Steve Cox | July 2, 2018
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results: Less than three weeks after breaking his collarbone in a practice crash, and then having it surgically plated, Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings returned to action in Indonesia in an attempt to maintain control of what would be his first MX GP World Championship.
Herlings won the qualifying race on Saturday, then grabbed both holeshots during Sunday’s motos to maximize his odds of keeping his points lead.
Defending champ Antonio Cairoli started right behind Herlings in the first moto and bided his time until Herlings made a mistake. Cairoli pounced and then sped off with the moto victory over Herlings, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle, Honda’s Tim Gajser, and Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre.
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
Jeffrey Herlings (84) returned to action in Indonesia despite breaking his collarbone less than three weeks prior to the event, then went 2-1 to take the overall over Antonio Cairoli (222), who went 1-2 for second. The deciding factor in the second moto came when Herlings crashed out of the lead, only for Cairoli to return the favor just a few turns later and hand it back to Herlings. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY YOUTHSTREAM
Herlings again got the start at the beginning of the second moto while Gajser and Cairoli duked it out for second in the early stages. Cairoli eventually cleared himself of that battle and set out after Herlings, who had about a five-second lead in the closing minutes of the race when he went down in a corner. As he got up, Cairoli went by, only to fall himself a few turns later and hand the lead back to Herlings.
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
Former World Champ Romain Febvre went 5-3 for third overall. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY YOUTHSTREAM
Cairoli remounted with bent bars and a missing throttle grip and rode the last couple of laps to the finish, taking second behind Herlings and leaving the first of two Indonesian GPs with the same 12-point gap behind Herlings that he came into the event with.
Febvre’s 5-3 was good enough for third overall on the day.
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
Calvin Vlaanderen took his first MX2 GP win in Indonesia with a 3-1 score. It was also the first win for a South African since Tyla Rattray a decade ago. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY YOUTHSTREAM
In the MX2 class, it has become almost a tradition for American Thomas Covington, of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team, to win the opening MX2 moto of the day, and he did it again in Indonesia. Covington got the holeshot in the first moto and just sped off with the win, ending the race with a 13-second lead over defending champ and points leader Pauls Jonass (Red Bull KTM) and Honda’s Calvin Vlaanderen.
In moto two, though, Covington started outside the top 10 while Vlaanderen got his first holeshot of the season. Vlaanderen focused ahead and began to pull away as Jonass and Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado battled it out over second place. Prado eventually secured the spot while Jonass began to fade, eventually finishing seventh.
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
American Thomas Covington won the opening MX2 moto for the third race in a row, and for the third race in a row ended up second overall on the day. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY YOUTHSTREAM
In the final handful of laps, Prado fell victim to hard-charging Ben Watson, who came through to secure the second spot, while Prado hung on for third just a few seconds in front of Covington, who mounted a gutsy ride to recover from his poor start to finish fourth.
But in the end, it was still a moto-one win and then second overall for Covington for the third race in succession.
The series continues next weekend, still in Indonesia, for the MX GP of Asia.
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
2018 MX GP of Indonesia Results
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