Steve Cox | March 18, 2018
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results: Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings headed to round two of the 2018 MXGP World Championships with the red plate for the first time in his MXGP career, having traded moto wins in Argentina with teammate Antonio Cairoli. Since Herlings won the overall at the opener, he got the red plate at round two.
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
Jeffrey Herlings has now chased his teammate Antonio Cairoli down three motos in a row, and he leads the MXGP title chase for the first time in his career. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF YOUTHSTREAM
In the first moto, Cairoli got the holeshot and led early, but Herlings chased him down by the halfway point to make the pass and take the moto win while Cairoli hung on for a distant second. Following Cairoli home was Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek, Husqvarna’s Max Anstie, and KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff, Van Horebeek’s teammate Romain Febvre, Anstie’s teammate Gautier Paulin, Honda’s Tim Gajser, and Yamaha’s 450cc rookie Jeremy Seewer.
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
Antonio Cairoli has led every moto this year, but only won one of them so far – and it was the first one. He’s got his work cut out for him with teammate Jeffrey Herlings. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF YOUTHSTREAM
In the second moto, Cairoli again got out front and controlled the race from the front, but for the third moto in a row – starting with the second moto in Argentina – Herlings chased Cairoli down and passed him in the closing laps, taking the moto win. Cairoli fought to stay close, but still finished a few seconds behind, just in front of Paulin, whose 7-3 was good enough for third overall.
While Herlings came into Valkenswaard with his first-ever MXGP red plate, he left with his first-ever MXGP-class points lead, with six points in-hand over Cairoli with 17 rounds left to run.
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
Pauls Jonass is putting up a strong defense of his first-ever world championship. He’s won all four motos so far in 2018. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF YOUTHSTREAM
In the MX2 class, defending champ Pauls Jonass (Red Bull KTM) continued his dominant run at Valkenswaard, leading every lap of both motos to take his third and fourth moto victories in a row. It’s a perfect season so far for Jonass.
Behind him in both motos came young Spanish sand specialist Jorge Prado (Jonass’s teammate) and Denmark’s Husqvarna pilot Thomas Kjer Olsen.
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
Sand specialist Jorge Prado put in a strong showing at Valkenswaard with a 2-2 score for second overall. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF YOUTHSTREAM
KTM-mounted Conrad Mewse, from the UK, went 5-4 for fourth overall, just in front of Husqvarna’s American pilot Thomas Covington, whose 7-5 gave him fifth overall. Just behind Covington came Australian Hunter Lawrence, whose 6-6 score gave him sixth on the day in what is scheduled to be his final season of racing the GPs before he heads Stateside for the GEICO Honda team in 2019.
After only two rounds of action, Jonass already has an 18-point lead over Olsen in the MX2 title chase, with Lawrence 15 points farther behind in third.
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
2018 Valkenswaard MXGP Results
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