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and MX2 qualifying races and the first race of the penultimate round of the UEM EMX250 championship. Antonio Cairoli dominated his qualifying heat from the beginning and Jeffrey Herlings obtained an eventual win after an incredible race going from last to first in the twenty minutes and two laps.

MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli admitted that he did not have the start he expected, but he managed to be one of the first ones to reach the first corner and took the lead already in the opening lap. Having three laps to go, the Italian made a small mistake in the corner after the finish line and he stalled the bike, but he had opened such a big gap with his pursuers that he managed to win the race with almost fourteen seconds advantage over Max Nagl.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Nagl was the one who took the holeshot, but he was quickly overtaken by his teammate Cairoli. However, the German kept a good rhythm and managed to open a big gap with the rest of the pack and finished comfortably in the second position.

The third place was for another Red Bull KTM Factory rider, Ken De Dycker, who did not have a good start but he managed to finish third. The Belgian rider would have liked to do better today, but as the races are tomorrow, he is focused now to do well at the main event and try to be on the podium again.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin proved today that he is ready to fight for a podium finish tomorrow after qualifying fourth ahead Shaun Simpson. The French rider had been training really hard for this race and his main goal is obtaining as many points as possible and enter the top three in the point standings of the championship.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Shaun Simpson had a really good qualifying heat today; he started down in the ninth position, but he succeeded in moving up until the fifth place. The British rider will have a good gate pick tomorrow, so he will give his best to fight for a top five finish in tomorrow’s races.

Tanel Leok had a really good start and he crossed the finish line sixth, ahead of Kevin Strijbos, who did an incredible race moving from the back of the pack until the seventh final place. Clement Desalle started at the front in the third position, but he made several mistakes which made him lose some positions and finished eighth of the qualifying heat. Besides, the Desalle is still struggling with an injury in his hand, so it is going to be a tough day tomorrow for the Belgian.

Christophe Pourcel, who is still having some problems with one of his shoulders due to the crash he suffered at Matterley Basin, crossed the finish line ninth and Marcus Schiffer completed the top ten.

Home rider Marc De Reuver started down in the thirteenth position, but he felt really well and he improved three positions. However, he started having some problems in the middle of the heat and he lost some positions to finish thirteenth.

Evgeny Bobryshev struggled a lot during the whole qualifying race and he could only finish fifteenth, whereas his teammate Rui Gonçalves could not finish the race because he had a mechanical while he was riding eighth.

MX1 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 24:12.893; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:13.633; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:27.226; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.214; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.311; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:32.943; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:43.903; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:54.453; 9. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:04.796; 10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, Suzuki), +1:05.700;

MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings proved once again why they call him the king of the sand. Herlings was one of the first ones to reach the first corner, but he crashed in the opening lap and his teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek could not skip him and he ran onto him. Herlings had to fix the handle bar, the clutch and other pieces of his bike that were damaged from the crash, and he started from the very last position around thirty seconds behind the rest of the riders. However, that did not stop Herlings to catch the leader in the very last lap and win the qualifying race with almost five seconds advantage over Coldenhoff.

Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff had one of the best races of the season so far by finishing second behind Herlings. Coldenhoff was really close to take the holeshot and he actually took the lead when Herlings crash in the opening lap. The Nestaan JM Racing KTM rider imposed an incredible rhythm at the lead and he opened a big gap with all his pursuers, but he could not stop his compatriot Herlings to overtake him in the last lap.

It was also a good qualifying race for Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne, who managed to finish third after starting down in the fifth position. The American rode behind his teammate Tonus, who was riding second, during several laps, but finally he overtook him in the last part of the race. However, Herlings was coming really fast from behind and Osborne could not keep the second place and dropped down to third.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Arnaud Tonus did an excellent start and he rode second during the first half of the race, but his teammate Osborne was coming faster from behind and the Swiss rider had to settle down with the fourth position. Tonus had been third in the pre-qualifying session, so everything looks really well for him to finish among the top ten or even the top three riders in the MX2 class.

Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Jake Nicholls started down in the eighth position, but lap after lap he found himself more comfortable and he was able to overtake several riders and finished fifth. The British rider has been fighting really hard to finish on the podium this season, so he will not miss this weekend’s opportunity to reach his main goal even if he knows that Lierop is one of the most demanding tracks in the calendar.

Jeremy Van Horebeek had a tough qualifying race today, but in the end he obtained a solid sixth position. The Belgian could not avoid running over his teammate when he crashed, so he also went down and had to fight hard from the back of the pack. Van Horebeek made a superb recovery, which shows that if he starts well tomorrow, he might be able to finish on the podium.

Dylan Ferrandis did also a consistent race and he managed to finish seventh ahead Tommy Searle, who crashed in the opening lap, as well as in the end of the heat. The British is aware of Herlings potential on the sand, so his goal tomorrow is to be on the podium and add as many points as possible.

Max Anstie, who was also involved in a crash in the opening lap, finished ninth and Jordi Tixier completed the top ten.

MX2 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 24:35.466; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:04.657; 3. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:17.030; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:24.245; 5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:27.350; 6. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:28.462; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.633; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:34.757; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +0:40.377; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:41.552;