IN
THE
WIND
P30
HERLINGS CLINCHES
MXGP CHAMPIONSHIP
W
ith one round still left to
go, Red Bull KTM's Jeffrey
Herlings clinched his first-ever
MXGP (450cc) World Champi-
onship at his home race, going
1-1 at the GP of The Netherlands
at Assen.
Red Bull KTM's defending
champ Antonio Cairoli did what
he could to stop the much
younger speedster, leading in
both motos only to succumb to
Herlings' raw speed like he has
been forced to do for much of
the 2018 season.
"I don't really know what
to say, it has been an amaz-
ing day," Herlings said after
clinching the title. "It has been
a blessing to be in my shoes to-
day. Everyone says to enjoy the
day but it is so hard, I remember
waking up this morning and now
we are here, everything has
happened so fast. To do this in
front of the home crowd at As-
sen's TT circuit it is amazing. It
is really a special day."
"For me it is an honor to be
second behind Jeffrey because
he is definitely the fastest rider
in the world at the moment and
I'm not taking second to just
anyone," Cairoli said. "I know I
can be more competitive but it is
a nice challenge and congratu-
lations to him and thanks to Red
Bull KTM for helping us to first
and second this season."
Britain's Max Anstie (Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna) was third over-
all on the day with a 3-4 score.
There's one more round in Italy
before the Motocross of Nations.
In the MX2 class, Red Bull
KTM's Jorge Prado continued
his late-season run of suc-
cess with a 1-1 score to extend
his points lead to 46 with one
round left to run, while American
Thomas Covington (Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna) finished sec-
ond overall yet again with a 3-3
score on the day.
"I am pretty happy to be back
on the podium in the sand since
it is not really my forte," Coving-
ton said. "In the second race, I
knew I needed to pass one more
guy to get on the podium, I saw
TKO [Thomas Kjer Olsen] ahead
of me and I was just giving every-
