Cycle News Staff | November 2, 2021
The pressure is on in the MXGP Championship as the season winds down with only two rounds remaining after a tripleheader at the Trentino Circuit in Italy, October 27 (Wednesday), and October 31 (Saturday). This week’s doubleheader saw one championship decided as the other was blown wide open.
Photo by Bavo Swijgers
Photos by Ray Archer and Bavo Swijgers
Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) entered the week with the red plate, sitting 24 clear of Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) and 2020 World Champion Tim Gajser (Honda), but his championship run was severely jeopardized when he went down in the first turn of the first moto, resulting in a mechanical issue and a costly DNF.
Up at the front it was the two other title favorites, Febvre and Gajser, duking it out for the race win. Febvre came out victorious and took the maximum points payout. Gajser and Antonio Cairoli (KTM) rounded out the race-one podium.
Race two was all about Cairoli as the veteran led wire to wire and took the overall win, the 94th of his career. Drama unfolded behind him, however, as Herlings moved up to fourth place but fell late in the race. He dropped back to fifth, as Gajser got around the Dutchman. The trio of Gajser, Herlings and Febvre eventually worked their way past Glenn Coldenhoff (Yamaha) but did not have the pace to catch Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) and Cairoli at the front.
Cairoli celebrates his 94th Grand Prix win and fifth success at Pietramurata. Photo by Ray Archer
“Coming here I was hoping for a good bounce-back after some tough races, but I got sick on Saturday night and Sunday was difficult,” said Cairoli. “I did everything I could to be on the podium. In the first moto I was very happy with my riding and in the second I had a holeshot and could mostly control the race. I was getting a bit tired but with my experience I could save some energy in parts of the track and could keep Jeremy behind me.”
Herlings’ DNF-4 finishes resulted in 11th on the day, while his rivals Gajser and Febvre earned second and third, respectively. By the day’s end, the top three in the MXGP classification remained the same but were now separated by a mere three points.
A few days later, in race one, Seewer snagged the holeshot with all three of the title favorites following closely inside the top five. Seewer took a controlling lead and held the top spot despite crashing on his own. Febvre and Gajser duked it out as they moved through the pack.
Herlings also charged from the back, passing his KTM teammate Jorge Prado and later got Gajser for third.
Febvre crashed spectacularly on the final lap but still managed to secure second place.
Seewer took the checkers with Febvre, Herlings and Gajser rounding out the top four.
Jeremy Seewer dominated the opening race and finished second in race two for his first Grand Prix victory of 2021 – and second of his career inside the premier class. Photo by Bavo Swijgers
The points were still tight going into race two. Prado crossed the holeshot line first ahead of Cairoli and Gajser. Herlings started in sixth while Febvre was way down in 13th.
Gajser quickly made a two-for-one pass around Cairoli and Prado for the lead. An urgent Herlings was making moves as he also got around both KTM teammates for second. He worked his way just behind Gajser but ejected himself off the bike shortly after the finish line. He remounted in seventh place.
A seventh race win for Tim Gajser moved the Team HRC rider to within one point of the championship-leading red-plate at the MXGP of Garda. Photo by Bavo Swijgers
Seewer and Febvre locked into a battle as they pushed up to second and third, respectively. Herlings was back on a charge and made his way back around the KTM’s of Cairoli and Prado. Shortly after, he flat-landed a jump and crashed yet again. This huge mistake put him all the way back in 10th place. Herlings again got up and went on to finish fourth, passing Cairoli, who moved over for his teammate, in the final corner on the last lap.
At the front it was all Gajser who took the race win ahead of Seewer and Febvre. Seewer’s 2-1 earned him the overall for the day over Gajser in second and Febvre third. Despite a slew of mistakes and handing the points lead over to Romain Febvre, Herlings eventually finished fourth overall. Febvre now leads the series just one point over Gajser and two over Herlings with only two rounds remaining.
There was plenty of drama at rounds two and three of the MXGP of Trentino tripleheader. When it was all over, Romain Febvre emerged as the new championship leader. However, just three points separate the top-three riders with two rounds to go. Photo by Ray Archer
Crashes have knocked Jeffrey Herlings out of the MXGP points lead, but he’s only three points back. Photo by Ray Archer
MX2
Yamaha’s Maxime Renaux clinched the MX2 Championship on Sunday after establishing a large points lead early in the season. He managed it well from then on out and was presented the number-one pate on Sunday.
Frenchman Maxime Renaux clinched the MX2 Championship. Photo by Ray Archer
Renaux’ teammate, Jago Geerts, the closest rider to him in the championship going into the MXGP of Trentino tripleheader, effectively handed Renaux the title on Sunday after falling in moto one and DNF’ing moto two.
“We made it! We are the World Champions in 2021 in MX2, so that is a great achievement,” said Renaux. “I am so happy to get the world title with a race win and the GP win, which means a lot to me. It’s always something you want to grab with a win. It was an amazing day for me. I will never forget this, for sure!”
Geerts, who has struggled with consistency all season, slipped to third in the championship and now trails Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle by 16 points. CN
VIDEO | 2021 FIM MXGP of Garda Highlights
WEDNESDAY
MXGP of Pietramurata
- Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 3-1
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 2-3
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 1-5
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 4-2
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Yam) 7-6
MX2
- Rene Hofer (KTM) 4-1
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 2-6
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 3-5
- Mattia Guadagnini (KTM) 11-2
- Maxime Renaux (Yam) 7-4
SUNDAY
MXGP of Garda
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 1-2
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 4-1
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-3
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 3-4
- Tony Cairoli (KTM) 5-5
MX2
- Maxime Renaux (Yam) 2-1
- Tom Vialle (KTM) 4-2
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 3-3
- Rene Hofer (KTM) 1-8
- Wilson Todd (Kaw) 7-4
Click here for all the latest MXGP news.
