A big day for Jeffrey Herlings in the sand and many riders show stunning speed. Here is what many of them said after the toughest motocross race in the world. Bavo Swijgers image

Jeffrey Herlings: "It was a great weekend, just like last week we were topping every session. Two good starts today, I led every lap, Race 1 especially was really enjoyable. I had a small issue in Race 2 so I had to manage my pace, but we kept the gap to around 15 seconds and I'm just happy to bring it home. I had a bit of a crash near the end so Kay got second, but I don't really know by how much I won in the end, I just did what I had to do to win. That's 60 points, massive for the championship. Now it's about staying sharp, we've got five more races to go and we need to work on the sand before Arnhem, but the team works extremely hard day in, day out."

Kay de Wolf: "I learned a lot this weekend. I followed Jeffrey for the first 12 to 15 minutes in Race 1, then let him go because I knew I needed the energy for Race 2. I went the wrong way this morning in the first race, it's something you learn from, and I'm happy it happened now rather than at Arnhem. That's the plan since I came back, to learn, and I did that again today. I'm on the box, which is what we hoped for. Coming back from the injury I still felt like I wasn't quite there physically. With another three weeks under my belt I think I can show some good things at Arnhem."

Tim Gajser: "It was a decent weekend, I won't hide it, I was struggling a bit with the setup. The track wasn't the easiest either. In the first race I had a nice flow and could follow Kay, the second one I actually felt worse after we made some changes. Overall we're still learning and getting better with the Yamaha, it's a different bike to what I'm used to, a bit heavier, so the settings have to adapt too. But it's always nice to finish on the podium here in Lommel, the toughest GP of the year."

Camden McLellan: "I don't know if I cracked the code, butI was really just doing my thing like every weekend, it just worked out better this time. My starts were still way off, so there's still work to do there, but I felt very good on the bike and fitness-wise too. Lommel is a really difficult place to find a flow, and it was hot today on top of that. With ten minutes to go I was so jammed up with roost and dirt I had to basically throw up in my helmet and keep going, it wasn't easy. But I like that, it's a bit of character building."

Guillem Farrés: "It was a great weekend for me, I finally put together two solid starts after a tough one yesterday. I led a lot of laps and did my own race. Camden was really fast today, so in the second race I tried to learn from him and made a push at the end to hold second. I go race by race, I want to win every time I go out, but I also know Camden is strong, I train with him, so when I saw him going in the second race I settled for second, I think that was the right call. Good points for the championship again, and I'm happy to keep the podium streak going."

Simon Langenfelder: "The qualifying race, Race 1, was still quite nice to ride, I had a good flow and didn't use too much energy. The second race got hard toward the end, but I enjoyed it, you can really play with the track here. I got a bit lucky passing for the podium spot too, the guys ahead made mistakes on the inside and I rolled around the outside. It's a long race here, you can't be too tactical because you can gain a second or two a lap easily if you push."

Sacha Coenen: “A difficult weekend. I was not feeling 100% and was getting quite tired. We just need to accept the 6-7 even if I am not so happy with the result. I brought some good points home and I hope in two weeks we can be back going for the win. Battling for the championship again is now key.”

Lucas Coenen: “I was able to ride in practice but couldn’t really manage more than two laps; too much pain. We did some scans and there is more evaluation coming on Wednesday; when we’ll know more about the future.”

Romain Febvre: "Finally I got a good start again in the second moto and I found a good rhythm but I had used so much energy both on Saturday and in the first moto to come back through the pack. Two laps from the end I hit a soft spot in the waves and went over the bars; it was a big crash but I'm OK. The feeling right now could not be worse; the rest were so far behind and I had given everything for the podium until the bike stopped in the last half lap."

Guillem Farres: “It was another solid day. First of all, it's great to share the podium with Camden – that's a really good result for the team and if I can’t win then I want him to. The second moto was solid. I got the holeshot, was passed early on, but stayed calm and rode my own race. In the last 10 minutes I was able to make the pass for second, so I'm really happy with that. Extending the championship lead is another positive and overall, it was a great day for the whole team.”

Andrea Adamo: “After the Quali race yesterday I have to say I was expecting a little bit more today. I didn’t have the best feeling in the first moto and that meant I went into the second not completely on-point. A bad start, a crash also, and from then on I managed to get back to P5 with a good rhythm. I chased and passed the guys ahead of me quite easily. 5th overall in Lommel is better than just ‘good enough’. A break next week then hardpack in Sweden and overseas to the last Grands Prix. It will go quickly but I’m looking forward to it.”

Maxime Renaux: "It was a really tough weekend. The heat made everything even harder, and Lommel, with its deep sand, is already one of the most physically demanding tracks on the calendar. Because of the health issues I've been dealing with, I simply didn't have enough energy to ride the way I wanted to. In the second race, I went off the track and crashed. Luckily, I'm okay. Now it's all about recovering properly, regrouping, and coming back stronger."

Karlis Reisulis: It was a good day. We made some positive changes after yesterday, and I definitely felt much better on the bike today. My start in the first race wasn't great, but I rode my own race and felt strong throughout. I felt like I could push hard right to the end. It’s been another good weekend and I'm happy with the day, happy that I was able to push hard, and pleased with how I felt on the bike.

Janis Reisulis: It was quite a good day overall. My speed was really good, and I managed to keep a clear head throughout the races, even when I was battling with other riders. To finish fifth overall at my first Grand Prix here is a result I'm happy with. The track was really tough once it got rough, so there's still plenty to work on, especially with my fitness. We'll keep working hard and keep improving. A big thank you to the whole team for all of their support this weekend.

Liam Everts: “It was a tricky weekend. I didn’t put too much pressure on myself, but I struggled a little with both the track and the bike. I just couldn’t find the feeling I was looking for. Two crashes on Saturday cost me quite a bit as well, so it was an up-and-down day. The start of the first moto was really good. I took my first holeshot of the year, which was really nice and definitely a positive. Unfortunately, we then had a bike failure, which put us out of the race and ended our chances of fighting for the podium. That was a tough pill to swallow, but these things happen in racing and in life. I also made a pretty decent start in the second moto. I think I was around second or third, but straight away, from the opening lap, I struggled a lot. There was no real way around it. I tried to find my rhythm and do the best I could, but it was a really difficult race for me. In the end, I finished fifth in the second moto. I gave everything I had, but fifth was the best I could manage on the day, and I’m obviously not really satisfied with that result. It wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for, but we’ll take what we can from it, keep working and push on towards Sweden.”

Rubén Fernández: Sixth overall is a solid result, and although I wasn’t so close to the podium as I have been the previous weeks, the fact that I stayed off the ground throughout the entire weekend is something I can be proud of. This track hasn’t been kind to me in the past, so I think I showed that I can be fast and consistent at such a tough track. We’ve got some better tracks for me coming up and I’m excited to see what I can do on those.

Tom Vialle: I ended up being just a couple of points off the podium, which I think is something I am extremely happy with, on my return here on a 450cc machine. This truly is the toughest track in the world, and having not really trained on anything like this for a few years, I think fourth overall, with a third in race two is an excellent result. We’ve been working very hard these past few weeks and I think you can see the process is working well.

Valerio Lata: I can’t say that I’m very happy with this weekend. I knew it would be a tough one, but this was really a struggle and I’m hoping that I can reset in this weekend off and do better in Sweden, on a track that suits me a lot better.