Jeffrey Herlings secured his first win of the MXGP World Championship season this Sunday. The two-time champion in the premier category demonstrated his strength and consistency in Kegums.
In the first race, Jorge Prado (Red Bull GasGas) took the holeshot, but Herlings (Red Bull KTM) quickly moved into the lead on the first lap and never relinquished it. Tim Gajser (Team HRC) climbed to second place and remained the main pursuer of the Dutchman, finishing 14.806s behind.
Glenn Coldenhoff (Fantic Factory Racing) has beaten his teammate Brian Bogers in the battle for third place, while Kevin Horgmo (Team Ship to Cycle Honda) finished fifth. A mistake on the third lap dropped Prado to eighth position, and he only managed to recover to seventh near the end.
The second race unfolded very differently. Prado took the holeshot again and this time maintained his lead from start to finish. Gajser stayed in second place throughout, with Herlings in third. The three riders closed in on each other in the final laps, but nothing could take the win from Prado – who crossed the finish line 1.665s ahead of Gajser.
Herlings finished third, while Coldenhoff came in fourth, 51.510s behind the race winner. Bogers completed the top five ahead of Jeremy Seewer (Kawasaki).
In the overall standings of the MXGP of Latvia, Herlings emerged victorious with 45 points, just one more than Gajser. Prado finished on the podium with 39 points, one more than Coldenhoff, who was fourth. After this round, Gajser has taken the lead in the championship standings with a four-point advantage over Prado.
Race 1 results:
Race 2 results:
Overall results of the MXGP of Latvia: