VOLUME 58 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 16, 2021 P49
on lap two when Febvre left the
inside line wide open for Her-
lings. The KTM rider slipped
through and never relinquished
his grip. The race for the 2021
MXGP title was essentially over.
The battle for second in the
race, however, was still strong,
as Gajser stalked Febvre near
the halfway point. However,
Febvre went down, and Gajser
took advantage and continued to
close on Herlings before finishing
in the runner-up position.
Febvre remounted and
crossed the line third, just five
points shy of the World Champi-
onship. Herlings' clutch perfor-
mance and 1-1 victories earned
him his 99th grand prix win and a
second career MXGP title.
"To go 1-1 today was special,"
said Herlings. "I haven't slept for
a week thinking about what could
happen, what might happen and
this and that. This wasn't an easy
championship. All three of us kept
charging until the last moto, espe-
cially me and Romain in these last
two races, and the pressure was
on. I didn't break, and I made the
championship happen."
"It wasn't enough to get the
title," said Febvre. "So, I am really
disappointed at the moment, for
sure. The only thing is that I gave
my all, so I don't have regrets, for
sure. But to finish the season this
close is really tough, emotionally.
I will try again next year and hope
for a better result."
"It's not easy to accept but that's
how it is," said Gajser who finished
out the championship in third.
"Sometimes you win, sometimes
you lose. Losing makes you stron-
ger. It's not the end of the world.
Tomorrow is going to be tomorrow,
and we'll have another opportunity
next year. Congrats to the guys, to
Jeffrey, to Romain, for a good sea-
son. We were having some nice
battles. Definitely disappointed at
the moment, but that's how it is."
Yamaha's Jeremy Seewer beat
out Prado by just four points for
fourth in the championship.
This race also marked the
last MXGP for fan favorite and
veteran, Antonio Cairoli. Unfor-
tunately, it was a day he'd rather
forget in front of home Italian
crowd. A crash in race one left
him with a broken shifter and a
28th-place finish. The KTM rider
mustered a 10th in race two,
ending his day with 15th overall.
The MXGP legend finished sixth
in the championship ahead of
The 2021 MXGP title was
decided in the last moto. At
one point in the moto, Romain
Febvre had the title in his grasp,
but Herlings eventually made
the winning pass.
PHOTO: MONSTER MEDIA
