Jeffrey Herlings
2021 MXGP Champion
Jeffrey Herlings produced an MXGP masterclass at the MXGP of Città di Mantova on Wednesday to seal his second MXGP FIM Motocross World Championship after a thrilling battle with Frenchman Romain Febvre at the last stop of an entertaining season.
Jeffrey Herlings
“I think I deserve to win this championship. I want to thank Romain for a great season – those guys were super fast – and it is just a pity only one guy can win. Next year will be tough again. I am going to celebrate tonight. I want to thank Red Bull KTM Racing for a great job.”
Herlings burst onto the motocross scene with three MX2 Motocross World Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2016 before stepping up to the MXGP level in 2017 where he claimed six GP wins to finish second overall.
The 2018 season then saw the Geldrop native reel off an astonishing 17 GP wins to capture his first MXGP FIM Motocross World Championship title with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Toni Cairoli second.
Sadly for Herlings, he was sidelined for most of 2019 due to injury and – despite a strong start to the 2020 season – he then picked up another bad injury that sidelined him for the second half of the year.
This season, though, the 27-year-old overcame a mixed start and missed chance for points at the Czech GP due to a shoulder niggle to roar back into contention up against Febvre and three-time champion Tim Gajser.
With Slovenian Gajser all but out of the title race after a disappointing previous Lombardia GP round on the same Mantova track, it was left down to Herlings and Febvre to duel it out for the title trophy spoils.
Race one over 18 laps saw Herlings get the better of Febvre’s Kawasaki in second and Gajser’s Honda in third down the stretch to win by 2.465s with Spaniard Jorge Prado sixth and Italian veteran Cairoli down in 28th.
The second race of the GP meet was a thrilling affair between old rivals Herlings and Gajser with Febvre too far back in third to boost his title chances as Herlings held off Gajser by just 1.497s for his second win.
The back-to-back victories meant that Herlings sneaked past Febvre in the 2021 overall rider standings to secure the title by 708 points to 703 with Gajser third, Prado fifth, Cairoli sixth and Latvian Pauls Jonass eighth.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were a class above in the 2021 MXGP manufacturer standings as they powered to the title thanks to 842 points with Kawasaki second on 708 and Honda third on 702.
2021 MXGP Final Championship Points Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | Total |
| 1 | Herlings, J. | NED | KTM | 708 |
| 2 | Febvre, Romain | FRA | KAW | 703 |
| 3 | Gajser, Tim | SLO | HON | 688 |
| 4 | Seewer, Jeremy | SUI | YAM | 566 |
| 5 | Prado, Jorge | ESP | KTM | 562 |
| 6 | Cairoli, A. | ITA | KTM | 545 |
| 7 | Coldenhoff, G. | NED | YAM | 442 |
| 8 | Jonass, Pauls | LAT | GAS | 391 |
| 9 | Olsen, T. | DEN | HUS | 332 |
| 10 | Lupino, A. | ITA | KTM | 319 |
| 11 | Watson, Ben | GBR | YAM | 300 |
| 12 | Bogers, Brian | NED | GAS | 290 |
| 13 | Van Horebeek, J. | BEL | BET | 232 |
| 14 | Vlaanderen, C. | NED | YAM | 203 |
| 15 | Jacobi, Henry | GER | HON | 188 |
| 16 | Van doninck, B. | BEL | YAM | 152 |
| 17 | Simpson, Shaun | GBR | KTM | 126 |
| 18 | Forato, A. | ITA | GAS | 119 |
| 19 | Tonus, Arnaud | SUI | YAM | 119 |
| 20 | Paturel, B. | FRA | HON | 110 |
Source: MCNews.com.au