Jeffrey Herlings seems completely the old one. Two months ago, the Brabant Motocrosser at his return was almost set by Lucas Coenen after a heavy knee operation, last weekend he beat his eleven-year-old Belgian stable mate for his second Grandprix victory in a row.
The Belgian Joël Smets, team manager of Herlings at the Austrian cross -mark KTM, is not surprised that his pupil will win competitions again, as Herlings did in Germany and Latvia.
“It was that it took so long. It wasn’t his condition and speed. It was rather a matter of self -confidence. Motocross is a technical sport, with risks. That has played unknowingly, especially with the injury history of Jeffrey,” he tells the NOS.
Other preparation
Former motorcycle smets, good for 57 GP victories in his active career, points to the totally different preparation that Herlings has had, as a result of his months of recovery. “Normally you ride a number of games to get in shape for a new season, he only had a very short run-up to his return at GP level. You have to gain rhythm that he didn’t have.”
Herlings, who turns 31 on September 12, found himself back in fifteenth place in the day’s rash on Sardinia in Sardinia, but then went better a week. Smets: “Actually, he used his first Grands Prix to get back in shape, in combination with the two Dutch Masters competitions.”
Old Jeffrey
After being two in Oldebroek, Herlings took his first victory of the season in mid -May in mid -May, to finish just next to the stage at the Grand Prix of France a week later.
“For each match you saw more ‘sparks’ from the old Jeffrey,” says Smets, who never doubted whether Herlings could participate again for the prices. “For outsiders, those first results may seemed abnormal, but not for insiders. He will be 31 this year. The Herlings five years ago would have needed less time. Now it took a little longer.”
‘Third place still feasible’
As a result, Herlings, who missed the first three Grands Prix of the season, now finds himself back in the ninth place in the world title struggle. He has 268 points less than leader Romain Febvre and 232 less than number two Coenen. With number three Maxime Renaux, the difference is ‘only’ 107 points.
“Becoming a world champion will no longer go, but the third place is still feasible,” says Smets. “That is a small goal in itself, although that may seem trivial from the outside. Jeffrey is so honest that he is every competition he wants to win, for him that is enough for him.”
World Championship for Country Teams
A challenge is also the Motocross of Nations at the end of the season, the world championship for country teams, which will be held in the US Crawfordsville at the beginning of October. Smets: “The Americans have their own championship, but once a year the best crossers are at that World Cup opposite each other. That is an extra incentive for Jeffrey, this time in the lion’s den.”
And then there is also the situation of Herlings’ expiring contract with KTM, the brand for which he has driven all his career and with which he has won five world titles, plus a record number of 109 big prizes.
‘Good crosser for the market’
In recent months, KTM was in financial heavy weather and Herlings has previously announced to NOS Sport that it is possible that he will be driving somewhere else next season, “because love must be mutual”.
Smets hopes that it will not get that far. “The situation at the parent company seems stabilized. I am not going to go over the driver contracts, but I hope that my bosses in Austria can make him a decent proposal. You cannot only stay with a brand on your beautiful eyes. Jeffrey Herlings has shown that he is still Jeffrey Herlings and a good crosser for the market.”