Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/956070
IN THE WIND P46 KTM BATTLES WARM UP VALKENSWAARD MXGP CROWD A fter a beautiful opening round in Argentina, the 2018 MXGP World Championship headed to the Dutch sand circuit of Valken- swaard for round two, March 17-18, where it was greeted with bitterly cold temperatures and a light dusting of snow. Saturday's qualifying races saw very wet and sloppy track conditions but after a night of maintenance, the track was prime for motos on Sunday, where four classes (this was the first round of the European 125cc and 300cc Championships) battled it out in front of the hard- core motocross fans that braved the elements. Those supporters who did make it to the track were privi- leged to see some awesome ac- tion as the MXGP, MX2 and even the EMX300 riders put on great show, with race-long battles that were only decided in the last few laps, or even turns. In the MXGP class it was, once again, the intriguing match-up be- tween the nine-time world cham- pion Antonio Cairoli and young Dutch prodigy Jeffrey Herlings that meant no one was heading for exits halfway through. In both motos it was Cairoli who got out front early on, collecting his third and fourth holeshot trophies of the season, while Herlings was buried in the pack. Not known for his great starts anyway, Herlings' task wasn't made easier by his 19th-place gate pick, after he crashed while leading the qualify- ing race. However, Valkenswaard is by far his favorite track and he had moved his way into second place by the midpoint of both races, while Cairoli had tried to create as big a gap as possible out front. Unfortunately, a crash by Cairoli robbed the fans of any real dogfight in race one as the Italian tipped it over on a downhill when Herlings was charging a few seconds back; however, race two really provided a great spectacle and showed just how much they are a class above the rest of the field, as third-placed Gautier Pau- lin was over one minute behind them. Cairoli was out front, with a gap of over 10 seconds when "The Bullet" (Herlings) moved into second place, and just like in Ar- gentina, the gap gradually started closing up. Even so, it still looked a pretty tough task for Herlings to catch and past the current MXGP Champion, but, once again, he put the hammer down and as time was ticking away, he made his move to the delight of the home crowd. He now has 97 points out of a possible 100, but Cairoli is only six points back and, although he has been passed by his rival in the last three motos, he is still confident that, over the course of what is a very long champion- ship, he can come out on top. Jeffrey Herlings continues to pull off hard-earned wins in MXGP. He and teammate Antonio Cairoli went at it again in Holland. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ARCHER/KTM IMAGES