Jeffrey Herlings versus Tony Cairoli resumes this weekend at the MXGP of Latvia, round seven of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship.
Although neither rider topped the podium last time out at the MXGP of Russia – that honour went to Clement Desalle (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – the Red Bull KTM team-mates, currently lying one-two in the title chase, have to start as favourites.
Russia was the first time this season that neither Herlings or Cairoli took the overall win after the pair appeared to trip each other up rather than worry about Desalle. We saw in Portugal when Cairoli dramatically cut across Herlings off the start that there’s no love lost between them so expect the rivalry to intensify in the Baltic state.
With the Kegums track sculpted out of sand the advantage lies with the young Dutchman who excels in the soft stuff and claimed a career-first MXGP victory there last season in his rookie year in the premier class. His Italian rival has admitted to basing his pre-season preparation on hard-pack and while Cairoli is quick on all surfaces the odds are stacked in favour of Herlings who’ll be looking to extend his 23-point lead.
So who else will be pushing for the podium?
Hot on the heels of his Russian win, Desalle is a genuine contender. The Belgian’s pace is unquestionable and his motivation high but he hasn’t taken back-to-back MXGP wins since 2013.
World champion in 2015, Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Yamaha) is another podium prospect, as too is his compatriot Gautier Paulin (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) along with Holland’s Glenn Coldenhoff (Red Bull KTM) and Belgian Jeremy Van Horebeek (Monster Energy Yamaha).
Tim Gajser (Team HRC) has been getting stronger every round and if he can stay upright the Slovenian will be pushing for a top-three finish but if you’re looking for a long shot then Max Anstie (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) is worth a flutter. The battling Brit – who cleaned up at last year’s Motocross of Nations – has missed three rounds after badly concussing himself in Spain but ran two-two behind Herlings at last weekend’s round of the Dutch Masters at Mill so looks to be back up to full speed.
As for the rest of the Brits, Shaun Simpson (Wilvo Yamaha) loves the sand but is still recovering from a big crash in Russia and Graeme Irwin (Hitachi ASA KTM UK) will sit this one out after sustaining third-degree burns at last weekend’s round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship when he was trapped under his bike’s hot exhaust pipe in a quali crash.
Tommy Searle (Bike It DRT Kawasaki) should be back for Kegums after breaking his collarbone at Valkenswaard but we’re still waiting for official confirmation from his team.
In MX2 the focus will be on defending champion Pauls Jonass (Red Bull KTM) who goes into his home round with a 20-point lead over teenaged team-mate Jorge Prado.
The 17-year-old Spaniard stopped the Latvian’s six-race win-streak with overall victories in Italy and Portugal but Jonass re-established his dominance in Russia and if he can get the starts at Kegums he’ll be very hard to beat.
Between them the pair have won every MX2 overall so far this year and there’s no reason to expect this dominance to come to an end in Latvia. Realistically, the debate should centre around who’s pushing for third and at the head of the pack is Ben Watson (Kemea Yamaha).
The young Brit claimed a career-first world championship podium in Russia and he’ll lock horns with Denmark’s Thomas Kjer Olsen (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) as the pair scrap it out for third in the championship. Olsen currently has the edge in points but Watson will fight him every step of the way.
As for the rest of the Brit-pack, Conrad Mewse (Hitachi ASA KTM UK) seems to have lost his way recently. He’s still leading the Maxxis series but after his early-season form the 18-year-old has struggled at world championship level and has slipped from fifth to eighth in the title fight.
