton was a happy man after the Belgian MXGP, seeing Jeffrey Herlings back to his absolute best which is scary for the opposition. Herlings in that form is nearly unbeatable when he can stay out of trouble. 1-1 in Lommel and the championship points gap is down to 38 with six rounds to go.
We caught up with the KTM team manager to discuss Herlings and more when you can read, watch or listen to below…
GateDrop: In terms of the MXGP class, the weekend, it wasn’t all easy going. He made it a little bit of hard work for himself, but in the end, it couldn’t have went any better. Today, anyway, with the 1-1, you must be absolutely buzzing…
Norton: Yeah, for sure. You know, I think, you know, first moto with the lapper, that was a bit unfortunate and definitely made his life a bit difficult, but we also got to see a bit of that Jeffrey Herlings that we haven’t seen for a long time, so pretty…
GateDrop: Well, since last week (laughs)…
Norton: Yeah, yeah, honestly, you know, since the first race in Indonesia, it’s been pretty impressive. You know, we had a tip-over in the first race in Indonesia that cost us the 1-1, and then the next race was really positive. Loket again, you know, small incidents, small, you know, stuff almost out of his control, took him out, but yeah, super nice to see him back and feeling and looking like the old Jeffrey.
On MX2, I feel like the guys rode well. Sacha just unfortunately had a few tip-overs. I feel like Liam didn’t get the best start. I think he maybe…
GateDrop: I mean, everyone was crashing in MX2, it was pretty chaotic out there…
Norton: MX2 was wild. But it wasn’t the speed, no worries there with the speed. Yeah, definitely, you know, I think both guys, Sacha first, the sprint speed from that guy is unbelievable. I’m not sure there’s anyone else in MX2 that can do what he can do in the first laps. I think Liam is getting closer to that point where he want to be, that he know he can be, that he has been, you know. So, yeah, overall, it’s always good to leave Lommel with everyone healthy. Of course, Andrea wasn’t ready to race after Loket but we should see him back in Sweden.
GateDrop: And just on Sacha, like you said, he’s really, really fast, but I feel like he’s only got the win in his head all the time… You know, he’s just going out to win every single moto. I think maybe he needs to calm down a little bit and take a second or a third, if that’s on the table…
Norton: I think, you know, with any of these young racers, they have so much desire. Sacha has more heart than anyone that I have had. I’m not sure if there is someone with more desire, you know. I think with time and with more race craft and more age and stuff, you know, we’re going to see, you know… we’ve already seen his potential, this is clear. You know the skill that he has, the speed that he has. So, I think the next weeks and everything, get that train rolling again like before Indonesia and we’re going to be in a good place.
GateDrop: Just on MXGP and Jeffrey, are you thinking about the title? Is it on your mind? I think it could be doable… You know, he’s got it less than 40 points now…
Norton: You know, the goal is always the same, it’s to win. We need to maximise every single race we can, every single point that we can, and see where we end up at the end of the year. You know, the goal is always the MXGP title.
GateDrop: Just on Jeffrey, obviously injuries haven’t been kind to him in the past, but one positive is, so far this year, he’s made every GP. So, fingers crossed, even if he doesn’t win the title, fingers crossed he can stay healthy between now and the end of the Nations, and at least he can tick that off the list…
Norton: No, for sure, he’s been really impressive with the maturity and the way he’s gone about the season, you know, building it and, you know, not taking risks. I think we’re seeing a Jeffrey Herlings, that maybe he tried to do a year ago, but wasn’t… I don’t know, it just feels different this year. He’s done a really, really good job of managing that and keeping, pushing when he’s comfortable and not pushing and really managing things in a really good way. So, it’s super nice to see him doing this.
GateDrop: Just when he does flick the switch on and find that madness of speed, I mean, have you ever seen anything like that, ever? I mean, especially in those conditions…
Norton: I was watching Jeffrey in the 250cc days on the TV, not live in person. So, you know, it’s the first time like today, I think. I don’t know which was more impressive, Loket or this one, but that was pretty special for me.
GateDrop: De Carli have just announced that they’re going to be KTM next year, so there’s going to be two factory KTM teams. Good news for KTM?
Norton: Yeah, really, 100%. It’s a little bit like going back to the future. You know, that was how this organisation, this structure was for many years, and I think it’s going to be a really positive change for us.
GateDrop: Just on your side of the team, do you know how many riders you’re going to have next year yet, and who, which riders?
Norton: No, everything’s getting decided at the moment, and for sure the news will come out really soon.
