Feature For all his fame Herlings often cuts a lonely figure. He is open and friendly and will talk to any rider in the gate and has his buddies in the paddock. He doesn’t use a motorhome and exists between the race truck and the Red Bull Energy Station. He usually arrives late on a Friday for a grand prix and will normally be booked on the earliest flight possible on a Sunday evening. Three world titles and victory in eight of the nine home Grands Prix at Valkenswaard that he has contested means that he has experienced a degree of craziness and intense demand around him. He will gain national press coverage in Holland but otherwise is a mysterious minor celebrity; a guy with the same few pals and the same rank of sponsors almost since the beginning in 2010. “He has his private side and if he doesn’t want to be found then you won’t see him,” asserts Gruebel. Naturally Jeffrey has been the subject of various feature interviews and covers in OTOR. He is a good talker (and typically loud for a Dutchman) but has become even more guarded with his
opinions and comments over the last few seasons. His profile reached a new level of the stratosphere in the summer when he squeezed a wild-card appearance at the last US AMA Pro National at Iron Man in Indiana and slotted the victory among the five wins from the last six rounds of MXGP. A week after the American success and at the USGP in Florida, the clamour for his time was easily on a level with the top MotoGP riders. It was a baffling period for #84 and undoubtedly opened his eyes to the extent of his international appeal. This time we are catching up over lunch. We feel guilty for interrupting a very simple plate of chicken and rice on Friday at the Grand Prix of Comunitat Valenciana at Redsand but Herlings insists it is fine to chat. We’ve gained some perspective from those around him like Gruebel and practice mechanic/close friend/confidant Ruben Tureluren to intersperse some of his comments and feelings and in an effort to gain the latest 360 picture of Jeffrey as he bids to become just the third MX2 and MXGP Champion since the categories were inaugurated in 2004.