Jeffrey Herlings takes race win and overall victory at the French MXGP

Jeffrey Herlings secured a commanding victory at the French MXGP in Lacapelle-Marival, winning the second race and clinching the overall win for the event. The race was marked by an early red flag caused by a crash involving French rider Tom Vialle at the first corner. Although Vialle was able to walk away uninjured, he was unable to participate in the restart. The event was further disrupted when Tim Gajser was removed from the starting gate for missing the restart after switching motorcycles following the initial crash. Once the race finally resumed, Herlings took an immediate lead and maintained it throughout, fending off challenges from Lucas Coenen. Romain Febvre, the reigning World Champion and local favourite, finished third, with Maxime Renaux and Kay de Wolf rounding out the top five. Other notable performances included Calvin Vlaanderen in 15th place, while Belgian riders Jago Geerts and Brent Van Doninck finished 13th and 17th respectively. The overall results saw Herlings take the top spot on the podium with a 2-1 race score, prompting the Dutch national anthem to be played. Lucas Coenen finished second overall, matching Herlings’ race results but falling short on tie-breaks, while Febvre delighted the home crowd with a third-place finish. This outcome has tightened the MXGP World Championship standings considerably, with Herlings now just two points behind Coenen, setting the stage for a closely contested title battle as the season progresses.