The first of three consecutive fixtures of MXGP began with round five and a visit to the sweeping layout and distinctive red soil of Agueda; the staple venue for the world championship’s stop in Portugal for the last two decades. Heavy rainfall ensured that the course was rough, rutty, muddy, treacherous and created slick and technical riding conditions that were heavy for both rider and machine.
Jeffrey Herlings was a promising 2nd in the MXGP Qualifying ace for the same pick in the start gate for Sunday’s motos.
Raceday was again wet and despite the circuit’s brave efforts to conserve the track, more torrential showers created a very different motocross environment and introduced a high degree of ‘lottery’ into proceedings. In MXGP, Herlings battled for the lead with Tim Gajser in the opening laps and was halted in his progress inside the last ten minutes of the 30 minutes+2 lap distance by a technical issue. In the second race the Dutchman was determined to recover world championship points and took a confident and mistake-free win.
From Portugal to Spain for round six and then north to St Jean D’Angely for the Grand Prix of France on May 18-19. The Grand Prix of Galicia will inaugurate the circuit of Lugo next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings, DNF and 1st for 9th overall in MXGP: “In drier conditions on Saturday I showed I had the speed. The first moto was a shame. I was closing in for the lead and I think I could have made a pass but we ended up with zero points. I led all the way in the second, so it’s a pity we only go home with one win. It could have easily been a GP victory today. Spain next and my goal is to be back on the podium there. A win would be amazing…but we’ll aim for the top three. I’m just over 50 points down at the moment, but we’ve had our bad luck and we’re still not that far away and there are 15 races to go. A lot ahead.”
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Results MXGP Portugal 2024
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT) Honda, 2-2
2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 3-4
3. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 1-10
9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, DNF-1
13. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 15-12
17. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 17-14
Standings MXGP 2024 after 5 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 252 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 238
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 220
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 198
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT), Honda, 192
Words by KTM – Images by Ray Archer
