Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle own the Turkish MXGP

MXGP of Turkey: This weekend took the eighth Grand Prix of the 2021 Motocross World Championship at Afyonkarahisar.

MXGP

Jeffrey Herlings triumphs for the second time in 2021 and 92nd of his career while Jorge Prado achieved the 3rd podium of the year and rises to 2nd in the championship.

Jeffrey Herlings: “Today was a good day. I picked up the pieces and got the second place in the second moto for the overall. Our starts need to be better, so we know where we need to improve when we go again here. I had to pass a lot of guys and really work for this win. It was a bit sketchy watching Tony and Jorge racing! The competition is super-strong. I’m doing all I can and the championship is so tight. I’m already looking forward to Wednesday.”

Jorge Prado: “I think it was a great day. I had two good starts and that made things a lot easier. I led a lot of laps and that was a positive. I’m learning from that. I had a good rhythm, even if the others were pushing really fast. I could see a couple of things where I can improve for Wednesday and it was a bit of a pity to lose that position to Jeffrey on the last lap. Still, we got some solid points and there is a lot of racing left. I think Wednesday can be much better.”

Tony Cairoli: “Overall I’m quite happy because the speed was good. I came back to 5th in the first moto after a bad start. We know that the start is so important on a track like this where it can be difficult to pass. I had good pace but couldn’t get higher than 5th. I was better at the beginning of the second moto and caught the leaders with Jorge and Tim. I was trying hard to overtake Jorge but it was pretty tough. At one moment I was really close but unfortunately when I jumped I saw someone had knocked some haybales into the track and there were in the middle of the way. I crashed pretty hard and lost two places, back to 5th. Not the best day but I’m not hurt and there is still a lot of racing ahead.”

MX2

Tom Vialle, fully fit after injury, races to his second MX2 GP win of the season and all three MX2 Red Bull KTM riders classify in the top five in Turkey.

Tom Vialle: “Back on top! I felt really good on the bike. I made a small mistake trying to push and catch Maxime in the second moto but I’m really happy to win again and after all the time we had to wait for the injury on my hand to get better. I think I’m back to a good speed like I was before. I want to thank the team and all the people around me.”

Mattia Guadagnini: “I was feeling really good today and my riding was strong because of my rhythm and the line choices. I was happy to finish 2nd in the first moto. My start wasn’t great in the second and I lost time at the beginning but then I spent so much time trying to pass Jed for 3rd. I couldn’t make it and was a bit disappointed to miss the podium but the important thing is that I felt fast and we’ll try to keep this for Wednesday where we’ll hope for even better results.”

Rene Hofer: “In general it was a really good day. It was nice to finally lead some laps again. Unfortunately I suffered some arm-pump in the first moto but I came away with 5th which wasn’t that bad. My start wasn’t too hot in the second moto but I passed some riders right away and I stayed in 5th. My riding was actually really good in that second race so we can build from that for Wednesday.”

Motocross World Championship 2021, Round 8 – Afyon 1 (Turkey)

MXGP
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)

2. Jorge Prado (KTM)

5. Antonio Cairoli (KTM)

MX2
1. Tom Vialle (KTM)

4. Mattia Guadagnini (KTM)

5. Rene Hofer (KTM)

12. Isak Gifting (GasGas)

13. Stephen Rubini (Honda)

16. Gianluca Facchetti (KTM)

18. Simon Längenfelder (GasGas)

20. Emil Weckman (Honda)