MXGP Warm-Ups Wrap Up In France
O
ne of the final "warm-up"
races that many of the
MXGP stars use to prepare for
the upcoming MXGP Champion-
ship, the French Elite Champi-
onship, played out at Ernee, a
Grand Prix venue and former
Motocross of Nations circuit,
June 5-6.
Red Bull KTM's Jeffrey Her-
lings took his second win in as
many weekends (after success
in the UK), with a 2-1 scorecard.
The Dutchman barreled through
from a mediocre start in the first
moto but aced his launch in the
second outing to beat Romain
Febvre (Monster Energy Kawa-
saki) to the checkered flag.
Frenchman Tom Vialle (Red
Bull KTM) defeated fellow MX2
countryman Thibault Benistant
in both motos. The MX2 World
Champion claimed a comfort-
able second race by almost 17
seconds.
"I was fastest in qualifying by
a good margin!" Jeffery Herlings
said. "I had a bad start in the
first moto but came from mid-
pack to be on the rear wheel of
the winner by the end. I pulled
a holeshot in the second and
could lead, control and win it.
My feeling was alright on the
track. The bike was working
well, but I had a bit of arm-pump.
Overall, some good work done
for Russia."
Tom Vialle said, "A nice day.
The track was good to ride and
my results were decent. I was
first in practice and then passed
Rene [Hofer, Vialle's teammate]
in the first moto. I had a bit
of arm-pump but this is pretty
normal as it was my first race in
almost six months!
"In the second I had the hole-
shot and won with pretty good
lap-times," added Vialle. "Today
was fun and went well. I'm ready
for the first GP."
There was another race in
Italy held over the same week-
end. Former champion Tony Cai-
roli (Red Bull KTM) won the first
moto but didn't start the second
due to a cut to his hand.
The opening MXGP round is
set for the June 12-13 weekend
in Orlyonok, Russia.
CN
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 23 JUNE 8, 2021 P37
Jeffrey Herlings won the
MXGP class in the opening
round of the French Elite
Championship in Ernee,
France, in preparation for the
upcoming start of the 2021
MXGP season.
