Jeff is just sand-tastic

Herlings was streets ahead of the field, as in both of his MX2 races he was more than six seconds a lap faster on his Red Bull KTM than his nearest rival.

 

And in the MX1 and MX2 combined Super-final he was five seconds clear of the pack. 

 

After dreadful weather forced the cancellation of last year's event, the organising club were thankful for a break from the weeks of rain the country has been suffering.

 

GP riders use this early meeting as a testing and practice session in preparation for the coming season.

 

Tommy Searle was there on his Monster Energy CLS Kawasaki and despite crashing at the start of the last race of the day he was back out on the track, after a visit to the work area for some hasty repairs.

 

Even Herlings was mixing up his lines and trying some new ones as he lapped some of his slower rivals.

 

Wilvo Forkrent KTM rider and crowd favourite Matiss Karro was out on a MX1 KTM instead on the billed MX2 bike and said: "I will be riding an MX1 bike in the World Championship, and an MX2 in the Maxxis British Championship.

 

"But as the first GP is next weekend we thought it would be better to get some race pratice on the bigger MX1 machine.”

 

Mel Pocock got the holeshot at the start of the first MX2 race from  Dutchman Lars Van Berkel, riding a Jumbo Honda, with Pocock's team-mate and Le Touquet Youth Race winner Ben Watson third.

 

A mistake from Pocock, though, let Van Berkel into the lead from Watson at the end of the lap, with Herlings sitting fourth.

 

By the end of the second lap, Herlings was in the lead and just checked out, leaving the rest of the riders to squabble over second.

 

Watson was keeping pace with GP midfield runner Van Berkel, with Pocock third, Frenchman Steven Lenoir fourth and Adam Sterry fifth.

 

At the halfway stage the unlucky Pocock was forced out of the race after the end opposite to the nut on his bike's rear wheel-spindle broke off. 

 

With four laps to go, Bulgarian rider Petar Petrov – who had forced his way up from ninth on the first lap – passed both Van Berkel and Watson to snatch second, albeit over a minute behind race one winner Herlings.

 

Watson chased third-placed Van Berkel over the finish line, as last year's rivalry between Lenoir and Neville Bradshaw carried on as the pair finished fifth and sixth.

 

The second MX2 race was all about Herlings, as he led from the drop of the gate to the flag and by the time two laps had been completed he had already opened up an 18-second lead over the rest of the pack to take the win by more than a minute and a half.

 

Behind him, Van Berkel and Pocock were changing places almost every lap, until Van Berkel seemed to fade with four laps to go leaving Pocock in a comfortable second place.

 

Martin Barr had crashed out of a high place in race one, but was really on the pace in race two as he came from sixth at the start to finish third, with Petrov once again having to come from the back of the pack to claim fourth.

 

MX2 overall went to Herlings, of course, from Petrov and Van Berkel, with Barr and Watson just missing out on a podium position.

 

Herlings said: "After my shoulder injury last year I didn't have much 

time on the bike and then I suffered a cracked bone in my leg at the start of the year.

 

"I kept on training but it wasn't getting any better so I had to take three weeks off to finally let it heal. 

 

 

