Arnhem: Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) wins qualifying race in commanding fashion

MXGP qualifying race for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. The day on the sandy track at Arnhem began with yet another setback for Lucas Coenen.

Lucas Coenen’s crash

Returnee Lucas Coenen finished the free practice session in 4th place. But on his very first fast lap of the qualifying session, he suffered another setback: he apparently went into neutral, suddenly lost traction and was thrown violently over the handlebars. He was forced to abandon the session. This brought his planned World Championship comeback to a dramatic end.

Jeffrey Herlings started from pole

World Championship leader Jeffrey Herlings clocked the fastest lap in qualifying, securing pole position for the qualifying race. Tim Gajser (Yamaha) followed in second place, six-tenths of a second behind, whilst Husqvarna works rider Kay de Wolf was already 1.7 seconds adrift in third.

Arnhem MXGP Qualifying

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 1:40.703

2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, +0.597

3. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, +1.666

4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NL), Yamaha, +1.939

5. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, +2.571

6. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, +3.068

Andrea Adam: Holeshot on his birthday

Red Bull KTM factory rider Andrea Adamo, who celebrated his 23rd birthday today, took the holeshot. But as early as the first lap, Herlings overtook the Sicilian and took the lead. Adamo initially tried to stay on his tail, but had to let the Dutchman pull away. “I got cramp in my arms,” explained the birthday boy. “After that, I led a group of five or six riders who put me under quite a bit of pressure.”

Topic of the week

Topic of the week: Aprilia comeback? The truth is: Aprilia never went away!

Four weeks ago, Aprilia headed into the summer break from Germany with a badly injured Marco Bezzecchi. The response came from the heart of British motor racing: ‘Together we are strong!’

Thomas Kuttruf

Read more

Kay de Wolf’s crash at the start

Several riders went down in the first corner. Kay de Wolf collided with Pauls Jonass (Kawasaki) and had to start a chase from the back of the field. The Dutchman ploughed through the field and overtook every rider except winner Herlings, who had built up a lead of over half a minute.

Herlings was in a league of his own

Jeffrey Herlings dominated the race from the start and ultimately won unchallenged with a lead of 38 seconds.

Strong performance from Glenn Coldenhoff

Guest rider Glenn Coldenhoff put in a remarkable performance. The Dutchman, who had continued his World Championship career in Brazil after winning the bronze medal the previous year due to a lack of a team, held on to third place for six laps and was eventually only overtaken by Kay de Wolf. Tim Gajser crashed whilst attempting to overtake Coldenhoff. In the end, Coldenhoff finished fourth on his production-spec bike, making him the best-placed Yamaha rider.

Results for the German riders

Maximilian Spies (KTM) was the best German rider in the field, finishing 12th. Peter König crossed the line in 21st place, whilst Noah Ludwig finished 26th. No Swiss or Austrian MXGP riders competed in Arnhem.

Standings at the top of the table

With his twelfth race win in a row, Jeffrey Herlings extended his lead over Romain Febvre in the World Championship standings from 116 to 120 points. ‘The Bullet’ is therefore the clear favourite heading into Sunday’s races. Should Kay de Wolf get off to a good start, some interesting battles could develop between the two Dutch riders.

MXGP Qualifying Races, Arnhem

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda

2. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, +37.904

3. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, +39.981

4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NL), Yamaha, +40.955

5. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, +44.749

6. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, +46.589

7. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, +50.552

8. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, +53.679

9. Ben Watson (GB), Triumph, +1:05.346

10. Andrea Bonacorsi (I), Ducati, +1:17.199

World Championship standings:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 745 points

2. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 625, (-120)

3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 578, (-167)

4. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 566, (-179)