Cycle News Staff | March 2, 2020
Jeffrey Herlings and Jago Gaerts topped the 2020 Great Britain MXGP overall results in MXGP and MX2 respectively. The 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship got underway beneath sunny skies at the Matterley Basin Circuit in Great Britain, March 1, and while familiar faces made it to the top step of the podiums, new ones also made their showing in the season opener.
In the MXGP class, veterans Tim Gajser (Honda HRC) and Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM) showed championship-winning speed, with former champ Herlings beating out the defending champ, Gajser, for the overall win.
Unfortunately for Gajser, a couple of falls in the first moto ruined his bid to start of the season with the overall win. However, Gajser looked strong while battling near the front of the pack before falling on the last lap and dropping to eighth, while Herlings took the win 11 seconds clear of runner-up Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) of Sweden.
Gajser, however, bounced back in the second moto, jumping into the early lead and running off with the win, while Herlings spent much of the race making up for a bad start.
Herlings managed to get around his teammate, Antonio Cairoli, for second place, which was more than enough to claim the day’s overall victory over Gajser.
“Definitely there is no better way to start the season than to start with a win,” Herlings said. “I said I did not need to win every GP this year, but it was a good day. I made a 1-2, we have improved a lot also as a team as my bike is getting better and better.”
“Overall I’m super happy to finish on the podium,” Gajser said. “I’m just disappointed for my first race as I crashed twice, but at the second race I had a good start from the beginning, I made a quite comfortable win.”
Gajser will have his hands full at the next GP, which will be held at Valkenswaard, Herling’s home track.
Third overall went to veteran racer Cairoli who suffered a shoulder injury last year and was slowed by a knee injury during the offseason. The Italian went 4-3 on the day for third overall.
“I’m very satisfied,” Cairoli said. “My shoulder is getting better, but, unfortunately, I twisted my knee in training, but I’m thankful I did not come out with a lot of pain today. The track was very challenging, especially during the second race. I wanted to go out this round taking easy and see what I could be capable of and eventually it was a good weekend, and I’m happy to be on the podium”
Seewer ended up fourth overall with a 2-8, and Honda HRC’s new young star Mitchell Evans of Australia rounded out the top five. In his debut race, Evans took third in the first moto, turning a lot of heads. Evans went down early in the first moto, completing the first lap nearly dead last. But he charged through the field to finish a respectable seventh.
Frenchman Gautier Paulin (Yamaha) was sixth overall, followed by Clement Desalle (Kawasaki) of Belgium.
GasGas made its MXGP debut and came away with eighth overall in the hands of Dutch rider Glenn Coldenhoff. (KTM bought the GasGas brand last year.)
Former MXGP Champion Romain Febvre was set to make his Kawasaki debut at Matterley Basin but a knee injury prevented that from happening. Febvre, however, is expected to race the next GP at Valkenswaard.
In MX2, Belgium Jago Geerts (Yamaha) started things off with a win in the first moto but a crash in the second moto left him with a sore shoulder and places to make up. He managed to work his way up to fourth, which was good enough to give Geerts the overall victory for the day, edging out Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle, the race-two winner. Vialle was also leading the first moto and was heading to a certain win when he fell and finished sixth. His 6-1 tally gave the Frenchman second overall.
“It’s really a good feeling to pick my first overall win here in Matterley Basin,” Geerts said. “At the first heat I had a small gift from Tom [Vialle]. I had a really good start in second heat, and I just battled for the lead; I had a crash and beat my shoulder a bit so I came back to fourth, but I’m super happy, I feel like my riding is really good now.”
“I started the season really good,” Vialle said. “During the first race I felt really comfortable in first [place], but then I made a mistake on a jump. In the second race I was leading, and I managed to win the race.”
Denmark’s Mikkel Haarup (Kawasaki) announced his arrival to the class by pulling down two third-place finishes for third overall. “I’m just happy,” he said. “I did not come here to contend for the [win], but at the end I managed to finish with a third overall which is amazing. I had two decent races, good riding.”
Australian Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) and Austria’s Rene Hofer (KTM) rounded out the top five overall. CN
2020 Great Britain MXGP Results
MXGP Results
OVERALL
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 1-2
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 8-1
- Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 4-3
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 2-8
- Mitchell Evans (Hon) 3-7
MX2 Results
OVERALL
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 1-4
- Tom Vialle (KTM) 6-1
- Mikkel Haarup (Kaw) 3-3
- Jed Beaton (Hus) 2-6
- Rene Hofer (KTM) 8-2
Get the detailed results here: http://results.mxgp.com/mxgp/standings.aspx
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