Jeffrey Herlings was spotted on his feet and in good health for the first time since his dislocated pelvis at the Czech Republic Grand Prix in July. Another year with KTM beckons but the 21 year old Dutchman faces intense scrutiny over his plans for 2016 with no firm decision yet taken on what class he will contest in the forthcoming FIM Motocross World Championship. Herlings has two more years on a 250 in Grand Prix before he has to depart the category and after being so close to two titles in 2014 and 2015 it is understandable if ‘84’ wants to close some sort of book – or rid himself of a form of hoodoo – in MX2 before a 350 or 450 lies in store. We put him on the spot for an update and when a call might be made for ’16…

So…you are potentially a week away from riding again and that green light to start prep for 2016…

I’m not 100% sure I will get it but that’s what I’m hoping for. I’m patiently waiting and mountain biking and swimming to get back in good shape and a lot of rehab.

Do you have a plan already set for what you will do and when?

I still remember last year when I was off the bike for so long and then started riding and it was like a nightmare. After ten minutes your arms want to fall off with the arm-pump and muscle pain…so you have to build up slowly. If the weather allows then I’ll start riding in Holland and after a couple of days we’ll probably go to Spain.

Looking back on 2015 now. Was it a mistake to come back early from that broken collarbone in Sweden and then also from the finger injury in Czech Republic? You were so far ahead in the championship still…

Going further back it all went wrong for me from the femur. I was pretty much unbeatable before then [July 2014] and only got back on the bike in February this year with just three weeks practice before Qatar. I had such a limited amount of preparation time that I believe I was not the ‘Jeffrey’ I needed to be during the year. In my head I was, physically I wasn’t. I kept making mistakes and was never injury-free because I still had pain in my leg from the beginning. I overdid it when I came back from the femur and my knee was starting to hurt. I didn’t have time to rest and got hurt again in Spain, the collarbone, the finger and last but not least the hip. That was the worst. All the injuries have gone now but the hip is nearing the end of a process to be healthy. It feels really good but riding is something different.

You had some criticism, as did KTM, for returning to racing too quickly in Loket and just prior to the hip injury. Was that unfair?

To read the full interview click HERE