VOL. 55 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 18, 2018 P77
since the inception of the
current four-stroke formula
in 2004. The enormity of his
achievement and (fittingly)
stretching his career win
count to 84 was hitting home
as he confessed that a repeat
in 2019 would be hard to rep-
licate. Can Herlings continue
to operate on the same level?
The roulette wheel of moto-
cross odds when it comes
to injury is weighted against
him. He broke a bone in 2018
but escaped quite lightly. Will
the rate of effort and sacrifice
be too much to crank out
again? Is burnout an issue?
There is genuine concern
that Herlings could join the "27
club" and be like Carmichael,
Villopoto, Dungey, even MotoGP
legend Casey Stoner and call
timeout at an early stage.
"It is hard to say," Gruebel
admitted towards the end of the
season. "It's not predictable. He
is the strongest now but over-
night things can change. The
human body can be a strange
element and can play tricks on
you. He really trains a lot but then
other people did before him, as
well, and they were okay in their
particular sport.
"I think, next year, we can
expect the same Jeffrey again,"
he adds. "He is still hungry and
eager to win. Some guys do have
that big goal and then they take a
step back or fall into that hole, but
I don't think that will happen with
him. He is keen to have another
title and I think we'll continue to
see the best of him in 2019."
"I still think Jeffrey is 'growing'
and hasn't reached his full poten-
tial," said KTM VP of off-road Rob-
ert Jonas, somewhat worryingly
for the rest of the MXGP gate.
"I think Jeffrey is now in the
best shape I have ever seen, and
we have been racing through our
careers together since we were
on 65s," said 2016 champion
and HRC rider Tim Gajser who
negotiated the long lasting ef-
fects of a nasty pre-season crash
throughout most of '18. "He is
really fast right now, and for sure,
all the moto wins, race wins and
GPs give you more confidence.
He knows when he comes to the
races then he will win, and that's
the mental side. He is definitely
strong in the head."
Set for life, a multi cham-
pion, on a KTM for another two
years (possibly three due to the
binds of his contract) the best
Dutch rider in the history of the
sport—and Dutch motorcycling
in general—Herlings still has one
big fat carrot dangling ahead. He
needs another 17 grand prix wins
to surpass Everts' standing as
the most prolific rider ever. It is a
tantalizing and realistic goal.
For 2018 he has the knowl-
edge that he is the fastest dirt
bike rider in the world and the
most decorated champion in the
FIM cannon. "Thinking like that
can give you a lot of confidence,"
he pondered to us this year. "But
[it's] also not that good some-
times because it brings a lot of
pressure. You feel like you have
to prove it day-in-day-out, year-in-
year-out and sometimes you don't
feel it. It's tough because there
are some days where I'm tired or
carrying a small injury. I feel that I
don't need to win every race…as
long as I can try and win the ones
where I am feeling good then
that's okay for me." CN
