Jeffrey Herlings tied Stefan Everts on the all-time GP wins list after topping the MXGP of Portugal, April 28-29. It was also the Dutchman’s second win of the season.
Jago Geerts came away with the MX2 overall victory, extending his lead in the championship.
MXGP
Points leader Jorge Prado (GasGas) was the man to beat in race one. The Spaniard nailed one of his patented holeshots and held on for the duration of the moto.
In the race for second place, Frenchman Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) and Herlings duked it out all the way to the checkered flag. Fevbre managed to hold Herlings off—barely. The Kawasaki rider took the checkers just 0.228 seconds ahead of the Red Bull KTM rider.
Honda’s Ruben Fernandez grabbed the early lead in moto two, but Herlings was on the move.
This time, Herlings got ahead of Febvre and then set his sights on the leader, Fernandez. By lap five, the lead was Herlings’ who then ran off with the win. He crossed the finish line nine seconds ahead of Fernandez. His 3-1 was good enough for the overall victory.
Febvre went 2-3 for second overall, while Prado went 1-6 for the final spot on the podium.
“It’s really great to come and get another win,” Herlings said. “It’s been a long road and I feel I am getting back to my old self in some ways. A good performance today. The first moto wasn’t that positive, and I had some arm-pump again—I really don’t know why—but in the second one I felt like a different rider and could really push. I’m looking forward to Spain. 101 GP wins is pretty special and now just one more for the record.”
Prado came into the race with a 17-point lead and left with a 17-point lead. Herlings is second in the championship and Febvre is third, 25 points behind Herlings.
2023 MXGP of Portugal Video Highlights
MXGP Portugal
MX2
Round four winner, Andrea Adamo, started up front again in Portugal. He led 13 of 15 laps in race one but was eventually overtaken late in the race by Geerts. Geerts went on to take the race win with Adamo second. The battle for third was hotly contested as multiple riders fought for the spot. Eventually Kay De Wolf found his way into the final podium position.
Race two saw Simon Laengenfelder grab the early lead with Adamo and Geerts in close pursuit. Geerts made his way into the top spot during lap one and rode off with another win and the overall victory.
Husqvarna teammates Roan Van de Moosdijk and De Wolf traded positions, as four riders found themselves tied for overall podiums. De Wolf managed to solidify himself in second with Van de Moosdijk in third. This broke the overall tie and put both Husqvarna riders on the podium for the day. Geerts continues to lead the points over Adamo and De Wolf., 265-229.CN
2023 MXGP of Portugal Results
MXGP
- Jeffery Herlings (KTM) 3-1
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-3
- Jorge Prado (GG) 1-6
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 7-2
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 5-4
MX2
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 1-1
- Kay De Wolf (Hus) 3-2
- Roan Van de Moosdijk (Hus) 4-3
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 2-5
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 5-4
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