Race Report: MXGP of The Netherlands

Indeed Herlings is more “number than man” at the moment; it is the rest of the battered MX2 field that are the prisoners to his capabilities as records loom on the horizon. The nineteen-year-old will be a KTM rider in 2015 and admitted that a deadline has not been set on his decision over MXGP (350 or 450) or another year of MX2 for next season. In Holland the sideshow was provided by Husqvarna’s Romain Febvre, Herlings’ teammate Jordi Tixier (excellent to mug his countryman on the last lap of Moto1 but crashed twice in Moto2) and the CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki duo of Arnaud Tonus and Dylan Ferrandis. Tonus was careless in the first moto but strong again in the second. Febvre took the Husky crew’s second podium since their Pierer Group chapter began, but his last lap demotion by first Tixier and then Tonus in both sprints took a little of the champagne’s sweet taste away.

Valkenswaard was bright and receptive on Sunday. Last year the paddock shivered in temperatures just above freezing but this time had an edge-of-summer climate and the track weathered the hefty presence of Women’s, EMX125 and EMX150 classes as the support show. The best crowd attendance of the season entered the facility as the northern Europeans lapped up the sunshine.

The fans almost tasted that unpredictability of motocross with the MXGP class. Cairoli was leading and coasting early in the first moto when a heavy landing broke the first of four spokes and eventually the bearings of his front wheel. He managed to stay ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Gautier Paulin and the ever-consistent Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek in a combination of brilliance (popping the front wheel up in the sand whenever possible) and risk that had his team leaning out of the pit lane and issuing calming gestures for what seemed like most of the moto. In the final three laps the wheel disintegrated further and while Paulin saw the sporting gods issue some payback for his harsh mechanical DNF in Italy, Cairoli himself was lucky to reach the finish line in third place.

Wheel changed for Moto2 and there was no stopping the Sicilian who has repeatedly showed his aptitude in the sand, as those who watched the 2012 Motocross of Nations at Lommel will recall. Devastatingly Paulin’s race and possible title dream was ruined on the first lap after a kicker while railing an outside berm of a 180 corner sent the Frenchman tumbling. A broken right collarbone and left thumb were the results shown in the X-Rays and no estimation yet of how long the rider who was second in the MXGP standings will be joining fellow works racers Max Nagl (four GPs) and Todd Waters (2-3 months) on the sidelines. Rockstar Suzuki duo Kevin Strijbos and Clement Desalle both fussed over the set-up of their RM-Z450s through the Grand Prix and squabbled over the final podium spot with Van Horebeek easing his way to a fifth trophy on the bounce as runner-up. The Yamaha man is defusing pressure and clamour over his impressive form by stating a top three final championship ranking is his ultimate goal—instead of defeating Cairoli which remains or remained the remit of Desalle and Paulin.

The spectators were enthused to see old favourite Marc de Reuver rolling back the years with a top ten finish in the first moto and credit to Joel Roelants with a career-best fifth position after a torrid eighteen months of injury and insecurity. The Belgian, faced without a contract for just his second season in MXGP for 2014, formed his own team—J-Race—with the help of Honda Motor Europe and can hopefully use this positive showing to build into a more encouraging campaign. Also looking to construct will be Red Bull KTM’s Ken De Dycker and CLS’ Tommy Searle, both swelling the depleted MXGP ranks somewhat with their respective returns from wrist injuries. Valkenswaard did appear a step too soon for both however as Searle would not compete on Sunday and De Dycker circulated at the back of the field, clearly off the pace.

Thomas Covington negotiated his first Grand Prix in the sand and tried his best to 18th overall. The result came as a consequence of chucking himself down the track in the first moto because his performance in the second—after a few bike tweaks—was much improved and saw the teenager inside the top ten. It was his brightest outing since that emphatic race in Losail and since joining the GP trail full-time. It hinted that there is much more to come.

“The sand is definitely something special over here and unlike anything I’ve ever ridden before but I think by the end of the weekend I was starting to get a feel for it,” he said. “I had a big crash on the sixth lap of the first moto and did a front flip over the bars. In the second I re-grouped and had a better start. I was in the top ten for most of the moto but got a bit worn out by how rough the track was and slid back to eleventh.”

“It gets rough so quickly; after three laps you get huge bumps and ruts,” he added. “It is definitely something I need to get used to so I will be putting in the laps in Holland.”

Something new for round seven. Talavera de la Reina lies southwest of Madrid and has not seen Grand Prix action since the 250cc event in 2000 (won by Gordon Crockard). This means that not a single current MXGP or MX2 racer has thrashed the Spanish hills in anger. Perhaps a surprise will be in store … or the KTM double act could roll into their fifth sweep of the classes in seven.