Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1063250
P74 Feature tion through the whole moto with Jef- frey, and this is the only point I need to work on a little bit. I don't think I've had such a strong competitor, and the age difference is quite big, so it was difficult. He pushed the level a bit higher, and at this age, it is difficult to make these little clicks all the time to keep up with the new guy. I tried to stay as close as possible and mostly it worked and we were matching. I need to work a little bit harder on CYCLE NEWS RIDER OF THE YEAR AND FIM MXGP WORLD CHAMPION JEFFREY HERLINGS "He is very talented and he has such a big heart. He never gives effort in, perhaps more than anybody else in terms of riding hours – Red Bull KTM Team Manager to rack-up podiums and checkered flags while opponents shined at times but ultimately floundered in comparison. "I knew I'd be fac- ing one guy who is just like me," Herlings said. "He wants to win badly and is physically good with the same team behind him. I'm racing someone very strong and that makes it hard because in MX2—and I don't mean this in a bad way—but I was not facing the level of rider that I am now. "Currently we are the two best racers, at least in Europe and the world championship," he added. finished 1-2 a total of 11 times and gathered 33 podium finishes be- tween them. "He is a nine-times world champion for a reason. To beat him is a nice feeling, a good feeling. It was a nice battle let's say. I was a big fan of Tony's back in 2005 and then he won in Lierop [Cairoli's first MX2 world ti- tle] and I thought, 'one day I want to be like those guys,' and here we are 14 years later fighting the biggest racers in the world and I have won the biggest champion- ship I could possibly win." Cairoli had to deal with small "We try to push our limits and of course I am younger and maybe push it earlier. It definitely won't be easy next year because Tony is the best and if you look five years ago, I think he is a better rider now. He is also on a very high level and you can see the difference compared to the other guys. "It is an honor, actually, to race with him," he continued, alluding to the frequent sight of the two KTMs at the front of MXGP. They knee, thumb and hand com- plaints but was gracious in defeat. "I think this is one of my best years… apart from the last part of the series where I was struggling with some injuries," he admitted. "The speed was unbelievable and when we were close we pulled each other and always made a good gap over the rest. It means we are riding very fast, so I'm happy with that but not so much about my condi- the total race." Herlings showed he had the punch from the first ring of the bell. He was also claiming to be "ring smart" and said that he "can accept to lose," but there was little evidence. In Spain, for round three, Cairoli's starts helped towards the only 1-1 for the cham- pion over his teammate. Then in Russia three races later, Mon- ster Energy Kawasaki's Clement Desalle became one of just two GP winners on Japanese ma- chinery in both classes and from 40 opportunities: amazing, and a powerful verification for KTM and the Red Bull setup that Motors- ports Director Pit Beirer felt urged to describe as "almost the perfect team." Herlings certainly claimed his 450 SX-F was virtually a "per-