Speaking to Dutch media, Nos.nl yesterday at the most recent round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross, the Red Bull KTM factory rider, Jeffrey Herlings reminded us that nothing lasts forever and with KTM continuing to struggle with their production and sales of their bikes, their future is uncertain now more so, than ever, which places the Dutchman in a painful and difficult decision.

Herlings, who has never raced on another machine in his adult career and been on KTM for more than 15 years might be forced to line up on a red, blue, green, or some other colour in 2026.

We all hear in the paddock, that “The Bullet” is speaking to a number of teams and obviously, all are interested in signing the talented rider. Even at the back end of his career, Jeffrey Herlings is a capable winner, and another World title cannot be excluded from his 2026 season.

As for racing for another team, like HRC, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph or whoever wants to sign the five-time World champion, Herlings doesn’t exclude anything from his future.

“I'm not saying it's going to happen and I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but it could just be that I'm riding somewhere else next year. But I can't deny that things are not going well with KTM. I don't know if it's possible to keep me from a financial point of view. If necessary, we have to look further, because the love has to be mutual.”

Obviously, he needs to get his results back to where he usually has them, and GP wins, or podiums quickly make him a desirable signing for any of the above teams.

“Hopefully I can get some more wins in the second part of the season and sharpen my own record. Contracts are often only concluded in the second part of the season. Unfortunately, I have visited the hospital a little too often, then you don't take such risks as you used to. When you're 18, you think very differently than when you're over thirty.”

“I've only been working for five weeks and I'm really coming back. You can see that in my results. Before my first GP I had only trained five times. But there is an upward trend. If you have skipped a whole winter, have not tested and have not been able to prepare, it is difficult to suddenly be behind the starting gate again after six months. Sometimes I'm still a bit scared when I have to put my leg against the ground in a corner, but that's normal, I think.”

So, while we still have a long way to go in 2025, and we all hope and pray that KTM survive and Herlings can end his career in the orange bikes, nothing is assured and surely in time, we will all know the outcome of the Dutchmans team for 2026.