Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P28 HERLINGS, PRADO STRETCH OUT CHAMPIONSHIP LEADS T he Red Bull KTM duo of Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado extend- ed their championship leads after round 15 of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship, which was played out at the sandy Lommel Circuit in Belgium, August 5. Herlings coasted to victo- ry in both MXGP motos, as did Prado in MX2. Already the top rider in the MXGP class, the sand specialist, Herlings, dominated both MXGP motos pretty much as ex- pected. He led the pack after the first lap of both motos and never looked back, as all of the racing action took place well behind him. Herlings did have one scare when he crashed late in the second moto, but he had built up enough of a cushion that he easily was able to maintain his lead and go on to win again. It was Herlings' 23rd moto win of the season and his 10th 1-1 sweep. "The weekend was really good," the Dutchman said. "I am very pleased, I took three good starts and won the qualify- ing, both races and was fastest in each practice. It is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. I'm happy to extend the champi- onship by six points." Herlings extended his points lead to 36 over his teammate Antonio Cairoli, who finished out the day second overall with a pair of second-place finishes. Even the veteran and defending champion couldn't keep Herlings in sight, finishing 13 seconds behind him in the first moto and 33 seconds behind him in the second moto, and that also includes Herlings' crash. Great Britain's Max Anstie (Husqvarna) was third overall with 4-4 moto scores, and Romain Febvre (Yamaha) was fourth with 3-5 results. The Netherlands' Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM) rounded out the top five overall with 6-3 moto scores. Despite finishing ninth overall on the day with 10-8 results, Bel- gium's Clement Desalle (Kawa- saki) is still third in the champion- ship, well clear of fourth-place Tim Gajser (Honda), who was seventh on the day. After taking over the cham- pionship lead in the MX2 class at the last round, Spain's Jorge Prado extended his points lead over his teammate Pauls Jonass, who had a tough day in the Belgium sand with a couple of crashes. Prado was unbeatable at Lommel. The KTM rider won both motos and is now 28 points Jeffrey Herlings (84) was unbeatable in the Lommel sand. Even Antonio Cairoli (222) couldn't do anything about it. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ARCHER/KTM IMAGES