Jeffrey Herlings has added yet another chapter to his staggering Grand Prix record, winning the MXGP of Trentino to take his career tally of Grand Prix victories to 114. The Dutchman converted a nightmare start to the Italian weekend into an improbable 1-2 overall after title rival Lucas Coenen crashed twice in Arco.
Herlings had arrived in the Dolomites carrying the weight of a 22-point championship deficit and quickly conceded that, on the morning of race day, he would have taken even a damage-limitation result.
"Especially when I woke up this morning with minus 22 points, I would be like, hey, just give me a paper where I can sign if I just go home on minus four," Herlings said. "So now I'm super pumped. I'm happy. Definitely would have loved a 1-1, but it is what it is and I felt like I had the speed all weekend."
The first moto was where Herlings produced the standout ride of the weekend, carving through the field in conditions that punished mistakes. Asked whether it felt like vintage Herlings, the Red Bull GasGas rider suggested it reminded him of his dominant years in MX2.
"Once I got up to fifth and I felt like I had so much, you know, I was catching up," he said. "I just felt it like I was back like in 2013, 2012 and I would just blessing our moto with a win with like a random minute. I felt like I had the speed."
Race two was a different story. Herlings ran a close second behind Coenen but was held up by a backmarker who he said ignored blue flags during a crucial passing opportunity.
"He messed up my moto win," Herlings said. "We're here racing for race wins and you're in our way. But anyway, it is racing and I respect him and hopefully next time he'll move over a bit more."
Herlings also rejected the idea that his perennial start-line struggles are a mental issue, pointing instead to physiology. At around 80 kilograms, he argued, he is simply heavier than riders like Jorge Prado and Tom Vialle who routinely collect holeshots.
"You never see a 100 kilo guy take a holeshot, right? Even doesn't matter how fast he is or how good he is. You have to kind of be light and you just have to have the right body for it," he said. "If I would ever have the Tom Vialle or Jorge Prado starts, I would have won not 114 GPs, but I probably had like 180 GP wins, probably about 10 championships and 15 broken bones less."
The Trentino round also underlined the remarkable depth of the 2026 MXGP class. Herlings argued that the quality running in the top ten now rivals anything he has raced against.
"This depth of field is quite insane," he said. "Even the 10th place guys like either a world champ or guys like Pauls Jonass, which are on between like eight and 12 roughly average. These guys are world champions. This guy won like 10 GPs plus. This field is really stacked and I think it's pretty insane."
Herlings now heads into a four-week break before MXGP resumes in France. He confirmed that Honda — who he is developing bikes with alongside his racing programme — have testing dates booked in the next month as he continues to hunt improvements to his launches.
On the side, Herlings also weighed in on the Supercross title fight, admitting he was rooting for long-time friend Ken Roczen despite his soft spot for the Lawrence brothers.
"I really actually hope Kenroc wins cuz he's been trying for like 15 years by now and in the premier class since like since 2014," Herlings said. "If he wins, I think Hunter will get multiple shots, but also I really like Hunter. I'm a big fan of Jet."
The championship fight resumes in early May, with Herlings within striking distance once more of the title lead.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/herlings-114th-gp-win-trentino-mxgp-2026). Visit for full coverage.*