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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1424948
IN THE WIND P40 MXGP Championship Tightens In Trentino T he pressure is on in the MXGP Championship as the season winds down with only two rounds remaining after a triple header at the Trentino Circuit in Italy, October 27 (Wednesday), and October 31 (Saturday). This week's doubleheader saw one championship decided as the other was blown wide open. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) entered the week with the red plate, sitting 24 clear of Romain Feb- vre (Kawasaki) and 2020 World Champion Tim Gajser (Honda), but his championship run was severely jeopardized when he went down in the first turn of the first moto, resulting in a mechani- cal issue and a costly DNF. Up at the front it was the two other title favorites, Febvre and Gajser, duking it out for the race win. Febvre came out victorious and took the maximum points payout. Gajser and Antonio Cairoli (KTM) rounded out the race-one podium. Race two was all about Cairoli as the veteran led wire to wire and took the overall win, the 94th of his career. Drama unfolded behind him, however, as Herlings moved up to fourth place but fell late in the race. He dropped back to fifth, as Gajser got around the Dutchman. The trio of Gajser, Herlings and Febvre eventually worked their way past Glenn Coldenhoff (Yamaha) but did not have the pace to catch Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) and Cairoli at the front. "Coming here I was hoping for a good bounce-back after some tough races, but I got sick on Saturday night and Sunday was difficult," said Cairoli. "I did everything I could to be on the podium. In the first moto I was very happy with my riding and in the second I had a holeshot and could mostly control the race. I was getting a bit tired but with my experience I could save some energy in parts of the track and could keep Jeremy behind me." Herlings' DNF-4 finishes resulted in 11th on the day, while his rivals Gajser and Febvre earned second and third, re- spectively. By the day's end, the top three in the MXGP classifica- tion remained the same but were now separated by a mere three points. A few days later, in race one, Seewer snagged the holeshot with all three of the title favorites following closely inside the top five. Seewer took a control- ling lead and held the top spot despite crashing on his own. Febvre and Gajser duked it out as they moved through the pack. Herlings also charged from the back, passing his KTM teammate Jorge Prado and later got Gajser for third. Febvre crashed spectacularly on the final lap but still managed to secure second place. Seewer took the checkers There was plenty of drama at rounds two and three of the MXGP of Trentino tripleheader. When it was all over, Romain Febvre emerged as the new championship leader. However, just three points separate the top-three riders with two rounds to go. PHOTO: RAY ARCHER