Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings didn’t have the best weekend, in the opening round of the MXGP championship. With a broken hand, the Dutchman scored 13 points and while it wasn’t a brilliant tally, it was better than no points at all.
We caught up with Herlings on Saturday night and asked him about his performance and what he expects from the next week.
Jeffrey, it wasn’t great, but it could have been a lot worse?
Not a lot worse. We took everything out of the situation, we broke out hand 11 days ago and had surgery 10 days ago, and we needed to race. We thought it was nearly impossible, and we gave it a try and I think we got 13 points. I had lost the championship with four points once, so I tried to get maximum. The pain was incredible. I know it’s a long series and this weekend and next weekend we just need to survive. Hopefully by Argentina we can start working from there. The competition. I hadn’t ridden for three weeks before my crash in Italy, and then didn’t ride for two weeks, so five weeks off the bike and we did what we could and kept the dream alive.
Obviously with such an injury I can imagine you were having to compensate for your hand. Did that give you more trouble, like arm pump or whatever?
Yes, the first moto, we made the gas very big, so it was easier to hold on. But because I had to hold on with much with the other arm, I got really bad arm pump and obviously I am riding with a very heavy clutch. I went from sixth to nearly last, because both arms were not working. It was tough.
I saw at one stage you just moved over and let guys through. Was that because just went too wide or you just didn’t want to risk trying to hold them out?
No, I couldn’t hold onto the bike, so I figured it’s better to just let them pass me and use my brain. Just see how it goes.
Can it be better next week, or not really?
I don’t know, it’s a short time really, and I am riding with a broken bone. Everybody who has ridden a motorbike knows you need every bone in your body. I mean it will just be two weeks after I broke the bone, and riding this week wouldn’t have helped the healing at all. It’s going to be tough. Hopefully by Argentina I can be riding pain free, and the first two rounds I just survive. I don’t want to give up on the big dream, and we are looking at a bad situation really, but we just have to look as if we can still pull it off.
Do you go home now and can you ride during the week?
Depends how it feels, we go home and I still have the get the stitches out, they have to get out quickly, but the doctor was worried if he took them out before Qatar that the wound would open up when it got swollen. Monday we will check if the plate is bent, if the plate is bent its game over. I was racing on the plate, we will just look day by day and see.
