Honda HRC PETRONAS’s Jeffrey Herlings had his best weekend points total of the season, after yesterday's qualification race and then going two-two in the two motos today, giving him second overall at the MXGP of Sardegna.
Yesterday’s victory gave Herlings first gate-pick and he used that to good advantage to sweep around the first corner in the leading pack in both races, before quickly moving towards the front of the field. In the first race, the #84 got into the lead by the time the first lap was completed and although he held onto that for the first few laps, eventually he had to settle for second as they crossed the line. Race two saw him become the chaser, keeping the leader with sight the majority of the moto before really charging at the end, when he finished just over one second behind. Victory in the race would have given him the overall so it was tough to take for the renown sand rider, but he knows what he has to do and he is still very well placed in the championship standings.
Fifth place overall went to Ruben Fernandez, who showed that his winter work has paid off and that sand isn’t the treacherous surface that it once was for the Spaniard. Tow good starts, followed by two mistake-free motos showed a level of speed and consistency that hasn’t always been easy for the #70, especially at this difficult Riola Sardo circuit.
Frenchman Tom Vialle was unfortunately a victim in both races, which ruined his chances of a podium spot. The Honda CRF450RW rider hasn’t raced anything like this type of track since departing the series a few years back, but he looked at home early on in both races, taking a holeshot in race one and racing inside the top three until the second third of race two. It was just a couple of small mistakes which cost him and on this surface, that really stalls your momentum and drops you down the standings easily. Still, he can be happy with the majority of his riding and will hoping to bounce back in Trentino next weekend.
Valerio Lata will also be hoping for a better outcome after a disappointing weekend was rounded off by a technical issue in race two. The Italian has another home race in Pietramurata in a weeks’ time, where he feels much more comfortable, and he’ll be looking to be much closer to the top positions when he takes to that hard-pack track.
