If we think about the most accomplished MXGP riders of this generation, two names come to mind: Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings.
Both 5-time World Champions, both have showcased us incredible highlights throughout their careers, completely demoralizing the competition or getting to top spots from the last place.
But somehow there is one thing they didn’t give us. All season long battles for the championship between themselves. And it’s not like they didn’t want to, rather the circumstances didn’t let us witness that. The main reason, obviously injuries.
Well, one season we saw them race the full season together, almost without injuries and it became one of the greatest MXGP seasons of all time. But even that season wasn’t without the injuries as Ivo Monticelli landed on Herling’s shoulder and Gajser later on injuring his shoulder, requiring a surgery.
We’ll get into that season in a minute.
The Comparison
As said, both are 5-time world champions, and both are in the 50GP win club.
Jeffrey Herlings won the MX2 title 3 times and MXGP title 2 times. He stayed in the MX2 class a little longer, which was a part of a heated debate among the fans back in the day, as he was a man among the boys in the class and he had nothing anymore to prove there. Whether that was truly his decision or KTM’s, we’ll probably never know. But however you look at it, even though it’s never easy to win a world championship race, regardless of class, there was no real competition for him in MX2.
What stands out from his career is a record breaking 109 GP victories (61 in MX2 and 48 in MXGP). No one has ever achieved that before and he is not done just yet.
Tim Gajser on the other hand moved to the MXGP class immediately after winning the MX2 title in 2015. And he didn’t back down. He introduced himself to the competition and won the MXGP title as a rookie in 2016.
And 2016 was just the first one in the premier class.
He didn’t have such a dominant MX2 career as Herlings did, but in MXGP class he was immediately a force to be reckoned with.
The MXGP class
Jeffrey’s Entry
So, when Jeffrey Herlings entered the MXGP class in 2017, we all had the eyes on those 2 riders. But even if Gajser was leading the championship at the beginning, he had injuries which prevented him to repeat the title. But so did Herlings as he fractured his hand and with that, compromising his early season performance. That year title belonged to legendary Antonio Cairoli.
2018 season belonged to Jeffrey Herlings and interesting fact: even this season both were injured. Herlings broke his collarbone which caused him to missed one GP, but Tim Gajser crashed in Mantova in a pre-season race where he over-jumped a table top and fractured his jaw. That also caused him to miss the first two GP’s of the season. Jeffrey won the title over Cairoli, Tim finished 4th.
Tim’s Dominance
Tim won 2 World Titles in a row in 2019 and 2020 and in both years, no one was even close.
In 2019 he won the championship with a 202-point lead over Jeremy Seewer and in 2020 again with a 102-point gap over the same rider. That means he won the titles way before the championship even ended, proving his status and reclaiming the MXGP throne.
But what are we missing here?
Again, injuries on the Jeffrey Herlings’s side. In 2019 he broke his foot in the off-season and then his ankle in his second GP back. In 2020 he crashed in Faenza during practice and was literally paralyzed for 30 minutes. Crazy sight which ended the season for him.
So, first years of both of them in the premier class, yet without a real all-season long battle between them.
The Greatest MXGP Season of All Time
Finally we got to the season where they both rode a full season. And that season was about to become one of the greatest MXGP seasons of all time as it delivered us one of the most dramatic title fights we have ever seen. But even that season wasn’t going to be without injuries.
It was year 2021.
Tim Takes the Lead
Tim Gajser started the season like he ended the previous one. Showcasing his dominance, winning both races at the first round of the season in Russia and by mid-season, he was leading the championship by 28 points.
Herlings’s season didn’t start so great, missing first 2 GP’s due to injury. But soon when he got back, he returned to winning ways which unfolded one of the most dramatic title fights in the history.
Well’, there was also a moment at the 4th round where Monticelli landed on Herlings’s shoulder injuring his shoulder blades. He still rode and won the race though, but missed the second race and the next GP.
