What can we say about Jeffrey Herlings? How about WOW!!!!! The five-time world motocross champion just showed us last weekend why he is so important for the sport and why he really does belong in the question of the GOAT.

“Yesterday didn’t go as planned because I crashed in qualifying," Herlings said. "And had a small bike issue after that, so I was lucky just to finish the race. Today was much better. In the first race I took the holeshot and tried to follow Tom’s [Vialle] lines before making the pass near the end. The second race was a bit chaotic with the restart and I had to come from around tenth, but I managed to close the gap and pass Romain with a few laps to go. Going 1-1 on my first outing with Honda HRC Petronas is amazing. I couldn’t have wished for a better debut, so a big thanks to the whole team and for the hard work they all put in.”

Sure, he doesn’t have the titles of Stefan Everts or Antonio Cairoli, in fact, he doesn’t even have the six of Joel Robert, but man, have we ever seen a rider like him? I don’t think so. When he is race fit, he is unbeatable and his performance yesterday, is just a start of what we are likely to see in the coming months.

“Going one-one in my first outing for Honda HRC PETRONAS is great,” Herlings said. “And a big thank you to everyone in the team who has worked so hard in these couple of months to help make this happen. It wasn’t easy, because in race one I got a bit of arm-pump after grabbing the holeshot, but I studied Tom’s lines and then made the pass near the end of the race. Then race two, it was a bit chaotic with the restart, but I felt I judged my energy levels well and was able to close the gap and then made the pass again near the end. Going one-one and taking the red-plate is about as good as it as it could have gone today, so I’m hoping to keep this going.”

If he stays fit and we all cross our fingers for that, “The Bullet” has every chance of adding world number six to his tally and maybe another 10 or more GP wins to his 113. We tipped him to win last week (see here), I said he might even win easily and while 1-1 might look a little easy, it wasn’t. He had to fight through the pack on many occasions, make his way to the front, on a circuit that might not have been that easy to make up ground, but he did it anyway.

In both motos, he showed vintage Herlings, catching guys with time running out and then winning. I might add, Tom Vialle and Romain Febvre both looked strong, but how he mowed them down to catch and pass, that was impressive.

“Yes, it wasn't easy, that second moto I was second and somebody smashed it in there and I was 8th or 10th at the start, and passed all the top guys. Kept my energy for that second moto. Going 1-1 is pretty special and for the team, I want to thank them, Honda, Gariboldi, they worked hard for this. We had a small problem after the crash (on Saturday), on the bike, but today 1-1 and the first moto was easier than the second one. I look forward to the next one.”

The Saturday, Herlings showed he had the speed and being quickest in the sessions was blown by a bad start and then a slip over in the qualification race. We all know that Herlings is a diesel and a short Saturday race isn’t going to show us his best speed.

“The day went really well, right up until the start of the qualification race. I was fastest in free practice and fastest in timed practice, but then I didn’t get a good start in the qualification race, and it went downhill. I was battling hard on those opening laps but made a mistake on the start straight and went down. I worked my way back up through to field to 12th but not really the first race I wanted and now I’ll have a tough gate-pick for the motos tomorrow.”

Coming into Argentina, you had the feeling he had something special, when he beat Febvre a week prior to the opening MXGP round and doing that on a track like Lierop, where a rider like Febvre is very good, well, that gave me the confidence to pick him for the overall victory. As it turns out, my pick was spot on, but then again, is it that impressive to pick a rider who already had 112 GP wins and was coming into the season fit?

“It was good to get the victory at Lierop last weekend, just to boost the confidence a bit and get a couple more gate-drops under my belt. I’ve done a lot of training leading up to this race, but I still think I’m a little short of gate-drops, but that can’t be changed and now I have to make sure I was ready for this first GP. It’s definitely been a different preseason than usual, and I’ve enjoyed the challenge, however now I have to go out and perform and have a good first GP for Honda HRC PETRONAS.”

Paul Malin mentioned in the commentary that this was the first time Herlings held the red plate since his Patagonia in October of 2021, and even then, he held it for one GP and then lost it to Febvre, before claiming it back again in the final GP of the season, where he won his last world title. That is a long time ago, but how good is it going to look when he clips it on that Honda in Spain in two weeks.

I know this sport is harsh and I know Herlings has had to deal with the harshest of what our sport delivers, but man, he just looks so good, so confident with the best team in the paddock behind him. Please motocross gods, lets allow the Dutchman to get through the whole season and show us that 2016, 2018, and 2021 version of “The Bullet”.