The Chaotic Life of the World's Fastest 250 Rider

Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings is picking things up after injuries kept him from two MX2 world titles.

 

Jeffrey Herlings enjoys a day at the beach © Rutger Pauw / Red Bull Content Pool

By Eli Moore on 24 March 2016

Red Bull KTM's Jeffrey Herlings is coming into the 2016 MXGP of Europe at his home track in Valkenswaard with a perfect four moto wins on the season. It's no real surprise - he has spent the better part of his career as the fastest rider on the track. While riders in America like Jeremy Martin and Cooper Webb might have something to say about it, the MXGP crowd is in agreement that the 21-year old Dutchman is the best 250 rider on the planet. Yet, his only titles have been in 2012 and 2013; for the past two years, Herlings has been the victim of his own mistakes on the track. His greatest competitor truly is himself.

A rider under the age of 18 coming into MXGP and running in the front is something of an anomaly. For a rider under the age of 16 to do it is virtually unheard of. Lo and behold, both Jeffrey Herlings and Ken Roczen entered the professional ranks at 15 years old, and both won GPs before they turned 16. Two riders doing that at the same time – that doesn’t happen.

Roczen defeated Herlings in the 2011 MX2 World Championship, then switched his sights to the AMA series in America. Since then, Herlings has been the dominant force on the track at every MXGP, right up until minor mistakes started creeping into his repertoire. Now, he has given away two practical shoe-in World Championships.

When Herlings rides a perfect race, he wins by about 45 seconds or more, an eternity when contesting against some of the best MX2 riders in the world. But at the speed that Herlings rides, one little mistake very easily becomes a catastrophic hiccup.

In 2015, Herlings hit the ground far too many times – he fractured his collarbone in Germany, and still raced, until yet another crash at the Czech Republic MXGP had chipped a bone in his hip and required surgery. After that, he was out for the season.

The frustrating aspect in Herlings’ two tumultuous past years has been the fact that he has speed to spare. When a racer is winning races by over 45 seconds, he can safely back down the pace and up the level of control while still keeping the competition well behind him. Herlings knows that. He probably has a note on his bar pad right now that says “Stay on two wheels”. Herlings is reminiscent of Eli Tomac in the beginning of the 2015 AMA Pro Motocross Nationals; yet another instance of a dominant rider hitting the ground during an uncontested race and losing the championship.

So far in 2016, all is going according to plan – Herlings has two GP wins in as many races, and save for one scary moment in Thailand, has stayed smooth on the track. For Jeffrey, the strategy is about as basic as one can expect – just keep the wheels below your head. This weekend, Herlings returns to his home country for the MXGP of Europe in Valkenswaard, Netherlands. It's a sand track, so as long as he keeps the bike on two wheels, the question is how demoralized will the competition be at the end of the day.

 This is how you ride sand!

You might want to put your ear plugs on but this is a sand riding lesson worth watching.

From Red Bull.com