Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory team managed to keep the damage limited amidst a lot of drama at the MXGP round of Germany in Teutschenthal. Herlings finished second in a dramatic opening heat, and crossed the line in third position in the final race, despite racing with a painful knee.

Herlings grabbed pole position with a lap time that was nearly one and a half seconds quicker than the second rider. He launched well in the first heat, and formed part of the leading group. He burst into the lead halfway through the first lap, but his rhythm had not settled in yet, and Prado repassed him. Herlings got more into his flow and launched an attack in the dying stages of the race. He came just short and finished second. Prado crossed from left to right on the finish jump, causing both riders to crash. Herlings sustained some scrapes and a painful knee, and clearly not in the best shape after the incident.

Herlings started in the top five in the second heat, and took some time to pass into third. By the time that had happened, the two leading riders had already opened up a gap. He opted for a safe third place finish, by which he managed to contain the damage.

“We all know that Jorge is a difficult rider to pass,” Herlings said. “He always defends his line well, and there is nothing wrong with that, but to jump completely from left to right on the finish jump was not called for. My knee had a knock during the crash, and it was quite swollen. Teutschenthal is not my favorite track, but still we started well during qualifying. I would even have been happy with third overall at this track. All in all I feel that we came through it ok, and I will be much fitter again next weekend.”

With 2-3 finishes, Herlings finished second overall. He is second in the world standings, two points behind Tim Gajser. The battle resumes at Lacapelle Marival in France next weekend.

Daguitslag MXGP Duitsland:
1 Tim Gajser 45 Pnt
2 Jeffrey Herlings 42 Pnt
3 Romain Febvre 40 Pnt
4 Pauls Jonass 33 Pnt
5 Jeremy Seewer 29 Pnt

Tussenstand wereldkampioenschap MXGP:
1 Tim Gajser 415 Pnt
2 Jeffrey Herlings 413 Pnt
3 Romain Febvre 407 Pnt
4 Jorge Prado 384 Pnt
5 Antonio Cairoli 353 Pnt