 1 Shaun Simpson (HM Pant KTM UK) 22 + 25 = 47

 2 Matiss Karro (LAT - Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 20 + 22 = 42

 3 Jens Getteman (B - 24MX Racing Honda) 15 + 18 = 33

 4 Gert Krestinov (EST - Apico LPE Kawasaki) 16 + 16 = 32

 5 Brad Anderson (Buildbase Honda) 18 + 14 = 32

 6 Marc De Reuver (NL - BT Honda) 13 + 15 = 28

 7 Tommy Searle (Monster CLS Kawasaki) 25 +  0 = 25

 8 Nathan Parker (Buildbase Honda)  9 + 13 = 22

 9 Yentel Martens (NL - Talon Kawasaki) 11 + 10 = 21

10 Todd Waters (AUS - Red Bull Ice1 Husky)  0 + 20 = 20

11 Herjan Brakke (NL - Team Gebben Kawasaki) 8+12=20, 12 Shane Carless (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 10+8=18, 13 Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Trreads Suzuki) 6+11=17, 14 Priit Ratsep (EST - Oakleaf Kawasaki) 5+9=14, 15 Lewis Gregory (GL12 Racing Yamaha) 7+7=14, 16 Nathan Watson (Dantec Husqvarna UK) 14+0=14, 17 Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler KTM) 12+0=12, 18 Ashley Wilde (Sandbach Scrap Metal Honda) 4+6=10, 19 Stuart Edmonds (IRE - CCR Suzuki) 3+5=8, 20 John Adamson (AAA Bikesport KTM) 0+4=4, 21 Luke Mellows (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 1+3=4, 22 Julien Van Stippen (B - Dirt Racing KTM) 0+2=2, 23 Jeremy Coen (B - Dirt Racing KTM) 2+0=2, 24 Jake Gowan (D3 KTM) 0+1=1.

 

 1 Jeffrey Herlings (NL - Red Bull KTM) 25 + 25 = 50

 2 Petar Petrov (BUL - Kemea Yamaha) 22 + 18 = 40

 3 Lars Van Berkel (NL - Jumbo Modiform Hon) 20 + 16 = 36

 4 Martin Barr (VMX Malin KTM) 12 + 20 = 32

 5 Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 18 + 13 = 31

 6 Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Apico Honda) 15 + 15 = 30

 7 Steven Lenoir (F - Dantec Husqvarna UK) 16 + 12 = 28

 8 James Dunn (HM Plant KTM UK) 13 + 11 = 24

 9 Michael Eccles (Sliver Action KTM) 14 +  9 = 23

10 Mel Pocock (HM Plant KTM UK)  0 + 22 = 22

11 Mathew Callaghan (Verde KTM) 11+10=21, 12 James Cottrell (HM Plant KTM UK) 10+8=18, 13 Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) 8+7=15, 14 Brent Van Doninck (NL - Creymert KTM) 0+14=14, 15 Luke Burton (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) 9+4=13, 16 Nathan Dixon (Feehilly KTM) 7+1=8, 17 Brad Todd (Planet MX KTM) 4+3=7, 18 Ryan Morris (Cradley Kawasaki) 5+2=7, 19 Reece Desoer (Preston Docks Yamaha) 0+6=6, 20 Luke Norris (MNE KTM) 6+0=6, 21 Jay Lamb (Planet MX KTM) 0+5=5, 22 Ben Putnam (Lanes MVR-D Honda) 3+0=3, 23 Adam Darbyshire (Underdog Honda) 2+0=2, 24 Daniel Brough (Heatex KTM) 1+0=1.

 

SUPERFINAL (MX1 & MX2): 1 Herlings (MX2), 2 Karro, 3 Van Berkel (MX2), 4 Barr (MX2), 5 Jens Getteman (24MX Honda), 6 Waters, 7 Krestinov, 8 Anderson, 9 Van Doninck (MX2), 10 Bradshaw (MX2), 11 Pocock (MX2), 12 Martens, 13 Nathan Watson, 14 Lenoir (MX2), 15 Parker, 16 Ratsep, 17 Ben Watson (MX2 - HM Plant KTM UK), 18 Dunn (MX2), 19 Callaghan (MX2), 20 Cottrell (MX2).

 

OVERALL: 1 Adam Wells (JW Racing Honda) 22+25=47, 2 Will Worden (???) 25+22=47, 3 Gavin Houson (Craigs KTM) 18+18=36, 4 Ashley Cotterell (???) 20+16=36, 5 George Clarke (Cab Screens Yamaha) 15+20=35, 6 Dean Hakes (???) 16+15=31, 7 Ashley Crossley (GCR Yamaha) 13+14=27, 8 Paul Coffey (VMX Malim KTM) 14+11=25, 9 William Wall (KTM) 8+13=21, 10 Adam Wigger (DPA KTM) 10+9=19, 11 Adam Hayward (???) 11+8=19,...