Jeffrey Herlings to Make Tentative Return at MXGP of Sweden

KTM announced that Jeffrey Herlings will should make a return weekend at the MXGP of Sweden, round 16 (of 18) of the championship. After entering the championship late due to a broken foot suffered during training in January, Herlings made his season-debut at round seven, the MXGP of Russia, where he finished 4-7 for fourth overall. The next weekend in Latvia, the defending MXGP World Champion crashed during the sighting lap and before he got up, his ankle was clipped by a competitor. He went on to win the first moto but was unable to lineup for the second race of the day. 

This weekend, Herlings returns to the championship at the MXGP of Sweden, but there are no expectations for his performance. This is a test both of his fitness and readiness to race, according to the team. He will also use the weekend to “accumulate valuable race mileage.”

“Here we go again! I’ve been riding for a couple of weeks now and feel ready to try Uddevalla," Herlings said. "As I’ve said, 2019 is only really about the Motocross of Nations for me at Assen next month and by trying the motos in Sweden we are making another step towards that goal. There is no target for this weekend other than to finish the races and find some good feeling on the bike.” 

“It’s good to have Jeffrey riding and racing again but we have no expectations for this weekend," said Dirk Gruebel, team technical co-ordinator and MX2 team manager. "He is still on the way back and has chosen to use Sweden as a good opportunity to make some starts and build his speed against top level opposition. As a team we’ll be ready to give him whatever he needs to be able to race but we know this is just another step towards a full recovery and hopefully a chance to go into post-season testing with a good condition.”

Holland announced its Motocross of Nations team for Assen earlier this week.