Jeffrey Herlings continues to dominate the MXGP Championship. At Arnhem, in front of his home crowd, the Dutchman secured another hat-trick and extended his run to four consecutive GP’s won without dropping a single race, despite Kay de Wolf’s resistance in the Netherlands. Unbeaten since Foxhill, Herlings is no longer simply piling up victories: with more than 140 points in hand with three rounds remaining, the five-time World Champion is now closing in rapidly on his sixth world title.
“A very good Grand Prix this weekend. I would have liked Lucas to be here in full fitness so that we could measure ourselves against him. I think we would have had the tools to fight with him. Without wanting to disrespect third place, the gap was huge in both races. It was cool to battle with Kay. We’ve known each other for a long time, but when we’re racing, we give it everything. There’s a lot of respect between us, though. It got heated at times, but never went beyond the limit. He wanted to win, I wanted to win, and I know Kay is very good in the sand. Off the top of my head, I think this is my fourth consecutive GP win, I’ve been unbeaten since Foxhill. I’m very happy. Now it’s time to start thinking about the championship. There are three GPs left and I have over a 140-point lead. The title is getting seriously close.”
And this time, Jeffrey Herlings can no longer really pretend that he isn’t thinking about it, because the Dutchman has such a significant advantage over Romain Febvre that it has already virtually secured him the title. At this stage of the season, the Honda HRC factory rider knows that the objective is no longer simply to win, but to manage his advantage without taking unnecessary risks in order to claim the sixth World Championship of his career, which he could secure as early as the opening race in Afyonkarahisar.
“I’ve won 10 Grand Prix’s out of 16, if I’m not mistaken. And apart from my DNFs, I’ve never finished outside the top three on a Sunday. I’ve finished almost every race in first or second, so I’ve been very consistent. In Turkey, there will obviously be some pressure, even though nobody in the team has spoken about the title yet. But they also have a lot of experience; they simply focus on each race, one at a time. But now the situation is becoming very clear and we’re going to have to think about the championship. Normally, only an injury can stop us from winning the title. We’re going to have to be smart and limit the risks. But simply being alive is risky! We’ll manage things as intelligently as possible, all together.”
Could Jeffrey Herlings, on the eve of his 32nd birthday, be rediscovering something of the rider who dominated the championship in 2018? Back then, the Dutchman got the better of Antonio Cairoli and produced one of the most dominant seasons of his career, winning 33 of 40 races. Eight years later, Herlings believes he is seeing some similarities, even though the context and competition have changed significantly. And inevitably, Lucas Coenen’s absence leaves him with a feeling of unfinished business: the Dutchman would have liked to go head-to-head with the rider he considers to be one of the strongest competitors of this season.
“I’m still disappointed that Lucas got injured, because I feel like I now have the tools to fight with him. I’m not saying I would beat him every time, but I think I could at least do it. Honestly, I think I can now battle with him, no matter what the track is like. But I don’t know if he’ll compete in the next three Grand Prix’s. With the rumours that he might leave for the USA, it would be a shame if we couldn’t race against each other again in the near future, because at the beginning of the year, he was clearly the man to beat. I could beat him on certain occasions, but he always got slightly better starts than me.”
“In 2018, I also had more confidence in myself,” continued the Honda HRC factory rider. “But I think the competition wasn’t as strong as it is today. Back then, I was mainly fighting against Antonio Cairoli, who was already over 30 years old. Today, I’m up against an entire generation of young riders: Lucas Coenen, Kay de Wolf, Tom Vialle… but also World Champions like Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser. And at the moment, there are practically only Lucas and me who have won races. I think Tom has won one and Tim one or two, but all the others have been won by Lucas or me. So, if you take Lucas out of the equation, I would have won almost every race. So today, I’m getting a little bit of that 2018 feeling back. At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t at this level yet, but now I feel like I’m getting closer to it, even though I’m almost ten years older.”
At almost 32 years of age, Jeffrey Herlings has very little left to prove. And yet, the five-time World Champion still doesn’t appear satisfied. Money is no longer the driving force, his record speaks for itself, but the desire to win is still very much there. A motivation that could even push him to extend his relationship with Honda — until 2030, according to what we are hearing!
“I was driving the other day and I said to my girlfriend that it was strange, because I’m still just as passionate about what I do. Of course, I like money, I’m not going to lie. But today, I don’t ride for the money anymore. I could stop tomorrow and live a very good life. And despite that, I still make all the necessary sacrifices because I still want to be at the top. I have nothing left to prove. I’ve won the most races, the most GP’s. Without the injuries, I probably would have won the most championships as well. That’s not the case, but everyone knows that I’ve often led the championship with a big advantage and the title has slipped away from me. I have nothing left to prove, but I still wake up every morning with that same desire: to be the best I can possibly be. Right now, we’re already considering extending my contract with Honda and in negotiations. I’m like an old bulldog who doesn’t want to give up.”
And when it comes to defending the colours of the Netherlands at the Motocross of Nations, Jeffrey Herlings apparently already has an idea of his ideal line-up. If he had the keys to the selection, the five-time World Champion would team up with Kay de Wolf and Glenn Coldenhoff, even playing around with the classes in order, in his view, to field the strongest possible combination. On paper, such a team would obviously have the potential to fight for an excellent result at Ernée, although the name of Roan van de Moosdijk has also been circulating in selection discussions in recent days…
“If I were the team manager, I would select Kay and myself in MXGP or Open, regardless of how the classes were divided. Then I would put Glenn Coldenhoff on an official Yamaha 250. But I’m not the team manager. In terms of results? It’s difficult to say. It’s always a gamble. Will it rain? What’s going to happen? But I genuinely think that if Kay and I stay at this level and the MX2 rider brings home a good result, we can fight for a possible victory. Would it be easy? No. But it would be possible. I think we can win.”
Jeffrey Herlings knows, however, that the competition will be particularly strong at Ernée, especially against France, Belgium, Spain and potentially the United States if they send their strongest riders.
“Spain will be very strong if Prado comes. France will also be very strong, and everything will depend on which team the Americans send. But I genuinely think we can aim for the podium. I hope they listen to me [laughs]. But on the other hand, I’m glad I don’t have to make the choice. Because if I make the decision and Glenn has a bad race, then I’m the bad guy in the story. So thankfully, I’m not the one who has to make that decision. But if I had to choose the team, I would take Kay, Glenn and myself.”
