Clean sweep for Herlings at British GP as KTM dominate again

By Press Release on 4th Jun 18

Matterley Basin was the host for the British Grand Prix and round nine of MXGP. Red Bull KTMs Jeffrey Herlings and Tony Cairoli went 1-2 respectively for the fifth time this year while Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado dominated in MX2.

MXGP

Fans were treated to another KTM duel in the premier class as the contest between Cairoli and Herlings intensified and the pair again separated from the rest of the MXGP pack in both motos.

Cairoli fronted the first race until a coming together between the #84 and #222. Herlings powered out of a corner and contract left the world champion on the floor. Cairoli remounted to finish second behind the current series leader.

In the second moto Herlings took his time to pursue a holeshotting Cairoli, who led for 13 laps, before moving past on the last circulation.

The Dutchman posted his sixth 1-1 and seventh win in nine rounds, maintained his 100 per cent podium record in 2018 (with his 100th career trophy) and extended his margin in the MXGP standings to 54 points. Cairoli took the second step of the rostrum with a 2-2 and to again uncork champagne after missing out in Germany two weeks ago.

Herlings: KTM have been a family to me and to achieve 100 podiums with one brand is not something that happens often. 74 GP wins is simply amazing so a big thanks to everyone at KTM and especially Pit (Beirer) for believing in me almost ten years ago and bringing me to where I am now.

Cairoli: It was a positive weekend and one in which I found the good starts that were missing in Germany as well as excellent race pace, even if it was not enough to win. I had a great feeling in practice on a track that was well prepared and full of lines, and in the qualifying race I managed to ride as I wanted and win.

Today in both heats I managed to ride well; unfortunately, the contact with Jeffrey in race one was unexpected but motocross is like this sometimes. In race two I tried to get away but in the end he caught and passed me.

Its a shame to lead 25 of the 28 laps without winning the Grand Prix but we must also say that the pace compared to the others is much higher and we have improved a lot compared to last year. We will not give up and will continue to attack next week in France.

MX2

MXGP domination was mirrored in the MX2 class with another Jonass-Prado show. The teenage Spaniard aced another pair of holeshots but was overhauled by the world champion in both motos.

In the first dash Jonass was pressurised by his teammate all the way to the flag and less than a second split them at the line; the superiority of the Red Bull KTM riders across the quick but occasionally rutty terrain was emphasised by the massive 48-second gap to Thomas Covington in third place.

Jonass shadowed Prado for eight laps in the second outing before again finding a way into the lead; the window was 1.2 seconds at the finish line and a comprehensive 38 seconds from Calvin Vlaanderen.

Jonass: I was struggling with the track on Saturday but turned it around for today. I had the chance to pass Jorge in the first moto after he had the holeshot; and that was really good because once Jorge gets a rhythm it can be difficult to overtake him.

Pauls Jonass-MXGP-Matterley Basin (Image: Ray Archer)

I was happy about that and then controlled the race but it was not that easy with Jorge always pushing. In the second moto I made a couple of mistakes at first but then found my lines and flow quite quickly.

I was disappointed with my results in Germany, so this was much better and when I saw Jorge escaping again in the second moto I thought not again I think the second race was one of the best of the season for me. I tried to do a Jeffrey! We trained together last week in France and we motivated each other a bit.

Prado: The race went really well. This weekend Pauls was pushing really hard and we were so far ahead of third position in the first moto so you can imagine how hard we were going every single lap. Im happy because I did my best; this weekend Pauls was the fastest and maybe next weekend it will be me.

We are very similar right now and small details can make the difference. Ive never had a podium here so Im pleased about that also. I think the bikes and team we have here are the best-of-the-best.

MXGP heads over the Channel this week and forms-up at the hillside and hard-pack circuit of St Jean DAngely for the popular Grand Prix of France as the 2018 campaign reaches round ten and the midway point.

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