Source: Supplied.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli has been crowned the 2017 MXGP World Champion – his ninth world title – at Assen’s 18th round of the prestigious series, while his teammate Jeffrey Herlings dominated the round in the premier class.

Herlings strung together a perfect 1-1 scorecard, outclassing the field in the challenging and sandy conditions in front of a home crowd. The Dutchman had an anticipated battle with Cairoli in the opening moto, while it was flawless run in the second outing.

Runner-up at the penultimate stop was credited to former world champion Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) after charging to 4-3 results to tie with Max Anstie (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), who was awarded third on count back.

The top five was completed newly-crowned world champ Cairoli in fourth and Max Nagl (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) after placing second in the final moto of the day.

In MX2, it was class rookie Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who rose victorious with an impressive 2-1 scorecard, marking his third-career victory in the quarter-litre class.

Fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and current points leader Pauls Jonass was second, although after failing to score enough points to wrap up the title despite a race win to his name, it means the championship will now be decided at the final round as he holds a 41-point advantage.

Third was awarded to championship rival Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki World MX2), as Calvin Vlaanderen (HSF Motorsports KTM) and Thomas Kjer Olsen (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) completed the top five.

Australian Hunter Lawrence (Suzuki World MX2) was eighth overall with 10-6 results, while countryman Jed Beaton (Honda HRC MX2) was an impressive 13th overall in just his third world championship appearance after lodging a pair of 14th place moto scores.

The Women’s category was taken out by Yamaha-mounted Nancy Van De Ven with two commanding race victories, as the top three was rounded out by Livia Lancelot (Kawasaki) and Larissa Papenmeier (Suzuki). KTM’s Kiara Fontanesi was fourth followed by New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan (Yamaha) in fifth.

Australian Maddy Brown (Yamaha) was 10th overall, with compatriots Emma Milesevic (Yamaha) and Courtney Whyte-Dennis (Yamaha) finishing 20th and 30th respectively.

The next round of the 2017 MXGP World Championship will mark the season finale, scheduled for 17 September at Villars sous Eco in France.