Image: Supplied.

Netherlands MXGP entry Jeffrey Herlings has confessed he wasn’t satisfied with his individual performance at the 2019 Motocross of Nations (MXoN), despite landing a historic home victory in the overall classification.

Herlings appeared ‘off’ for much of the weekend in the sand at Assen, finishing fifth in the MXGP heat and then recording 2-4 results on Sunday.

The MXGP and MX2 moto saw Herlings narrowly fall short of victory following a late surge in the wet conditions, but three falls in the second outing cost him any chance of gaining a class win on home soil.

“I messed up my starts twice today, so from an individual point of view I’m not satisfied,” Herlings recalled. “I almost won the first moto and then when down three times in the second, but still managed to finish fourth.

“We wanted a 1-1 and that didn’t happen, but what we really came here for today was to win as a Nation and we did that. My teammates did a great job and for such a small country to win this is amazing.”

The end result saw Herlings join Dutch teammates Glenn Coldenhoff and Calvin Vlaanderen on the top step of the Nations podium following three-consecutive runner-up finishes, also credited second in the MXGP class overall.

Image: Foremost Media.

The 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) kicked off with practice and qualifying today at Gillman in South Australia.

Local South Australian Alex Larwood topped the Junior Lites 15 Years class ahead of Blake Fox and Levi Rogers, the trio replicating those results in the 125cc 15 Years class.

The Junior Lites 13-U15 Years category saw Brad West emerge fastest over Zachary Watson Liam Atkinson, as Brock Flynn, Jack Mather and Ryan Alexanderson completed the top three in the 125cc 13-U15 Years division.

In Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years, Hunter Collins earned the top spot alongside Ben Novak and Watson, while Kobe Drew edged out Jett Burgess-Stevens and Connor Towill in the Mini Lites BW 12-U15 Years class. The Mini Lites SW 9-U12 Years class was topped by Koby Hantis, Jet Alsop and Kayden Minear.

Charli Cannon, Taylah McCutcheon and Taylor Thompson completed positions 1-3 in Junior Lites 13-U16 Years Girls division, the trio also topping the Mini Lites BW 12-U16 Years Girls class, with McCutcheon leading Cannon and Thompson.

Ky Woods, Jobe Dunne and Bodie Court were fastest in the 65cc 10-U12 Years, 65cc 7-U10 Years and 50cc 7-U9 Years classes. Racing kicks off tomorrow with the first rounds of heats and finals.

Detailed results

Image: Supplied.

Team Australia has drawn 13th gate pick in the ballot for Saturday’s qualification races at Assen’s 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN), while Team Poland has been granted the number one spot.

Team Lithuania and Puerto Rico will line up second and third, while defending champions Team France is going to pick gate number 29. MXoN favourites Team Holland and Team USA drew positions 27 and 31.

The Australian squad will field Dean Ferris (Raceline Recover8 KTM), Kyle Webster (Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing), and Regan Duffy (Raceline KTM Thor) in the MX1, MX2 and Open categories, donning numbers 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

For the race scheduled in AEST, and how to watch the event live, click here.

2019 Motocross of Nations ballot results:
1. Poland
2. Lithuania
3. Puerto Rico
4. Norway
5. Spain
6. Denmark
7. Iceland
8. Belgium
9. New Zealand
10. Latvia
11. Slovenia
12. Croatia
13. Australia
14. Greece
15. Brazil
16. Switzerland
17. Estonia
18. Japan
19. Italy
20. Sweden
21. South Africa
22. Portugal
23. Ukraine
24. Luxemburg
25. Ireland
26. Germany
27. Netherlands
28. Cyprus
29. France
30. Czech Republic
31. USA
32. Austria
33. Great Britain
34. Russia

Image: Supplied.

Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin is confident he’s as prepared as possible to assist Team France to a sixth-straight Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations crown this Sunday in the Netherlands.

The Frenchman, who will represent his country for the 11th time in his career, says he’ll be racing for the team this weekend as he dons the number one plate.

The French team has endured a tumultuous lead-up to the MXoN, first with Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) bowing out with injury before the federation excluded Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle over a logo dispute.

“I’m prepared for Assen,” Paulin stated. “I feel good, we have been working hard to prepare the bike and we have made some changes to the suspension and the team have been working hard to give me the best bike they can.

“We haven’t stopped since it’s the end of the World Championship season, we have kept pushing to be good in Assen in such tough sand conditions. This weekend is a unique event, we don’t just ride for ourselves, we ride for the team. We will do our best to be up front.”

Paulin will be joined by Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) and Jordi tixier (KTM) in the three-rider squad this weekend.

Image: Supplied.

This weekend’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) at Assen in the Netherlands will be broadcasted via a live stream, allowing Australian and international viewers to watch the highly-anticipated race as it happens.

MXGP-TV, Youthstream’s very own live streaming service that broadcasts the entire MXGP World Championship, will offer a complete weekend package for approximately $42 AUD, while a delayed telecast will be played on Eurosport (channel 511) via Foxtel on Monday, 30 September, from 6pm AEST.

Team Australia will field Dean Ferris (Raceline Recover8 KTM), Kyle Webster (Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing), and Regan Duffy (Raceline KTM Thor) in the MX1, MX2 and Open categories, donning numbers 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Team Holland is tipped as the favourite on home soil with a powerhouse squad of Jeffery Herlings (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Glenn Coldenhoff (Standing Construct KTM) and Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda HRC), while Team France, consisting of Gautier Paulin (Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha), Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) and Jordi tixier (KTM), will be vying for a sixth-straight crown.

2019 Motocross of Nations schedule – Saturday, 28 September:
MXGP qualifying heat – 10:20pm (AEST)
MX2 qualifying heat – 11:20pm (AEST)
Open qualifying heat – 12:20am (AEST – Sunday, 29 September)

2019 Motocross of Nations schedule – Sunday, 29 September:
B final – 6:50pm (AEST)
Race one (MXGP/MX2) – 9pm (AEST)
Race two (MX2/Open) – 10:30pm (AEST)
Race three (Open/MXGP) – 12am (AEST – Monday, 30 September)