MXGP: How Herlings Dominated at Matterley Basin

Last weekend the 2020 World Motocross Championship got underway in Great Britain, at the Matterley Basin circuit in Winchester.

In the MXGP class, it was Jeffrey Herlings who fulfilled some of his pre-season promises by winning a GP without winning both motos by obscene margins. Herlings’ race one victory was controlled, using his speed when he needed it to get away from a charging rookie in the shape of Mitch Evans, and settling into a comfortable pace when there was less pressure. 

When the 2018 World Champion was a little further back in the pack after the start in the second moto, he picked his way through to second carefully, and rode calmly to a second lace to secure the overall win.

Instead, that second moto saw Tim Gajser escape at the front, and win commandingly to salvage his GP after a seventh place in the first moto left his first round one podium chances looking bleak. Such dominance from the reigning champion in the second moto, though, perked up the ears of the paddock, because it seems from that evidence that Gajser has the pace – at least around Matterley Basin – to challenge Herlings. 

In third place overall was Tony Cairoli. It was a quiet day from the Italian veteran, which could be down to PCL damage which Cairoli opened up about after the race. It was an injury picked up a few weeks ago in training, which makes the Italian’s 4-3 scoresheet look more impressive, but also raises worries about the rest of the season, because it is currently unclear how this injury will progress, and how long it will affect Cairoli for.

Jeremy Seewer took fourth overall on the factory Yamaha having failed to back up his first moto podium with anything better than eighth in the second race. 

On paper it was a similar story for Mitch Evans who finished fifth overall, going 3-7, but Evans’ ride through the pack in the second race was superb, and arguably the second moto was his best of the opening round. The Aussie looks as though he could really be a feature this season. 

Gautier Paulin started his season well, as usual, going 7-4 for sixth overall, head of Clement Desalle who somehow managed to go 5-5 for seventh overall, and Glenn Coldenhoff who similarly went 6-6 for eighth overall on his GasGas debut. Henri Jacobi impressed on his MXGP debut to finish ninth overall, and Jorge Prado took tenth overall on his premier class debut, despite his still relatively freshly broken femur.

The top-placed British rider in the overall was Shaun Simpson who finished his home grand prix in eleventh, after his first moto was compromised by a poor jump out of the gate and a crash in the long right hander after the uphill quad. 

One of the biggest disappointments of this opening weekend of the 2020 season was Arminas Jasikonis, the Lithuanian managing only twelfth overall, ahead of Michele Cervellin, another disappointment in Arnaud Tonus, Brian Bogers, Benoit Paturel, Jeremy van Horebeek, Pauls Jonass who retired from the second race, Alessandro Lupino, Valentin Guillod, Adam Sterry who scored two points on his MXGP debut, Petar Petrov, and Calvin Vlaanderen who took two points in the first moto for 23rd overall and the last-classified rider to score points in the opening race of the year. 

Next week the riders head to the Dutch sand of Valkenswaard, where Herlings will surely be favourite to take the win on his preferred surface.