DIRT NEWS

Jeffrey Herlings was racing for fun at the final round of the FIM World MXGP Championship in Australia. But then, Herlings is Herlings, so he came out of the gate in typical fashion – fast. His weekend started with an uncharacteristic, of late, third in qualifying. It was the first time since Round 12 that he didn’ t win a session. His teammate Vialle got the holeshot in the first moto, winning more such starts than anyone else this year. Soon, however, we were treated to the familiar sight of Herlings passing for the lead. Taking the first race, it did appear that he was in Australia to prove a point, not parade around as champion. The second race saw Herlings make a rare error and got swamped in the race to T1. Passing looked easy as he forged forward, taking over his‘ business as usual’ stance at the front midway through and there he stayed, making it a 1-1 to close out the year with a 168-point title winning margin. Not bad when a round win gets you a maximum of fifty points. Job done.

Aprilia Tuareg Rally took out the Italian Motorally Championship with Thomas Marini at the handlebars, making it the fourth consecutive win for the team. It was Marini’ s debut victory in the G-1000 class, dedicated to the twin-cylinder adventure bikes.

Making his win even sweeter, it was his first time competing on the bike. It was a challenging debut but he learned fast, adapted well and despite the challenges, he stayed upbeat and motivated as it all started to flow and he caught up time, cracked the lead and held it to the end. Not a perfect race by his standards but it bodes well as he forges ahead into the upcoming events in the fast-growing class on a bike that now has a serious race pedigree.

KIWI RIDER 95