The 2017 MXGP of Belgium once again provided a bucket load of great racing, as riders struggled to navigate the treacherous Lommel terrain. Running a completely new layout from previous years, the track still proved an extremely tough test for both man and machine on what turned out to be a gloriously sunny day of racing.

In the MXGP class, all the talk pre-race was about who would be crowned ‘King of the Sand’; Antonio Cairoli or Jeffrey Herlings. Cairoli had won their only previous encounter at the 2012 MXoN, but this time around it would be Herlings’ turn for glory after two epic battles. In both races, the Dutch rider needed to pass his teammate but after some cat-and-mouse encounters, he finally did enough to see off the wily Italian, who can still be satisfied that his MXGP championship lead is at 99pts with just five rounds left. Behind them, fellow Red Bull Factory KTM rider rounded off the podium, in what was his first appearance on the box since Indonesia.

Belgium MXGP 2017, Jeffrey Herlings
The Fastest Sand Rider in the World is Jeffrey Herlings as the Dutch rider held off Antonio Cairoli after two great motos of back-and-forth action.David Bulmer

KTM also had a 1-2-3 result in the MX2 class, making it the first time ever that a manufacturer has swept both the MXGP and MX2 podiums. Their successful 250 riders were the Red Bull Factory pairing of Jorge Prado, winning his second GP and Pauls Jonass while privateer KTM rider Julien Lieber come home in third. For Prado it was a great performance, pushing Jonass all the way in moto one, before grabbing the holeshot and checking out in race two. Jonass put in a great ride in the second moto to claim his spot, crashing in the first corner and starting dead last before working his way up into fifth position. It was a championship-winning ride and actually meant he extended his lead at the top to 50pts over Jeremy Seewer who was unable to take advantage, himself only managing to go 3-4.

The riders now head to Switzerland next weekend, where Frauenfeld will play host to the 15th round of the 2017 MXGP World Championships, in what is an extremely busy end-of-season run for everyone.

Belgium MXGP 2017, Antonio Cairoli
He may have lost the battle, but Antonio Cairoli is very much winning the war as he leads the MXGP championship by 99 points with just 5 rounds remaining.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Glenn Coldenhoff
Glenn Coldenhoff returned to the podium after a 13 GP absence, putting in 3-4 results on what was a great day for KTM.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Arminas Jasikonis
Unfortunately a rib injury robbed Arminas Jasikonis of the chance to really show everyone what he's capable of, but he showed great speed to come from 15th to 3rd in the second moto, before a big crash left him with a DNF.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Clement Desalle
Clement Desalle has now lost second place in the championship, after dropping 19 points at this GP to Herlings. He is now 6 points behind the Dutchman after going 6-5.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Jeffery Herlings
Both riders seem okay with the on-track battles, with Herlings saying that it's fun and that it's part of racing, as long as it just remains block-passing and not t-boning.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Prado
A great GP for the young Spaniard who went 2-1 and once again confirmed his potential as one of the fastest 250 riders in the sand. With a bit more consistency, 2018 could a great year for him.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Pauls Jonass
A first turn crash in the second moto could have been disastrous but Pauls Jonass battled back all the way to 5th place in a performance that really helped his championship hopes.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Julien Lieber
It's been a while since Julien Lieber has seen the podium, but his 2nd place in the 2nd moto was good enough to squeeze out Seewer on the tie-breaker and confirm KTM's 1-2-3 in both classes.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Jeremy Seewer
Jeremy Seewer had opportunities in both motos to go for the win but small mistakes meant that a golden opportunity was missed to close the gap at the top of the MX2 championship.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017, Thomas Covington
While in second position in moto 2, Thomas Covington suffered a big crash that saw him requiring medical attention. Early indications are positive but an official announcement should be made sometime on Monday.David Bulmer
Belgium MXGP 2017
Lommel saw the announcement of Team Belgium, which will feature Clement Desalle (MX1), Julien Lieber (MX2) and Jeremy van Horebeek (Open) in what is an extremely good team for the race at Matterley Basin, Great Britain.David Bulmer

MXGP Overall:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 p.
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 38 p.
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 31 p.
5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 29 p.
6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 28 p.
7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 27 p.
8. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 27 p.
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 26 p.
10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 24 p.

MXGP Points Standings:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 567 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 468 p.
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 462 p.
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 446 p.
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 376 p.

MX2 Overall:
1. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 47 points
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 41 p.
3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 38 p.
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 38 p.
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34 p.
6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 31 p.
7. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 27 p.
8. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 25 p.
9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 22 p.
10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 21 p.

MX2 Points Standings:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 589 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 539 p.
3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 437 p.
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 429 p.
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 412 p.

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