Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings swept the opener in Qatar winning both motos in impressive fashion.
By Hayden Gregory
The 21 year old made a fantastic start to 2016 leading Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis and Red Bull teammate Paul Jonass. The trio finished 1-2-3 in both motos showing too much class for their fellow competitors.
It was a positive return for second placed Ferandis who has been struck by injury the past two seasons.
“I was not really expecting such good results, even if I have the speed, as we didn’t do so much testing before this GP,” Ferrandis said. “Last week I raced an international in France and struggled with the bike, but everyone in the team spent many hours on the bike before coming here and it was great for everyone to get this podium!”
“We worked on the settings of the bike through the weekend and we saw the results. The track was dangerous on some sections and I had armpump in the first race and finished second. In the second race I got the holeshot but Jeffrey passed me; he took some risks but I didn’t want to make any mistake. I go back home this week to do some more testing with the suspension, and to prepare for the next round in Thailand.”
Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer landed fourth place overall despite illness rocking the rider in the lead up to the race.
“A really good feeling actually because yesterday I was sitting in my chair without any motivation, Seewer said. My body was quite weak and I was bunged-up,” Seewer explained. “I rode quite well to fourth and then luckily felt much better today.
“I made a really good first moto and could lead some laps but needed to save some energy to make it through the whole day. The second moto was a similar story: I was pushing for third until a small mistake, came back to fourth and then decided to take a risk and go for the podium. I preferred to try instead of ‘following’… but another mistake came! Overall I’m happy with fourth. My speed is there and the speed from the bike is really good.”
The second round of the MX2 World Championship will take place in Thailand on March 6.
MX2 Moto1:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:36.485
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:02.127
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:36.086
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki MX2), +0:39.609
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:45.698
6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:46.475
7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:54.016
8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:00.550
9. Jens Getteman (BEL, KTM), +1:08.121
10. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:12.918
11. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:19.051
12. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +1:21.324
13. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:24.675
14. Ben Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:25.985
15. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +1:56.695
16. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s)
17. Damon Graulus (BEL, Honda), -1 lap(s)
18. Freek van der Vlist (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
19. Maykal Grisha Ivanov (BUL, KTM), -1 lap(s)
20. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Honda), -1 lap(s)
21. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), -6 lap(s)
22. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), -7 lap(s)
23. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), -11 lap(s).
MX2 Moto2:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:39.257
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.253
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:33.722
4. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:35.284
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki MX2), +0:36.687
6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:38.114
7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:39.889
8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:51.246
9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:52.150
10. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:07.939
11. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Honda), +1:19.466
12. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:22.199
13. Damon Graulus (BEL, Honda), +1:24.406
14. Ben Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:25.592
15. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:40.219
16. Jens Getteman (BEL, KTM), +1:44.040
17. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +1:47.376
18. Henry Jacobi (GER, Honda), +1:47.893
19. Freek van der Vlist (NED, Kawasaki), +1:50.551
20. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s)
21. Maykal Grisha Ivanov (BUL, KTM), -16 lap(s)
22. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), -18 lap(s).
MX2 Overall Result & Championship Standings:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 44 p.
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 40 p.
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki MX2), 34 p.
5. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 31 p.
6. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 30 p.
7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 30 p.
8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 25 p.
9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 17 p.
10. Jens Getteman (BEL, KTM), 17 p.
11. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 16 p.
12. Ben Watson (GBR, HUS), 14 p.
13. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 13 p.
14. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 13 p.
15. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 12 p.
16. Damon Graulus (BEL, HON), 12 p.
17. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, HON), 11 p.
18. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 11 p.
19. Henry Jacobi (GER, HON), 9 p.
20. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 6 p.
21. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KAW), 5 p.
22. Maykal Grisha Ivanov (BUL, KTM), 2 p.
23. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 0 p.
