Anyone who loves motocross and didn’t enjoy last weekends 120th GP victory by five-time world motocross champion, Jeffrey Herling, well, you need to stop following motocross. In front of 40,000 fans and in searing heat, the Dutchman owned the motocross world once again, and took us all back to a time when he was in his prime.

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This legend of our sport, who is now a veteran and closing in on the end of his career, rode to a magnificent 1-1-1 performance and his opening moto on Sunday reeked of “The Bullet” 2016, 2018, or 2021. Hell, he might be even better than that period. Domination with a capital D and so, oh so smooth on that HRC machine.

On the Honda, it is smooth sailing, but still that power that we all know only Herlings can produce. Now miles ahead in the championship chase, with a 104 point lead over Romain Febvre, Herlings just needs to survive the next rounds in Sweden and Arnhem, and a six-world championship is his for the taking.

Of course, a six-world title would place him equal with Joel Robert as the third most successful world champion in Grand Prix history, however his 120 GP wins stack up favourably to Roberts 50, which for many years was the record, until Stefan Everts snapped that record in the early 2000s. Of course, Herlings broke Everts record of 101 GP wins and is still counting victory, after victory.

The Dutchman sat down with the world media and below is what he told us. A lot of great questions from the media room and as always, a packed press conference from media all around the world.

MXLarge: Firstly, a win on Saturday, how did that feel?

Herlings: It was a good day really. Fastest in each of the practice sessions and then leading the qualifying race from midway through the first lap. My pace was good and I think we had a good setup with the bike. The crash on the last lap wasn’t ideal but other than that, a perfect day and I’m looking forward to even more tomorrow. We’re in a good place with the championship, but the work doesn’t stop now.

MXLarge: I mean, there was no catching you today (Sunday). How does it feel to be back on the top step here? How was it from your seat? Because you seem to be, enjoying, especially in the first race and having fun on the track as well.

Herlings: Yeah, sure. It was a great weekend. Just like last weekend, we were topping every practice and two holeshots today. Just didn't get the (black) plate I think, because I went a bit wide. So, two good starts, led every single lap, and especially first moto was really enjoyable. I had a little issue in moto two, so I had to reduce my speed. But we kept the distance to fifteen seconds average, and I could win. You know, happy to finish that moto. And 1-1-1 and sixty points. Massive, points for the championship now. So now it's, being focused, trying to stay sharp and, yeah, we got five more races to go. Obviously, we got to really work, focus on Arnhem because on the sand, yeah, we, we got some work to do. But the team works extremely hard day in, day out, and they take it extremely serious so, yeah, we keep fighting hard and, yeah, trying get better.

MXlarge: You, you mentioned about this, in race two. How do you react when it... When, something is not right, you know it is, but you still have to finish? I think half of the race was still going to go. How do you react to that?

Herlings: Yeah, every, finish jump I, I was doing a pray. [laughs] Think, "Okay, one more lap. We can get one more lap." And then, yeah, you try to save the bike as good as you can, and it's also race management, you know? Like if, you know F1, you have to save the tires, and here I just had to save the motor. And, luckily, I could do it. I think if you take my clutch out, it's brand new. I haven't even touched it. So, um, yeah, very thankful at least I got a good start and was straight up front and I could do my race. So, like I said, we had, we had a problem we can't deny. You know, like we had a problem in Latvia, we had a problem here, so we need to really work hard to, try to not have this in Arnhem. It will be the last sand race. We keep doing our best. Like I said, the team has my full back-up and other way around as well. They work extremely hard and they will, they will get us off just, yeah, we have a short time notice (for Arnhem).

MXLarge: I mean, today you didn't have to make any passes, riding at the front all the time. Like it doesn't happen all the time, but how does it feel?

Herlings: Yeah, it feels great. Really, really nice, like almost a lock that I led almost every lap. Maybe three, four not, but this weekend I had every lap so, yeah, lovely just to cruise around and do my thing. Yeah, really enjoyed it.

MXLarge: Lommel is an absolute nightmare for most riders, but watching you, I mean, it looks fun, and it looks pretty easy, not normal. You had no pressure really at all today. So, did you have more in the tank and to lower your lap times if you needed, like, by one or two seconds? Which that would be pretty mad because you're already miles ahead of everyone else.

Herlings: Yeah, definitely the second moto you could see I couldn't push anymore. I was just trying to finish the race. But that first moto I could do, like, a good speed, and I think I had maybe one or two seconds left, but I didn't want to take that risk because I didn't need to. I managed to win that moto with forty-five seconds still, so, like I said, I didn't have to do that. And, I think, for today, yeah, I think Lucas was the guy to beat, but you know, he's hurt, he's not here. I think, like in, even the first moto, I would've had something for him. I think I could've, definitely, fight it with him. So yeah, hopefully he will be back before end of the season to have some good battles because it's a shame how that turned out, but it's part of racing.

Herlings: Like, first moto was just, like, really a good training ride because I had no pressure from the back, no one in front, so that was great. And, yeah, second moto was pulling a gap, like, I think five, six seconds. That's why I had, like, a fifteen second gap, but then, like I said, I had a little issue, started to keep, yeah, that maintenance. I tried to keep a fifteen second lead and, yeah, that's what we did and managed... I don't know. Eventually I heard Febvre crash, so and Kay got second, so I don't know how far I won, but, yeah, I just did what I had to do to win.

MXLarge: Since you switched to Honda you've improved your starts. That's obvious, for everyone to see. And then maybe an opinion is that before when you were fast it looked physical and you were pushing, and now it looks less physical and more technical. My question is do you run different power, more power, something different in the Honda? Does it allow you to ride different? What, what is the difference?

Herlings: Well, first of all, I'm, I'm quite surprised about how the Honda was. Like I said, it's 17 years on the KTM. I signed blindly with Honda without testing any other bike or testing, testing the Honda. So, it was a big gamble and, luckily it paid off in a good way. Plus, this is a prototype bike, this bike is only just in the shops right now, so it's like a baby. We still have to, make it work and, there's still some, children's sicknesses in the bike, because it's a brand-new bike. The, bike Tim rode last year had already multiple, multiple years on there and a lot of experience and knowledge. So, we are still learning and discovering, but the bike just suits me better. It's a bit snappier. The KTM is, has a lot of torque, but is a lazier bike and harsher. The Honda is moving a bit more and is much sharper for the start. That's something I, I requested, what I needed.