Jeffrey Steals the Red Plate
Also Gajser’s season wasn’t without it downfalls. In the mid-season he had a crash at a practice, injuring his shoulder which required surgery.
He still rode at the MXGP of Sardegna just days after the surgery. Just sitting on a bike so quickly is considered insane, but racing a World Championship, speechless. The result was obvious as he scored an overall 12th place, battling through pain.
There he also lost the red plate to Jeffrey Herlings and even he said: “I didn’t want to take the red plate from Tim this way.”
The Battle Begins
Tim returned and won the next GP in Germany ahead of Jeffrey. After that Jeffrey recapitulated and won next 3 GP’s.
While Tim and Jeffrey were either dominant or injured, with some exceptions of bad races, Romain Febvre was silently being consistent all season long and was joining the party for the title fight.
After the round 16, 2 rounds before the end of the season. Febvre was leading the championship. But Gajser and Herlings were just there, within 2 points.
It’s amazing just to think what a rider needs to do to keep calm with such a pressure approaching, knowing that the whole season will be decided in the next two weeks.
Round 17 didn’t go by Gajser’s plans and finished 4th, while Febvre and Herlings won tied on points and headed to the final round.
Jeffrey stayed calm, did everything right, perfected the races and took 50 points in the final round. Won the championship only 5 points ahead of Febvre.
The respect grew immensely between the trio as they wrote one of the most beautiful stories one could ever write about motocross.
After the Great Battle
Tim Wins Again
Gajser took the motivation from 2021 season and came back ready to answer.
He came, he conquered yet again with a dominant performance all season long, winning the championship by 106 points, again over Jeremy Seewer.
Jeffrey was again absent due to a complex heel fracture.
A Year Without Both of Them
2023 was not successful for any of them.
For Tim it already started very bad as he lost balance on a huge jump in Trentino on a pre-season race, resulting in a crash which led to a broke femur. He missed most of the season, only returned towards the end of the season and even winning 2 GP’s.
Jeffrey’s year on the other hand didn’t start so bad, even winning 5 GP’s until a crash happened at the German GP, resulting in a fractured C5 vertebrae.
Prado on a Mission
In 2024, both rode a full season, even though Herlings seemed to still be recovering from injuries started the season slower.
Prado was dominant, winning first 4 GP’s in a row. But Gajser took a note from Cairoli’s book of consistency. Didn’t risk much, and finished among the top 2 or three every round, no matter the conditions, while Prado was winning more, he did more mistakes also, especially in wet terrain. Gajser used his mistakes for his own good.
Gajser was so incredibly consistent all season long and his first big mistake came only at the MXGP of China, the pre-last round of the championship, which arguably lost him the championship as he lost the red plate to Prado.
Prado was victorious in his home soil in the last round, winning the championship by only 9 points ahead of Gajser.
Gajser Again in His Own Class
Jeffrey Herlings injured himself in the off-season once again, tearing his ACL, causing him to miss big part of the 2025 season.
But Tim Gajser was ready after a historic performance at the MXON at iconic Matterley Basin. He came ready to win.
And he was again in the class of his own. No one was ready to take the red plate from him. Not Febvre, not Coenen.
But MXGP of Switzerland came. Gajser hit the bump next to the track with his rear wheel which threw him of the bike, resulting in a dislocated shoulder. He was leading the championship by 42 points at that time.
That crash also destroyed championship hopes for 2025 as he was forced to miss many rounds.
The Rivalry
Every season the duo entered healthy, they were considered the main contenders. And they proved us rightfully so. And even if we have many, many of their highlights saved in our memories, it is always a little bitter-sweet feeling, that we haven’t seen it all.
2021 showed us a glimpse of what could have been.
But they are not done yet. They are still here and are still proving us that they are the main contenders.
But new guys are approaching. Lucas Coenen is more than ready to shake up things at the top. And the rumors about changing teams are making things even more interesting.
What’s clear for now is, we will see more of them.
Tim, Jeffrey – Thank you for the show!
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