It is amazing how different years, can still throw up the same storyline. Entering Lommel in 2021 and 2024, Jeffrey Herlings riding a Red Bull KTM factory machine, was roughly 50 points down on then HRC factory rider, Tim Gajser. He was battling hard to get himself back in contention and while his 2021 run turned into world title number five, 2024 didn’t go his way.

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Of course, this year, Herlings made his charge two weeks earlier, this time at Foxhill and Loket. 68 points down entering Foxhill, Herlings got lucky, with Lucas Coenen crashing out and that 68 points turned to a 49-point lead within a week. Victories in England and Czech Republic.

For Herlings, entering Lommel has often had a story of building and doing his best to maintain momentum, like he has now, with 1-2-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-1 results coming from his last 10 Sunday motos. Prior to that run of success, he had two DNFs due to motor issues and his season looked over.

Back in 2021, less than two weeks after fracturing his left shoulder blade in a racing incident at the Dutch Grand Prix and sitting out the Czech round seven days prior to Lommel, Herlings elected to attempt to race Lommel late on Saturday afternoon. And like so many of his performances, everyone watched in awe.

The then 26-year-old was a tenth of a second from securing pole position in timed practice and then slotted into 2nd place on the first lap of the opening moto. He chased Romain Febvre for 10 of the 15 laps and maintained his pace to eventually take the lead and win his third consecutive race by a comfortable 28 seconds.

Torrential rain fell during the moto and continued sporadically into the second motos. Herlings was unlucky to tangle with Glenn Coldenhoff three corners into the second start. The incident meant he had to cut through from the lower reaches of the top twenty and reached as high as 5th before he ran out of energy and momentum.

The 1-5 was still sufficient for the second step of the podium and meant he was fifth in the standings, 42 points from Gajser. He gained nine points on Gajser that day at Lommel in 2021. His championship run was on and as we all know, when Jeffrey Herlings gets momentum, he is like an out-of-control freight train, pushing anything in his way aside.

“As everybody knows,” Herlings said back in 2021. “I broke my shoulder blade and it’s not normal to be riding again in thirteen days. I didn’t know if my speed would fade because the track was so rough and hard on the body. At one point I felt I could run a faster pace. I passed Romain and made a gap. I started well in the second moto – fourth or fifth I think - but came together with Glenn going for an inside line. It was a shame to be last, but I fought my way back to 5th…then I faded! I couldn’t hold onto the bike that well and I didn’t want to make a big crash. To go 1-5 is a good day. One week ago, we thought the championship was over – and I still need to hunt down the points – but 42 points is not too bad and there are still a lot of races and options ahead. 42 away is not where I want to be but if I had this offer a week ago, I would have signed for it.”

Fast forward to 2024 and Herlings was coming off a pretty hot run, finishing with 2-3-1-3-3-1-1-2-1-1-1-4 from the 12 Sunday motos prior to Lommel, including a sensational charge from last to fourth the weekend before in Loket, on a circuit that doesn’t generally allow passing and even catching riders is difficult.

“I felt like my old self from a few years ago today,” Herlings said after his Loket second moto performance in 2024. “I am still improving, and these kinds of tracks are not easy for me. I went from 5th to 1st in the first moto and wanted to make another statement in the second, but I messed up; maybe a bit too much confidence. From dead last to 13th and then I hit someone’s rear wheel and had to do it again. Speed was good, fitness was good, but luck was not on my side today. So, not great, not bad and to win my 200th moto was pretty special, nobody else has reached that amount. Still seven races to go and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

2024 didn’t see a championship victory, as Herlings had started the season coming off injury and his results were not consistent and that cost him any chance of winning and the MXGP title went to Jorge Prado. He was at one point nearly 70 points behind Prado (due to his injury riddled start to the season).

Now, here we sit in 2026, now 31-year-old, and riding for the HRC factory team, we see a very different Dutchman. Still hungry for success, still demanding the best of himself, but now, 49 points ahead of his next rival, Lucas Coenen, who might not even turn up in Lommel and if he does, will be down on power and more than likely struggling big time. Riding smoother than ever and clearly more comfortable on his Honda than he ever was on his KTM, Herlings is destined for another world title, but lets not add it just yet.

The sport has both been good and bad for Herlings. Moments of magic and moments of despair, but you get the feeling that this weekend we might see a veteran of the sport turn in one of his most dominating performances of recent years and turn this 2026 championship into a one-horse race. If anyone deserves that outcome, its “The Bullet”. As he says himself though, it’s still a long way to go and anything can happen.