Het Motocross topic #7 Herlings op snelheid

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 08:04 schreef tja77 het volgende:
Ironman klinkt als een soort van endurance. Wat is het format van de race? 30 Minuten en 2 rondjes?

Ironman triathlons idd. Maar dat is niet in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

30+2 net als de MXGP maar een uur minder pauze voor de tweede manche.

Welcome to Racerhead and the last weekend of the domestic AMA season. The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will end with tomorrow’s Ironman National in Indiana, and the 450 Motocross title will be decided between Eli Tomac, Blake Baggett, and Marvin Musquin. Eli is the prohibitive favorite, as he has more than a moto’s lead in points, but now there’s a monkey wrench that’s been throw into the works that just made Indiana a lot more interesting.

As you probably know by now, we have some company here. Multi-time FIM Motocross World Champion Jeffrey Herlings was on his way to Aldon Baker Baker’s Factory in Florida to spend some time there getting ready for next weekend’s Monster Energy MXGP of USA in Jacksonville, Florida. Herlings has long wanted to do a national round in America, and he got to thinking that it might be fun to sign up for the race in Indiana tomorrow. He called his team manager, Joel Smets, back in Europe and got permission, but first he wanted to test the production-based KTM he would have to ride.

Meanwhile, Smets got on the phone and started the sometimes-arduous process of getting his rider cleared by the Dutch Federation, sorting out an AMA Pro license, and signing him up for the race. It was sometime on Tuesday that we realized this might really happen, though Herlings wouldn’t know for sure until he rode the bike on Wednesday. Just to be ready, MX Sports Pro Racing pulled together a press release to send out when the decision was made. We would all be heading from West Virginia to Indiana on Wednesday anyway.

Of course Murphy’s Law kicked in around 10:30 a.m. and things went wrong in a hurry. Due to a communications error (read: hitting “send” instead of “save”), the press release went out before anyone had actually received confirmation from KTM, the Baker’s Factory, or even Herlings himself. He wasn’t signed up, and immediate panic came over me and a few others at MX Sports Pro Racing. I texted Aldon and apologized, and he replied that it had not been decided yet. I also got a hold of Red Bull KTM’s Roger DeCoster and he said likewise. Knowing that we screwed up, we went ahead and sent out a follow-up note saying the first release was premature, that Herlings had not signed up, and just tried to pull the tear-off after my face was covered in egg.

Two hours later, Aldon sent me this text: “Can Jeffrey ride the A practice?” I responded, “absolutely.” Aldon then asked, “What about press day on Thursday?” I said sure. Five minutes later, he finally wrote, “It’s a go! We will be there.” Whew! I was off the hook. Within a few minutes, KTM sent out their own press release, and suddenly, Ironman got a whole lot more interesting.

So Jeffrey Herlings becomes the latest MXGP competitor to drop in and do a race here in the middle of the season. It’s been done before with some real success by the likes of Stefan Everts, Clement Desalle, Kevin Strijbos, Marc de Reuver, Gareth Swanepoel, and Shaun Simpson a couple years ago at Unadilla, where he finished a solid fourth. But it’s also gone not-so-well at times, like when three-time 125cc World Champion Alessio Chiodi snapped the frame on his Husqvarna at Steel City, or when Pedro Tragter rode Unadilla.

To me, this feels like when Everts came to Unadilla in 1997. The hype was very real, because Stefan would be racing against his old GP rival Greg Albertyn, who had moved to the States following three world titles in the early nineties. Everts finished fourth overall but acquitted himself extremely well. Had he not crashed at the top of Screw-U, I think he had a legitimate shot at winning. Herlings has a very real shot. As I told MXGeoff for MXLarge.com’s preview, he has nothing to lose. He will probably have more support from appreciative fans than he expects, because everyone appreciates an extra effort and competitiveness like he is showing by jumping in on an off-weekend. I know I sure do! He’s also coming at the right time, with momentum and confidence he didn’t really have at the beginning of the MXGP season. He’s figured the 450 out, he’s healthy, and he’s getting priceless lessons battling Antonio Cairoli every round now. Because the track is fairly new and neutral, I would not be shocked if he won, and I expect him to be on the podium at least.

What would be ideal would be to see Eli wrap it up in the first moto, and then those two and Blake and Marvin have the last moto to just slug it out. It would be a fantastic end to a long and very good season, and then Eli and Jeffrey can do it again on yet another neutral track—WW Motocross Park in Jacksonville—for next weekend’s MXGP of USA, only then it will be with Jeffrey’s MXGP friends, like Cairoli, Tim Gajser, Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin, and more. What a great two weekends we have to end the 2017 motocross season here in America.

Want to know more about Herlings’ trip to Indiana? GuyB caught up with him for a Vital MX interview during press day (during which he looked fast and relaxed).

