Jeffrey Herlings wins dramatic opening MXGP race in Afyon
By Andrew Hill on 8th Sep 21
There was no shortage of action in the opening MXGP race at the 2021 MXGP of Afyon as the FIM Motocross World Championship held its second event of the year on Turkish soil.
The lead changed hands three times, most dramatically on the final lap as four of the five heavy hitters pushed themselves to the limits.
Red Bull KTM's Jorge Prado took his eighth holeshot of the season and led from Monster Energy Kawasaki's Romain Febvre, closely followed by Jeffrey Herlings. Behind them, Tim Gajser had made his way up into fourth place.
Related: MXGP Afyon results - 2021 Turkey
Herlings made an error early in the moto as he got crossed rutted which pushed him off the track. He rejoined and the damage was minimal.
Inexplicably, Prado then dropped out of the lead and appeared hurt before remounting. He would finish outside the points in 21st place a sizable loss to his points haul.
Febvre held the lead for almost the entire race, despite constant pressure from Herlings, who in turn was heavily challenged by Gajser.
Behind, Tony Cairoli was slowly catching the leading pack and while it would have been reasonable for anyone watching to think he should have been saving himself for the second moto, the 35-year-old had other ideas.
As the riders headed into the final three laps, the nine-time world champion had them all in his sights.
The final seconds of the Grand Prix eclipsed all the racing in the previous 18 laps. While Cairoli was setting the fastest lap of the entire race on the final circuit, Febvre tipped over. It was a minor mistake but enough to let Herlings into the lead with Gajser and then Cairoli in close tow.
In the next corner, Gajser went wide, seemingly unaware of Cairoli and the KTM factory rider passed the Team HRC rider on the inside. Cairoli then attacked Herlings but wasn't able to make the pass. Cairoli then used all his years of racecraft and experience to move over to the outside to cut off Gajser's line.
TC continued to charge but Herlings was able to hold off the Sicilian to take his sixth moto win of the season by less than half a second.
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