MXGP - 3/4 Mark

Posted on October 11, 2021

Twelve rounds in and six to go in one of the all-time great Grand Prix championship battles. We started with the big five, and we might be down to the big three, as Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Romain Febvre and HRC factory rider Tim Gajser start to make a gap on Red Bull KTM factory riders Jorge Prado and Antonio Cairoli.

Amazingly, outside these five incredible athletes, only two men have been on the podium in MXGP in 2021, Monster Energy Yamaha riders Glenn Coldenhoff once and Jeremy Seewer once.

There is a slight shift in momentum in the last month, with Jeffrey Herlings somewhat taking over, although his domination hasn’t been an easy road.

There is no hiding from the last six GP’s, Herlings has won four of them, and Gajser two. There is also no hiding the fact injuries have played a major part in all the top riders’ performances, apart from second placed man Romain Febvre, who actually picked up his first ever World title (back in 2015) due to staying fit while those around him crumbled.

Jeffrey Herlings: The Dutchman has momentum and we all know, "The Bullet" with momentum is very dangerous. While it doesn’t seem like he can just run away from this field of MXGP riders, he is doing a really good job in calculating his races and pushing when he needs to, and that is often coming out as a GP win. Of course, the Dutchman has 95 GP wins, with five of those coming in 2021. Herlings also has nine moto wins and 460 points. His results in the races he has finishes, because he had that horrible crash in Oss, Holland and missed the second moto (after winning the first moto) and he also missed the Czech GP, but from the weekends he has started and finished the GP, he has gone 2-3-1-2-3-1-1-2-1. Doesn’t look bad, does it?

Romain Febvre: The next man in line is Febvre, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider has been very good this year in keeping his wheels straight and staying away from major injury. The Frenchman has 1 GP win, three moto wins and 454 points. How can any of us forget that 2015 season when so many riders dropped out and in some ways, Febvre was handed a championship. It wasn’t undeserved, but it was made easier with Ryan Villopoto, Antonio Cairoli, Clement Desalle and Max Nagl all crashing out of contention. Again, this year Febvre has been rock solid, and despite a few crashes earlier in the season has been very consistent the last six or so weeks. His last three GPs have seen him finish 3^rd, 3^rd and 2^nd. His overall tally from the season so far, he has been on the podium on six occasions out of 12.

Tim Gajser: Defending MXGP champion and the most successful rider of the last five years is HRC rider Tim Gajser. The Slovenian has been brilliant on most occasions, with the odd poor performance, but his six moto wins, four GP wins, and 450 points keeps him close enough to Herlings and Febvre. Like Herlings the podium has been a happy hunting ground with his overall results so far this year 1-2-7-1-6-6-1-3-2-12-1-3. He hasn’t missed a GP, but that Sardinia result hurt him badly.

Jorge Prado: The Spanish kid has lost contact with the big three due to his crash in Germany and while he has three moto wins and one GP win, his 398pts sees him 62 points off the tally of Herlings, 56 behind Febvre and 52 points behind Gajser. That makes it hard work for the Spaniard, as catching one of these guys is probably possible, but all three, I doubt it. Prado has made the podium in Czech Republic, Belgium, Latvia, Turkey and Sardinia, but at such a young age, you just knew he won’t be able to maintain the same focus and speed as guys like Herlings, Febvre and Gajser, who are all a lot more experienced. No doubt though, Prado is coming and when he fully arrives, I am not sure what he is capable of, but at some stage in his career, he will dominate.

Tony Cairoli: And then we have Antonio Cairoli, still fighting hard and maintaining the motivation, despite his most recent injury run and obviously his aging body. Cairoli has won three motos, a GP and has 387pts. It is hard to see him catch the front three, so it seems more likely he will fight on for a possible GP victory and some moto wins and hopefully a top three in the championship. Whatever happens, he will go out with his head held high and a list of moto wins, GP wins and championships most of the guys above could only dream about.

Moto Wins: Herlings 9, Gajser 6, Febvre, Prado and Cairoli 3 each

GP Wins: Herlings 5, Gajser 4, Febvre, Prado and Cairoli 1 each

Podium Finishes: Jeffrey Herlings 10, Tim Gajser 8, Romain Febvre 6, Jorge Prado 5, Antonio Cairoli 5, Glenn Coldenhoff 1, Jeremy Seewer 1

Podium Results 2021

Russia: Gajser, Herlings, Febvre

Great Britain: Cairoli, Gajser, Herlings

Italy: Herlings, Coldenhoff, Cairoli

Netherlands: Gajser, Cairoli, Febvre

Czech Republic: Prado, Cairoli, Seewer

Belgium: Febvre, Herlings, Prado

Latvia: Gajser, Prado, Herlings

Turkey I: Herlings, Prado, Gajser