World Champion Jeffrey Herlings (Honda) secures a one-two in Shanghai

Round 18 of the Motocross World Championship in Shanghai (China): French HRC works rider Tom Vialle took the holeshot in the first race, but Jeffrey Herlings (Honda), who had already been crowned World Champion, overtook the Frenchman on the very first lap to take the lead and went on to win the race by a margin of 5.6 seconds ahead of defending champion Romain Febvre (Kawasaki), who overtook his compatriot Vialle on lap 14.

A good race from Jeremy Seewer

Swiss van Venrooy KTM rider Jeremy Seewer was running in 4th place for over half of the first race, but after a collision with Jan Pancar he dropped back to 7th. Andrea Adamo dropped from fifth to tenth after a crash in a right-hand bend and finished the first race in ninth place. The best-placed KTM rider was the Slovenian privateer Jan Pancar in fourth place, achieving his best result of the year.

Jeffrey Herlings unstoppable

Jeffrey Herlings took the holeshot in the second race, just ahead of Tom Vialle, Febvre, Seewer and Vlaanderen. Jan Pancar crashed on the first lap and dropped back to 10th place. Tom Vialle, who had been suffering from toothache in China, went off the track twice and was overtaken by Febvre halfway through the race. Febvre then tried to close the gap on Herlings, but after a near-crash, the Frenchman had to settle for second place. Herlings also won the second race by a margin of 5.6 seconds ahead of Febvre, Vialle and Vlaanderen.

19 World Championship points for Brian Hsu and JHL

Brian Hsu finished the Chinese Grand Prix on his debut on the 350cc JHL with a 11th-12th result, placing 12th overall and securing 19 World Championship points for the Chinese manufacturer. The Chinese wildcard rider Yuzhang Li, who also competed on a JHL machine, finished 14th in the first race and 13th in the second, three laps down in both races. Hsu crossed the line one lap down. His lap times were around 6 seconds slower than those of the leaders.

Standings at the top of the table

Lucas Coenen, who was also unable to compete in China, dropped from 4th to 6th in the standings. Tom Vialle overtook Andrea Adamo in the World Championship standings, moving up from sixth to fourth place. Vialle and Adamo are separated by just one World Championship point ahead of the season finale. Tim Gajser (Yamaha), who was also unable to compete in China, is now assured of third place in the World Championship, as he cannot be overtaken by Tom Vialle – who trails by 66 points – with a maximum of 60 points still up for grabs. Romain Febvre’s second place is also already secured. This means the top three in the World Championship are now decided.

MXGP China

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 1-1, 50 points

2. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 2-2, 44, (-6)

3. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 3-3, 40, (-10)

4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NL), Ducati, 6-4, 33, (-17)

5. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 5-5, 32, (-18)

6. Jan Pancar (SLO), KTM, 4–7, 32, (-18)

7. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 9-6, 27, (-23)

8. Jeremy Seewer (CH), KTM, 7-8, 27, (-23)

9. Jago Geerts (B), Beta, 8–9, 25, (-25)

10. Dylan Walsh (NZ), KTM, 10–10, 22, (-28)

11. Ivo Monticelli (I), Yamaha, 12–11, 19, (-31)

12. Brian Hsu (D), JHL, 11–12, 19, (-31)

World Championship standings after GP 18 of 19

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 915 points

2. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 752, (-163), (-163)

3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 659, (-256), (-93)

4. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, 593, (-322), (-66)

5. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, 592, (-323), (-1)

6. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 566, (-349), (-26)

7. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, 523, (-392), (-43)

8. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 449, (-466), (-74)

9. Kay de Wolf (NL), Husqvarna, 428, (-487), (-21)

10. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, 400, (-515), (-28)