The news yesterday from the Dutch media source Oproep Brabant, that Jeffrey Herlings looks likely to miss the first three or four rounds of the 2025 MXGP championship broke a lot of hearts. Not just because “The Bullet” continued to struggle with his latest injury, but the fact the battle for six World titles between Tim Gajser and Herling in 2025 is now over and even more so, because the career of this brilliant racer is coming to an end.

We could pull up the astonishing Jeffrey Herlings highlight reel, and I doubt there is a single rider in the sports history that has a similar type of highlight package, maybe James Stewart, who Herlings admired, maybe Stefan Everts or Ricky Carmichael, but that would be about it.

Herlings made it his job to entertain us, be it from his quick starts and lapping complete fields, slow starts and charging from the back, or his incredible knack of coming back from one injury after another. It was all Hollywood stuff and even his biggest hater had to love what he brought to our sport.

For me, a career long Jeffrey Herlings fan, well, it felt a little like the year Stefan Everts retired and how I felt throughout the 2007 MX1 championship battle between Josh Coppins and Steve Ramon. I just didn’t enjoy that season and the injury to Coppins, while 100 points ahead of Ramon sure made that 2007 year a horrible one for an Aussie, who had known Coppins since he was a young kid paying for a ride at Suzuki. I missed Everts at every round and at every track he had dominated at, which was most.

But this, what could be the final curtain fall for the man many say is the fastest man to ever race a motocross bike, it is sad. Herlings of course began his climb to the top of the World motocross championship with his first ever GP victory as a 15 year old, at Valkenswaard in 2010. Amazingly, it was at Valkenswaard last year that Herlings picked up what could be his final career defining injury.

Racing in a small international race, the factory KTM rider sustained right knee injury, damaging his ACL. An injury that can take months and months to repair, we all thought he will be okay come March and Argentina. Surely five months was enough, but it wasn’t and now we hear from the Dutchman, that he will more than likely miss three or four GPs and yes, his championship hopes are again over, again, due to injury.

I cannot imagine how painful this is for Herlings, although he has done well out of the sport, invested heavily and his life after motocross will be a very good one. When injured, we don’t see or hear much from Herlings, he pretty much disappears and I get the feeling, when his career is over, we won’t see much of the five-time World motocross champion around a GP paddock. He might be sunning somewhere in Dubai, or another exotic holiday resort.

For me personally, I am not sure I have gotten as much pleasure as I have watched this elite talent. I loved Stefan Everts, became close to “The King” and was fortunate enough to see most of his career from the infield of GP tracks around the World. We still have a great contact, and I know for Stefan, our relationship remains a good one. We had many a laugh in the press conferences, or during interviews and we still smile and have a quick chat, when we meet at the track.

With Herlings, it’s also been a close bond, but nothing like what I had with Stefan, but Jeffrey was always polite, open and often I was the only motocross media guy who could call him and do a quick interview. I appreciated that contact, and I will miss him when he is gone.

As for the memories, as I said, 2010 at Valkenswaard, this 15-year-old kid, excited and with a big mouth, he said what he thought and brought an electricity to the sport we hadn’t seen before. He was brash, confident and at times damn right arrogant, but many of us loved it.

As he ripped through the MX2 class, winning World titles in 2012 and 2013, it seemed he would be unbeatable as long as he wanted to be but then came injuries. The first from memory at the Stefan Everts Charity race, while racing a mini-bike, that ended his 2014 championship fight, although he did come back and nearly grab the title, racing in Brazil with a busted femur, eventually losing the title to Jordi Tixier by a handful of points.

Injuries again in 2015 handed Paul Jonass the title, but in 2016 Herlings captured title number three to equal Alessio Chiodi and Gaston Rahier for most titles in the small bike class. It was only a matter of time before he moved to the MXGP class, but unfortunately, the 2017 season started with Herlings injured and he lost the title to “The Great” Antonio Cairoli. The two battled hard and Herlings ended the season fit and healthy and winning five of the last six GPs. Only Sweden cost him a clean sweep of those GPs, where he had mechanical issues. Yes, he was back to his best and nobody can match "The Bullet" in that type of form.

After the misfortunes in Sweden, Herlings also took a quick trip to USA and dominated the AMA Nationals, winning ahead of their champion, Eli Tomac and then a week later, also won the USGP, again beating Tomac. Yes, this might have been Herlings in his prime. 2018 he won 17 of 19 rounds and finished second in two others and wrapped up title number four and his first 450 championship. Without question, 2017 and 2018 we saw the best of the KTM factory rider.

Unfortunately, in his prime, again, injury called in on Herlings and he raced just five rounds in 2019, going 4-6-12-1-1, those final two round victories came when he was at peak fitness again. In 2020 he raced just six rounds, his season ending when he broke his back at Faenza, in what could easily have been a career ending set-back.

Instead of retiring, what did Herlings had done so many times before, he came out swinging in 2021 and picked up probably his most impressive championship when he swapped GP wins with Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre, eventually winning the title in the final round of the championship at Mantova. It was the year of Covid, but not even the pandemic could stop “The Bullet”.

Of course, 2022 was a complete whip-out as he didn’t even race a round of the MXGP championship due to injury, but sensationally came back in 2023 and finished the opening round of the championship in Argentina with runner-up on the podium and then came out and won in the deep sand of Sardinia. Again though, while in a heated battle with Jorge Prado for the championship, Herlings crashed in Germany and of course, he picked up and injury and his season was over.

Amazingly, after losing so many titles to injury in his career, Herlings battled through 2024, didn’t pick up an injury in the MXGP championship, finished a strong third to Prado and Gajser, but did get injured at that Valkenswaard International. And there my friends, is where we now sit with the most exciting rider the sport has seen.

What comes next could be anything, from another injury to a sensational comeback. Maybe a trip to USA to race the AMA Nationals, or early retirement. Whatever does come, I for one want to thank Jeffrey Herlings for making the last 15 years of our sport a little more special. Without him the sport would have survived, but with him, it flourished and without question, “The Bullet” is a major reason why the GP riders picked up their speed and had dominated the AMA riders since 2012.

Five World titles, 107 GP wins and as I said, a highlight reel that not many others have. Thanks for taking us along for the ride Mr Herlings and hopefully, if the motocross God's allow, we get to see you win some more GP's, maybe even a title and of course, a battle with the best at the MXoN in USA this year.