24.10.2021

Herlings and Vialle dominant for first Italian Grand Prix in Trentino triple

MXGP 2021 Round 14 of 18, Pietramurata (ITA)

Jeffrey Herlings KTM 450 SX-F 2021 Trentino © KTM images/Ray Archer

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Jeffrey Herlings (MXGP) and Tom Vialle (MX2) excelled to win all four motos for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the fourteenth round of eighteen in the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship. The Grand Prix of Trentino was the first of three rounds at the same Pietramurata circuit and the final five fixtures all in Italy.

- Twelfth podium from fourteen and seven wins for Jeffrey Herlings after 1-1 in Italy

- Win #97 for the Dutchman who extends narrow championship lead to 24 points

- Fifth MX2 victory from the last seven Grands Prix for on-fire Vialle

- The reigning MX2 World Champ is 3rd in the standings & 4 points from 2nd

Pietramurata was sunny and busy with fans for the first of three appointments this week. The 2021 MXGP schedule means the hard-packed, narrow and compact circuit will stage races this coming Wednesday and Sunday as the series pushes towards a conclusion. The ground was slick and the winding, elevated nature of the course placed a premium on moto starts.

MXGP

Jeffrey Herlings was denied a sixth consecutive MXGP Pole Position by just four hundredths of a second in Timed Practice. The Dutchman had to settle for 2nd just head of Tony Cairoli in 3rd and Jorge Prado in 7th, who was dealing with a small fracture in his lower back after a training crash.

Herlings used his KTM 450 SX-F to power to a top three start and then passed Jeremy Seewer to lead and then score his eleventh moto win of 2021. Prado crashed on the downhill double but remounted to finish 8th while Tony Cairoli fell on the first lap and pulled out of the moto with a painful upper leg.

At the start of the second race Herlings tangled with Tim Gajser on the start straight and rounded the first corner outside of the top ten. He then produced a display of accomplished and forceful riding to grab P1 only minutes from the checkered flag. The 1-1 scorecard was his second rout of MXGP this year and gives him a 50% win ratio as well as stretching his margin with the red plate to 24 points over Romain Febvre. Prado didn’t make a good start but rode as hard as he could for 17th and 4 points, classifying 13th overall. Cairoli was on the floor once more on the first lap and could not complete the race distance. Prado and Cairoli are still 4th and 5th in the championship standings.

Jeffrey Herlings:“It wasn’t an easy one today and this is not an easy track for passing. The first moto was tough but I had to fight even more in the second one. I could see the others ahead in the first laps and I thought ‘now, it’s go-time’ I played it smart and went it count in the last couple of laps. I want to thank Red Bull KTM for their excellent work. I’m in very good shape but we never underestimate the competition.”

Jorge Prado: “I gave everything I had. 100%. Even with a broken bone I was fighting for top five in the first moto. It was a pity about the crash with five minutes to go but I still managed to finish. I suffered a lot. I missed the start completely in the second moto and wasn’t happy about 17th but I cannot really fight in my situation at the moment. Hopefully it will be less painful on Wednesday. Starts count for so much here and I also want to make less mistakes like I did in the second moto.”

Tony Cairoli: “Not much to say. I was off in both races on the first lap through no fault of my own. The day was disappointing after starting well in Timed Practice. The race starts mean so much here and all we can do is hope for better and try to be on the podium for the next two. We want to enjoy the last few races.”

MX2

Rene Hofer was the fastest of the Red Bull KTM trio in Timed Practice. The Austrian set the 3rd best lap ahead of teammate Tom Vialle in 4th and Mattia Guadagnini made sure of 11th place after a hefty fall from which he was lucky to emerge uninjured.

In the first moto Vialle ripped his 14th holeshot of the season (11 more than any other rider) and within the tight confines of Pietramurata was able to escape to his eleventh moto win and the ninth from the last fourteen on the calendar. Hofer was mired in the depths of the top ten and reached the flag in 8th. Guadagnini was 18th after running into trouble on the first lap after a mediocre start.

Vialle repeated his scorching start and form in the second moto. He faced some late pressure from Jago Geerts and just one second split the rivals at the finish but the Frenchman celebrated his sixth GP win of 2021 with his fourth 1-1 set. Trentino was his eighth podium appearance with the KTM 250 SX-F. Hofer started 2nd behind Vialle but a small mistake dropped him to 5th. He finished the race in the top five, earning 7th overall on the day. Guadagnini was 7th after an intense scrap with Kay De Wolf and ranked 12th.

Vialle has jumped above Guadagnini to enter the top three of the championship standings. He is four points from Geerts and 2nd place in the table. He is 24 points ahead of the Italian. Hofer is 6th.

Tom Vialle: “A great weekend. The first moto was perfect then it was a long second moto but I had some strong lines and Jago {Geerts] could not pass me. I want to thank the team, we prepared well and it was another good day; another 1-1 and I’m really happy. We’re trying to close the gap in the championship as much as possible and anything can happen.”

Rene Hofer: “The day began really well with 3rd place in qualifying but I had a top twelve start in the first moto and around this track you lose quite some time when you’re not at the front. I rode a solid race in P8. I was 2nd after Tom in the second race and could follow his pace for four laps and unfortunately, I made a small crash. I fell back to P5 and finished there. Riding-wise the day was pretty good and I had the speed for the podium. I’m looking forward to another two races here. I like the track, it’s not perfect but I like being here and will search for the podium again.”

Mattia Guadagnini: “Probably the worst race of the year! It started with a big crash in Timed Practice and then I wasn’t feeling so great. I had a terrible start in the first moto and was trying to make some passes when I went down again. I lost the rhythm and just tried to get some points. Of course, 18th is not what I want. The second moto start was better and the whole race generally, even if I lost a few too many positions on the second corner for my liking. 7th was just OK and we’ll get better for the next GP.”

The Grand Prix of Pietramurata brings MXGP back to the same facility this coming Wednesday.