Just the perfect day?
Practice, qualifying, races—finishing first every time I was on track is amazing, and I’m super happy with everything I did! Bringing points home for the championship is very important, so this is a great result for the team as a whole also. I just found my flow every time I was on the bike, and I’m feeling really fit—hopefully we can just keep this momentum up for the next race. I also want to say a huge thankyou to all the fans for their support this weekend, it really has been incredible! I love this sport!

You are riding at home, and you have the commitments, but you also have the fans that give you that extra push when you are riding. I know you wanted to win last year, but this year, you really did it.
Yes, last year, I was in a good note, but I didn’t manage to get the win, but this year, we did, and I am feeling way better. Way looser and fitter and in a good moment now and hopefully we can keep this going to the next races. As you said, racing with the fans, it is a big plus. That second moto, Tim [Gajser] was a bit closer to me and the fans were really cheering, and I could feel it and especially those last three laps, they were on it. So, I don’t know, I don’t have the words to explain it, because it is just pride, you feel proud what you do, and the fans really love supporting you. This is something I need to remember for the rest of my life. It is very good moments.

Last year, they said you won the title, but it was because you were really fast in the qualification race and in the first moto and the second moto, was a little bit a struggle. It looks like something has changed.
Well, I don’t think the second moto was a struggle, I won the second moto in Lommel, so I don’t think it was, but it is difficult to win qualifier, first moto and second moto and that is what I did this weekend. I think it is just I am better this year and that is what we trained for, to be better physically and get the bike better on the tracks, so, no, we did a good step coming into the season. [To finish] 1-1-1 is perfect and like my number in America.

Your preseason was different, not much riding on the motocross tracks, but riding supercross, it is almost like you are riding better than ever. Did you expect this supercross journey to have this effect on your motocross season?
Yes, this off-season has been completely different, I have been riding only supercross until February and I only had three solid weeks of motocross and we had to test some stuff in this time, but to be honest, I expect to be at this level. I think supercross helped me in some stuff and it’s nice to do different disciplines and I even had to ride a different bike, so at the end of the day, you become a better rider. I think it helped me and I feel good, and I am happy until now with the base set-up and from here we can still improve. 

Jeffrey Herlings | 3-4 for 4th overall

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings might not have made the podium yet in the opening two rounds of the 2024 MXGP championship, but don’t be surprised if the Dutchman kicks into life in Sardinia in two weeks’ time and puts some pressure on the current man of the hour, Jorge Prado.

Herlings finished fourth overall last weekend and while his confidence might not be at an all-time high, he will go back to Holland, keep working hard and find a way to pick up his 104th Grand Prix win. Showing respect to series leader Prado, you just know that things will turn around, even at this late stage of his career. We spoke to him after his weekend in Spain.

MXlarge: You started your preparation later, due to some operations in the winter. We have seen in the last two or three years that you really take some time to warm up in the season and once you are getting closer to 100 percent, you start to win. But this year, Jorge looks very good and I wonder how you feel about the current situation?
Jeffrey Herlings: Well, this weekend, I have a reason. In Argentina, I was fit, okay, I didn’t race much, but I was much better. This weekend I was closer, and I know I am a diesel, and it takes me a while to get into it. It is also a long championship, so I am happy that way. Right now, though, I was far off Prado’s pace, like a second off his laps. I mean, our bike can be improved, but Prado is winning on the same bike I am on, so. Maybe he has a different engine spec, but he shows he is capable of winning on the same bike.

You look a bit thinner, are you trying to keep your weight down, because you are a big guy and much heavier than your opposition?
No, I have been on the shitter all weekend. I must have eaten something on Friday that wasn’t good, because I can’t keep anything down. I have felt sick all weekend and while I didn’t feel too bad on Saturday, I had nothing left in that second moto on Sunday. Whatever I ate went through the back door. Weight wise, I am fine.

You had some moments in the start there?
I mean, I was lining up next to Prado and he moved over, but I knew it would be like that. I would have done the same as him to get a better position going into the first turn. It is part of the game and if I had the balls, I could have lined up further on the outside, but I wanted to play it a bit safe. It is what it is.

Obviously confidence is a major part of any sport and with Jorge riding like he is riding, is that something you need to work on, your confidence? You have always been somebody who needs to build your confidence and then once you have it, you win a lot. Do you need to work on that?
It is true. I haven’t won a moto since I got hurt. It has only been six motos and I did get a podium finish in one of the six motos. Sardinia is a track that should suit me better, deep sand, but Prado also lives in Lommel, and he is good in sand, [Romain] Febvre lives in Belgium and is good in sand, so I don’t have the same advantage I had before, but I would be very disappointed if I am not on the podium in Sardinia.

It is clear the advantage Jorge has from racing in the off-season and maybe he is closer to 100 percent than anyone else. Maybe at some point in the season that might show in his results, but for now, he is really, really fast.
Yes, he hasn’t stopped racing. It is hard to say, but he has brought intensity from America, in those first laps and also today, like if you could see in the motos, he would sprint away. When I look back at when he raced in America and how he looks here, it looks like a different Prado, because here, he looks so strong. Physically fit, but in the supercross, he slowed at the end of the races. I think somebody like Jett, when you saw the supercross, Jett just smoked him, it is a different discipline, but I think if Jett was racing here today, he has to have a good day to beat Jorge. I am not saying he would beat Jett, because at the moment, I think that Jett is the fastest guy, but Jorge is very fast at the moment.

It was like watching Jett racing today, Jorge did exactly what Jett has been doing, getting a quick gap and just holding that gap easily, not pushing too hard.
Yes, I mean, last year a lot of guys got hurt in AMA Motocross, [Eli] Tomac didn’t race, [Chase] Sexton did the second part, but a lot of guys didn’t’ race and for Jett, it was a walk in the park, but today, Jorge did a copy-paste of Jett. Holeshot, check out at the start, get a five, six, seven second lead and just maintain that for the whole moto.