Something that might give Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings some confidence this weekend, heading into the toughest motocross circuit in the World, Lommel, is that in his last championship winning season in 2021, he entered the Belgian round of the championship 49 points down on series leader, Tim Gajser.

In 2024, he trails that same man (Gajser), but this time by 55 points. The bad news is, Lommel in 2021 was the sixth round, while in 2024, it’s the 14th round, so time is running out, but rather incredible that the points gap heading into Lommel in 2021 and 2024 are so similar and Herlings was again chasing the points lead of Gajser.

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 his Loket performance, 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 means he was fifth in the standings, 42 points from Gajser. He gained nine points on Gajser that day at Lommel in 2021, the same number of points he will need (per GP) to make up if he has a serious shot at the 2024 MXGP championship.

“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 is coming off a pretty hot run, finishing with 2-3-1-3-3-1-1-2-1-1-1-4 from the last 12 Sunday motos, including that sensational charge from last to fourth last weekend, on a circuit that doesn’t generally allow passing and even catching riders is difficult.

The momentum is clearly in the Dutchman’s favour, but he also knows that to pull back 55 points with just seven rounds remaining is nearly impossible, but then again, it is eight points a round and would mean Gajser needs to have a bad GP or two, and the Slovenian hasn’t shown us that all season long. Will pressure change that, we don’t know, but what we do know, motocross can bite you at any moment and it’s bitten both Gajser and Herlings on numerous occasions. Herlings though, is pumped for the battle.

“I felt like my old self from a few years ago today,” Herlings said of his Loket second moto performance. “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.”

Injuries have often been a major part of why Herlings hasn’t won more World titles, losing maybe three championships after having a huge lead, only to bust something and end the season at home on the couch. It is go time for “The Bullet” and while that eight points a GP will be tough to make up, Herlings knows anything worse than 1-1-1 from now on in, just isn’t good enough.

One thing we do know about Herlings, he isn’t about to give up and under these types of pressures, he seems to thrive, and his speed goes to another level and his mind starts to get more confidence. As I have said before, bring on Lommel and that deep, dark sand. Gajser vs Herlings in 2024 might just have begun.

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