The trip to Teutschenthal means MXGP in Germany, and the time-honored hard-pack and narrow circuit near the city of Halle witnessed another podium finish for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Jeffrey Herlings at round eight of 2024 MXGP and the first of another triple header.
The tight and winding dark dirt of the Talkessel layout brought MXGP back to speed and meant the 2024 edition of the German Grand Prix launched the latest trio of back-to-back fixtures in the world championship. Red Bull KTM went searching for more podium results as the season reaches the midway point and with the surface of the Teutschenthal course soft, rutty and bumpy due to rain in the region and in the build-up to the race.
On Saturday Herlings secured 4th position in the RAM Qualification Heat with his KTM 450 SX-F for a decent gate pick for Sunday’s two 30 minute and 2 lap motos. In MX2 a close contest for victory saw Andrea Adamo take 2nd spot with Liam Everts close behind in 3rd. Sacha Coenen classified in 13th.
Sunday was again cloudy and with the prospect of rainfall ever present. Herlings rode well after a so-so start to recover to 2nd place in the first moto. The Dutchman, who defied arm-pump problems on Saturday to find stronger form was P2 at the launch of the second race. He tussled with Tim Gajser and looked to close up to leader Jorge Prado but lost some time through backmarkers and confirmed 3rd place. Jeffrey tied on points with Gajser but accepted P3 due to the second moto ranking.
In MX2 Adamo suffered a two mistakes in the second moto that cost him as lot higher than 6th and lowered his scorecard average to 4th overall. He had a bit better speed and consistency of pace than Everts who also hit the German soil to place 7th. Coenen’s 10th position in the second outing was the higher of his 13-10 efforts and translated into 12th overall.
Herlings now has 336 points and sits 3rd in the standings, 66 from the red plate. In MX2 Liam Everts is the top KTM 250 SX-F runner in 4th but Adamo is close in 5th while Coenen holds 9th. MXGP will motor across part of the continent to Riga and then onto the sandy texture of Kegums for the Grand Prix of Latvia next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings, 2nd and 3rd for 3rd overall in MXGP: “My speed is getting better and better. We changed my set-up today and it was an improvement. I got unlucky with the lapped riders twice today but I guess they were having their own race! Anyway, 2-3 for 3rd: not bad. In the past I’ve left here a few times straight to the hospital and now I’m going home! It’s not my favorite track and there are some better ones for me coming up. We’re 3rd in the championship and it’s still a long season ahead. I’m proud of today but I’m hoping for a GP win at some point.”
Andrea Adamo, 4th and 6th for 4th overall in MX2: “Saturday was really good with a P2 and the first moto today was solid, nothing special with 4th. In the second moto I was feeling good and was attacking. I tried to pass for the lead and made a mistake. I got back to a podium position and another crash meant 6th and I struggled a bit then for flow. The track was compacted because of all the rain and the ruts were tight and not so round. Not the best…but it was the same challenge for everyone. We’ll regroup and try again in Latvia.”
Liam Everts, 7th and 7th for 7th overall in MX2: “Difficult weekend. P3 in quali was a decent result and I thought there was so more today and my speed was OK but the two crashes cost me time. Not much more to say but I didn’t perform my best. We’ll review what went wrong and look to bounce back next week.”
Sacha Coenen, 13th and 10th for 12th overall in MX2: “Not so good this weekend. I couldn’t find my rhythm in the wet. The track was really rough and I had a few tip-offs. I made my motos difficult! Too many mistakes…but the speed was good and I could recover a bit in the second moto.”
Results MXGP Germany 2024
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 1-1
2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 3-2
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-3
10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 11-10
Standings MXGP 2024 after 8 of 20 rounds
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 402 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 400
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 336
18. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 71
Results MX2 Germany 2024
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 1-1
2. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna 2-2
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 3-3
4. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4-6
7. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 7-7
12. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 13-10
Standings MX2 2024 after 8 of 20 rounds
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 396 points
2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 337
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 333
4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 304
5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 299
9. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 178