JEFFREY HERLINGS FINISHES SECOND AT LOMMEL AFTER SITTING OUT THE LAST THREE MXGP MOTOS WITH A BROKEN SHOULDER BLADE

Last week Jeffrey Herlings was down and out with a broken shoulder blade after been landed on over a jump on Oss, Holland. Jeffrey had to miss the second moto in Oss and both motos in Loket, Czech Republic. This week, to the surprise on everyone, he won the first moto at Lommel and finished fifth in the second moto to take the second step on the podium.

KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings  was landed on over a jump by Ivo Monticelli at Oss, Holland,  Monticello wasn’t to blame as Herlings holeshot device failed release and Monticelli’s front wheel hit Herlings on the top of his helmet and richocheted into his upper-left back. The result was a cracked shoulder blade for Jeffrey. To his credit, Herlings never fell and kept going,  running on adrenaline he went on to win the first moto in Oss—broken shoulder blade an all. But, once back in the pits he realized that he could not race the second moto and was forced to missed the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Loket.

In a surprise move, Herlings showed up at Lommel for the Grand Prix of Flanders and score a second place finish behind Romain Febvre with a 1-5 score.

“I think I lost a championship 5 or 6 times due to injuries. It’s pretty frustrating at times, but I think right now I am still in a good place,” said Jeffrey after Lommel..

Jeffrey said: “I broke my shoulder blade,  so it’s not really normal to ride a bike within 13-14 days after. I did not know if I was going to fade with my shoulder because the track was rough and demanding on your body, especially on your shoulders as well. At one point, I felt I could run at a faster pace and I managed to pass Romain and make a gap. Obviously, Romain went down and then it was just a walking part from there. Second race turned out good. At the start I was around 4th or 5th  and then  Glenn Coldenhoff and I came together, he took my rear wheel and we both went down. We were both last, so it was a shame. I fought my way back to 5th place within 15 minutes, but I did not want to make a big error and go down. One week ago I thought the championship was game over. Now,  I know I need to hunt the boys down, but 42 points is not too bad. There is still a lot of races to go, so there’s a lot of options”.

“I think I lost a championship 5 or 6 times due to injuries. It’s pretty frustrating at times, but I think right now I am still in a good place. I don’t want to give up the championship so quick, so I think we’re still in a good place once again. We just have to keep fighting.”

2021 FIM 450 POINTS STANDINGS
(after 6 of 18 races)
1. Tim Gajser (Hon)…226
2. Romain Febvre (Kaw)… 221
3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM)..217
4. Jorge Prado (KTM)…212
5. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)…184
6. Jeremy Seewer (Yam)…180
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (Yam)…160
8. Pauls Jonass (Gas)…159
9. Ben Watson (Yam)…111
10. Alessandro Lupino (KTM)…109