Hot on the heels of his sensational MXGP win in Argentina, Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings explained how he had to scrap his way through from two tough starts and was quick to praise his main title rival and team-mate Antonio Cairoli.

“In the first moto I had a pretty good start,” he said. “Actually, my starts were both pretty good – just some guys inside of me pushed me wide which is normal. I had to pass some riders first moto as well but I was in second much quicker and could charge with Tony but unfortunately I couldn’t get the pass made. Tony was riding really good and definitely deserved to win that moto.

“The second moto the same thing with the start – I got pushed wide. I was even worse, I was around 10th, so then I had some battles going on and by the time I got into second there was only 10 minutes left. Tony had a good gap and he was riding great so to close the gap was very difficult but we luckily made it happen.”

The three-time MX2 champ remained humble in victory and didn’t display the cockiness that in the past he’s been criticised for.

“I’m blessed that I’ve won the opening GP of the year. All the hard work we’ve put in in the winter seems to be showing but it’s just race one out of 19 – it doesn’t mean a thing. I know it’s going to be a long year with a lot of good competition.

“Tony’s really strong again this year like we all expected I guess and also all the other guys. I definitely can still improve a bit on my starts maybe – it’s already a big improvement to last year, we worked a lot over the winter to improve that.

“I’ve got to thank the team – they did a great job supporting me through thick and thin so it’s a blessing to call KTM my team but also it’s part of a family for me.”

With round two at Valkenswaard on Herlings’ home turf in a fortnight, only a brave man would bet against the world’s best sand rider from taking win number two…