Besides all that, it’s been kind of hectic and busy here at the Ironman. There’s was a Team USA press conference this afternoon, followed by some work on the track (no, we’re not putting the wall jump back in that Dean Wilson was bunny-hopping yesterday), and then the races tomorrow, followed by a barbecue with all of the riders and race teams, and then an awards ceremony/brunch at the Lucas Oil mansion. Then it’s off to Jacksonville for the Monster Energy MXGP of USA. So let me hand this off to the other guys and the rest of Racerhead.

TALKING TO HERLINGS (JASON WEIGANDT)
Yes, this Herlings entry into tomorrow’s Ironman National is going to draw serious opinions regardless of the result, kind of like the way that big McGregor/Mayweather fight was supposed to do on Saturday night. All sides would be able to argue something depending on how it turned out. I talked to Jeffrey himself this afternoon, though, and I can tell you he’s not thinking of it in that way. He’s not here to prove anything or show anyone anything, he’s just here because he’s always dreamed of racing in America and this is his best chance to do it. He was already scheduled to fly to the U.S. on Tuesday, but as soon as his chain derailed in the second moto at last Sunday’s Swedish GP, he realized his title hopes were just about completely gone. At that point, he realized there would be little risk in trying a National here, so he asked KTM’s Pit Beirer and Pit said it would be okay.

Luckily Red Bull KTM has Trey Canard’s bike still in the team truck, so that’s what Herlings will ride. Since he showed up on Tuesday night, he only got to ride on Wednesday at the Baker’s Factory in Florida, and he says between the heat and jet lag that it wasn’t the most fun day of riding. Then he was off to Indiana for press day, but that’s only about 20 minutes of riding. The program here is really just being thrown together—Herlings runs Pirelli tires but he says as of right now he only has one rear tire. Someone is coming with more tires and some other stuff tomorrow morning. So this is all a bit last minute, but he doesn’t care because he’s always wanted to do this and he might never get another chance.

Jeffrey told me he does recognize that if he goes out and struggles it could make the rest of the riders in the GPs look bad, as he’s well aware of how the internet conversations usually go. But that, too, isn’t enough to stop him from trying it for fun. Due to AMA production rules (versus his full works GP bike) there are some differences in his bike on Saturday, as well as different fuel regulations, which do change the engine characteristics. But, he isn’t using any of that as an excuse, telling me the difference in bike isn’t the difference between winning and losing the race. Besides, he just wants to try it because this has been a life long goal of his. So consider it a dream fulfilled.

http://racerxonline.com/2017/08/25/racerhead-34

Vrij normale bekers.

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[ Bericht 7% gewijzigd door Nober op 26-08-2017 16:01:22 ]

Volledig: http://americanmotocrossr(...)ts/M1760/M2QCOVR.pdf

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 16:36 schreef TargaFlorio het volgende:
Goed begin.

Inmiddels al iets sneller in de tweede training. Pole position?

Mooie reacties.

http://www.vitalmx.com/fo(...)ssion,1324854?page=4

You know, being in Europe and seeng how the guys have the bikes set up, it looks similar here already - Herlings is on softer suspension than Tomac by a mile just watching the bikes.... When are American riders going to realize that stiff AF doesn't work as well outdoors? The Euros have that figured for sure.

Herlings is just embarrassing them

[ Bericht 27% gewijzigd door Nober op 26-08-2017 17:07:57 ]

Volledig: http://americanmotocrossr(...)ts/M1760/M1QCOVR.pdf

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 17:20 schreef TargaFlorio het volgende:
Hij moet alleen zijn kruit niet te vroeg verschieten.
Alles op één dag dus minder rust.

Maar 2 training sessies en nu nog twee manches, geen kwalifcatierace. Het schijnt daar qua weer ook beter te zijn dan in Florida.

Herlings video.

http://www.promotocross.c(...)s-things-final-round

http://www.promotocross.c(...)es-during-qualifying

http://www.promotocross.c(...)st-during-qualifying

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 17:43 schreef komrad het volgende:
Is dit ergens te zien?

Gaat lastig worden live.

Deze user upload wel redelijk snel.
https://www.dailymotion.com/Supercross-Motocross/videos

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 17:43 schreef komrad het volgende:
Is dit ergens te zien?

GmotoRace op facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/(...)9262/?type=3&theater



[ Bericht 13% gewijzigd door Nober op 26-08-2017 20:08:02 ]

Tomac crasht met Herlings aan kop.

quote:

Op zaterdag 26 augustus 2017 20:34 schreef TargaFlorio het volgende:
Musquen krijgt het niet voor niks.

Tomac heeft/had maar 22 punten nodig. Dat was gewoon beslist.