Jeffrey Herlings and Simon Langenfelder claimed victory in the qualifying races at the MXGP of Latvia, round 11 of the FIM Motocross World Championship. Herlings led an intense battle in MXGP, while Langenfelder regained the red plate after a chaotic MX2 race.
MXGP: First Qualy Race Win for Herlings
Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) secured his first qualifying race win of the season. The Dutchman made an early move on Lucas Coenen on the opening lap and led every lap from there, though he was under constant pressure.
Coenen (KTM Red Bull De Carli) had his hands full as Romain Febvre (Kawasaki KRT), who had charged up from fifth, closed in. The top three ran close together throughout, with no further changes in position, but the intensity of the battle sets the stage for an exciting Sunday.
Rubén Fernández exceeded expectations by finishing a strong fourth, just days after being cleared to race following a big crash in Germany. The HRC rider led a trio of Fantic Factory MXGP bikes—Glenn Coldenhoff, Andrea Bonacorsi, and Brian Bogers—who finished fifth through seventh. Brent Van Doninck placed eighth ahead of Ben Watson and Jeremy Seewer, making it five Italian bikes in the top ten.
MX2: Langenfelder Reclaims the Red Plate
Simon Langenfelder (Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing) emerged victorious in a chaotic MX2 qualifying race and retook the red plate as the provisional points leader. He now leads the standings by seven points over defending champion Andrea Adamo, who crashed in the second corner and could only recover to 11th, missing out on valuable points.
