Jeffrey Herlings again takes MXGP victory and increases his lead in the
standings. Jorge Prado grabs MX2 overall and is the new red plate holder
Loket (Czech Republic), 23 July 2018 –
Loket’s
‘Serpentine' circuit hosted the
Grand Prix of the Czech Republic for the fourteenth round of the
2018 FIM Motocross World Championship. The medium-hard soil of the historic Czech track meant many grip problems for the riders but even in these conditions
SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Soft front and rear tyres proved their effectiveness by dominating race day and allowing
Pirelli to monopolize the top five in both classes.
Jeffrey Herlings obtained his eleventh victory in
MXGP. The Dutchman won both races and consolidated his lead in the championship standings to bring his advantage over
Antonio Cairoli to thirty points. After winning the qualification heat on Saturday, the nine-time world champion took the lead in both races from the start but was forced to surrender to
Herlings’s comeback through the first laps.
Tim Gajser hovered close behind and finished third overall. There were good results also for
Romain Febvre and
Jeremy Van Horebeek who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
There was a change at the top of
MX2 class with
Jorge Prado winning the Grand Prix and becoming the new leader in championship. In
Loket the Spaniard posted the same points as
Calvin Vlaanderen but won the overall due to placing in race 2, relegating the South African to second place. An excellent third position was won by
Thomas Covington who continued his recent bright run of form.
Pauls Jonass finished fourth and, after having held the red plate since the opening round, is now forced to chase
Prado.
Thomas Kjer Olsen was fifth overall and keeps third position in championship.
In two weeks time riders will tackle the
Grand Prix of Belgium, which, as usual, will be hosted by the challenging sandy circuit of
Lommel.
Race results (Pirelli riders in bold): MXGP race 11. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)2. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)3. GAJSER Tim (SLO)4. DESALLE Clement (BEL)
5. VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL) MXGP race 21. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)2. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)3. GAJSER Tim (SLO)4. FEBVRE Romain (FRA)5. VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL) MX2 race 11. VLAANDEREN Calvin (RSA)2. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)3. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)4. JONASS Pauls (LAT)5. LAWRENCE Hunter (AUS) MX2 race 21. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)2. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)3. VLAANDEREN Calvin (RSA)4. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN)5. JONASS Pauls (LAT) GP Overall: MXGP1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)2. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)3. GAJSER Tim (SLO)4. FEBVRE Romain (FRA)5. VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL) MX21. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)2. VLAANDEREN Calvin (RSA)3. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)4. JONASS Pauls (LAT)5. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN) Championship overall: MXGP1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED) p.6332. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) p.6033. DESALLE Clement (BEL) p.479
4. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.4505. FEBVRE Romain (FRA) p.4326. PAULIN Gautier (FRA) p.419 MX21. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA) p.5952. JONASS Pauls (LAT) p.5843. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN) p.4544.WATSON Ben (GBR) p.427
5. VLAANDEREN Calvin (RSA) p.4146. COVINGTON Thomas (USA) p.375