IN
THE
WIND
P34
DESALLE, HERLINGS RULE ASSEN SAND
T
he stadium setting of Assen
provided some real drama
in both MX2 and MXGP classes
at the Grand Prix of Assen,
August 28, as a thunderstorm
before the races threatened to
completely flood this manmade
track. As it was, the sandy
facility turned into more of an
enduro race with riders just try-
ing to complete laps without any
mistakes, something that proved
pretty difficult, especially in the
first motos.
In turned out to be American
Thomas Covington who held
his nerve the best in race one,
keeping it smooth and steady
to pick up his first moto win of
2016. He's had a pretty disap-
pointing year on the Husqvarna
but can take great pride in the
fact he won in conditions that
Americans have traditionally
struggled in.
Despite returning from injury,
the home crowd was still ex-
pecting it to be Jeffrey Herlings
dominating, but after a DNF in
the qualifying race, an outside
gate pick and early-moto crash,
the red-plate holder ended up
playing catch up. He did his best
to get to Covington but in the
end he had to settle for second,
pushed all the way to the line by
his friend and fellow Dutchman
Brian Bogers.
Covington's chances at an
overall victory unfortunately
were over after a first-lap crash
left him dead last in the second
race. He made his way back
up to 16th but there was no way
he could get close enough for
a podium spot. Unsurprisingly
it was Herlings who took the
overall, but young Jorge Prado
Garcia pushed him for half of the
moto and even had the audac-
ity to pass Herlings back at one
Kawasaki's
Clement Desalle
went 2-2 to win
the MXGP class
in the Dutch
sand.
