In sweltering conditions, Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings has won the opening moto of the MXGP of Lombok this afternoon after passing early leader Tim Gajser and gaining valuable points on the two riders ahead of him in the MXGP points standings. The points are now Tim Gajser 586 points, Jorge Prado 558pts and Jeffrey Herlings 532pts. So Gajser some 28 points ahead of Prado and Prado 26 points ahead of Herlings.

Jeffrey Herlings: It feels hotter today than yesterday, but I feel a lot better than last week. Tim had a good pace, but I kept a gap to not get his roost and then I put a charge and got him. Looking forward to the second moto.

Gajser, who slipped over after being passed by Herlings, finished second, and third was Calvin Vlaanderen, who passed Jorge Prado late in the moto. Prado finished fourth, and so far this weekend has lost a handful of points to both Gajser and Herlings.

Gajser with the lead in the opening MXGP moto, from Herlings, Prado, Vlaanderen, Seewer, Guadagnini, Bonacorsi, Gifting, Guillod and Coldenhoff 10th. Herlings struggling to keep Prado behind him as the Spaniard looks very sharp in third.

On lap in and it was Gajser with a lead of 2.3 seconds ahead of Herlings, with Prado a further second back in third, then Vlaanderen, Seewer, Guadagnini, Bonacorsi, Coldenhoff, Guillod and Horgmo. Vlaanderen putting a little pressure on Prado for third place.

Like last weekend, you get the feeling the top four are not pushing 100% as they try and save energy for the second part of the moto. Lap three the lead was 2.8 seconds with Herlings two seconds ahead of Prado, then came Vlaanderen, Seewer, Guadagnini, Bonacorsi, Coldenhoff, Guillod, and Horgmo still 10th.

Lap four and the lead by Gajser over Herlings was nearly four seconds, with Prado two seconds behind Herlings and Vlaanderen, four seconds off Prado in fourth place. Then came Seewer, Bonacorsi, Coldenhoff, Guillod, and Horgmo 10th.

Coldenhoff a nice pass on Bonacorsi for seventh place and up front not much happening as the gaps between the riders is four seconds, Gajser four ahead of Herlings, Herlings four ahead of Prado and Prado four head of Vlaanderen. Will be interesting to see if Herlings makes a push with 10 minutes remaining, as he often does.

Seven laps and the lead is just 2.8 seconds now as Herlings maybe pushing early. Prado some six seconds off the Dutchmans pace. Gajser just did some fast sections and took it back to 3.5 seconds.

Eight laps in and 12 minutes remaining the lead is 3.6 seconds between Gajser and Herlings, with Prado now 10 seconds off the pace of the leader and Vlaanderen 15 seconds away from Gajser. Coldenhoff all over Guadagnini and passed him on the ninth lap.

10 laps in and 10 minutes remaining and Herlings is charging, just 1.9 behind Gajser now with Prado 13 seconds off Gajsers lead. That 10 minute mark is always where the Dutchman makes his big push. 11 laps and the lead is 1.7 seconds with Prado 15 seconds back and struggling to maintain the pace of the two front guys.

Herlings suddenly all over the back wheel of Gajser and looking to take yet another moto win in his charge to the top of the points lead. It’s a long road to catch Gajser, but the KTM rider is giving his all. Herlings off the side of the circuit and lost major time on Gajser, but quickly picked it up again and back onto the back wheel of the leader.

Herlings into the lead as he charged under Gajser and then Gajser slipped over and handing Herlings the moto win it seems. Herlings lead on lap 12 was now 8.1 seconds, with Prado seven seconds behind Gajser. Vlaanderen looks like he is catching Prado, which would be huge for the points situation for both Gajser and Herlings.

Lap 14 and Vlaanderen really putting pressure on Prado and made the pass to relegate the Spaniard to fourth place and Herlings gets major points over the defending World champion here. Vlaanderen into third as Herlings wins the moto from Gajser and the South African.

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 - Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:21.365; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:07.436; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:14.873; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:28.814; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:39.037; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:48.801; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:52.802; 8. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:56.184; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:57.985; 10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:09.584; 11. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:15.516; 12. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:20.777; 13. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:40.714; 14. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), +1:57.732; 15. Yuki Okura (JPN, Honda), +2:04.589; 16. Lionel Kerhoas (FRA, KTM), -3 lap(s);

MXGP - World Championship Classification

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 586 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 558 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 532 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 409 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 396 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 347 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 250 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 241 p.; 11. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 213 p.; 12. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), 164 p.; 13. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 163 p.; 14. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 156 p.; 15. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 148 p.; 16. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 138 p.; 17. Isak Gifting (SWE, YAM), 120 p.; 18. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 110 p.; 19. Alvin Östlund (SWE, HON), 95 p.; 20. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, BET), 71 p.; 21. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 63 p.; 22. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 54 p.; 23. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 39 p.; 24. Josh Gilbert (GBR, KTM), 29 p.; 25. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 26. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 24 p.; 27. Yuki Okura (JPN, HON), 19 p.; 28. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), 18 p.; 29. Lionel Kerhoas (FRA, KTM), 15 p.; 30. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, HON), 14 p.; 31. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), 13 p.; 32. Tim Edberg (SWE, HON), 13 p.; 33. Ander Valentin (ESP, YAM), 7 p.; 34. Emilio Scuteri (ITA, HON), 6 p.; 35. Tomas Kohut (SVK, KTM), 6 p.; 36. Yuri Quarti (ITA, HON), 6 p.; 37. Albin Gerhardsson (SWE, HUS), 6 p.; 38. Uldis Freibergs (LAT, GAS), 6 p.; 39. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 5 p.; 40. Lars van Berkel (NED, HON), 5 p.; 41. Mark Scheu (GER, HUS), 5 p.; 42. Filippo Zonta (ITA, KTM), 4 p.; 43. Miguel Cordovez (ECU, YAM), 4 p.; 44. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), 4 p.; 45. Cato Nickel (GER, HUS), 3 p.; 46. Tomass Sileika (LAT, GAS), 3 p.; 47. Simone Croci (ITA, HON), 3 p.; 48. Fabio Aparecido dos Santos (BRA, YAM), 3 p.; 49. Stefano Pezzuto (ITA, HON), 3 p.; 50. Jakub Teresak (CZE, HUS), 3 p.; 51. Anton Nagy (SWE, YAM), 3 p.; 52. Nicolas Rolando (URU, HUS), 2 p.; 53. Andres Benenaula (ECU, KAW), 1 p.; 54. Sergio Ignacio Villaronga Muga (CHI, HON), 1 p.;

Herlings image - Ray Archer / Gajser image Bavo Swijgers