Jeff Herlings (HRC) on KTM: “If you want to win, you should be with de Carli”

Agueda winner Jeffrey Herlings provided some interesting insights into the reasons behind his move from KTM to Honda and into KTM’s internal affairs during the press conference following the 10th round of the Motocross World Championship in Agueda (Portugal).

KTM fielding two factory teams

The Austrian manufacturer is represented by two factory teams in the Motocross World Championship. Alongside the main factory team, which is run directly from the company’s headquarters in Mattighofen, there is the Italy-based de Carli factory team, which has its own workshop, its own trucks and its own tents in the World Championship paddock. Jeffrey Herlings has always raced for the Austrian side of the team. Riders such as Antonio Cairoli, Jorge Prado and, last year, Simon Längenfelder were part of the de Carli team and went on to become world champions whilst riding for them. The two Coenen brothers are also being managed by de Carli this year and are leading both World Championship classes. As world champion, Simon Längenfelder had to move to the Austrian team structure in Mattighofen after the 2025 season.

Herlings: “De Carli is the better KTM team”

Jeffrey Herlings has now stated in Agueda that a rider can only be successful with de Carli. “At KTM, I felt that I could no longer win and that I needed a change. Winning would only have been possible if I’d been in the de Carli team.”

De Carli-KTM: The best bike

‘The Bullet’ then spoke about the KTM itself: “The bikes ridden by Cairoli, Prado and now Lucas: they can all pull off incredible starts. We also saw Simon win the MX2 title last year on that bike. I think that if you’re at KTM and really want to win, you have to be in that team. In my opinion, they have the best set-up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in that team, which is why I wanted a change.”

Why Herlings left KTM

“I liked the people in the team. I just felt that a change was necessary. And if you’re going to make a change, this was the right time, because I’ll be 32 in a few months. I’m not 18 anymore. I’m glad I made these changes.”

Is the Honda better than the KTM?

A direct comparison of the two motorbikes is always difficult. Can the advantages of the KTM’s steel tube frame compensate for the strengths of the Honda’s aluminium frame? One’s advantage is the other’s disadvantage. “So is the Honda better than the KTM? I’d say they’re both good. The KTM is an excellent motorbike, and so is the Honda. For me, the change was a breath of fresh air and, overall, a new adventure.”

Rückstände der Top-3 in der MX2-WM 2025

Foto: Thoralf Abgarjan

Is Simon Längenfelder’s team his real problem?

The fact is that Simon Längenfelder is currently in a slump. Halfway through the 2025 season (with Team de Carli), he had already taken the lead in the World Championship. During his time with de Carli, he had also moved his base to Italy. Did he find better conditions there than with the Austrian team? Is Herlings right in saying that you can only become world champion with the de Carli team? At the halfway point of the 2025 season, Kay de Wolf was 70 points behind after the race at Matterley Basin, yet by the end he was still battling it out with Simon Längenfelder for the title in the season’s final race. Längenfelder would still have every chance of defending his title.