Jeffrey Herlings (KTM): He won and is still the champion! / Motocross

Red Bull KTM rider Jeffrey Herlings had an eventful day at the Dutch Masters in Markelo and narrowly won the Dutch championship title.

Jeffrey Herlings secured the title at the third and final stop of the Dutch MX Masters championship. However, the exceptional talent had to fight hard in wet and cold conditions in Markelo near Enschede. “Bullet” had to dig the field from the very back in the first round.

While his main rival Romain Febvre (32) left the factory Kawasaki early, Herlings was involved in a collision immediately after the first hairpin bend. He had touched the rear wheel of an opponent, was thrown out and knocked down by some riders.

“The crash at the start of the first race made it a difficult day for me,” said the 29-year-old Herlings. “I was captured by a few people.” Jeffrey continued to hunt, fought his way through the field and eventually came home third behind Febvre and Calvin Vlaanderen on the factory Yamaha, over a minute behind.

In the second race, Febvre had to catch from behind. Herlings was able to win the race, finishing almost five seconds ahead of Febvre and thus coming second in the daily standings behind the Frenchman.

In the MX2 class, Yamaha aces Rick Elzinga and Thibault Benistant shared the race victory. Cas Valk finished 2nd and 3rd; Elzinga took the MX2 title.

The Motocross World Championships will continue on May 5 in Agueda, Portugal.