Anybody confirmed this? On the HusqvarnaSA site. Breaking News: Herlings KTM-Husqvarna Deal There has just been an unveiling here at the Netherlands GP, with local hero Jeffrey "The Bullit" Herlings announcing that for the 2014 World Championships, he will be riding for the Husqvarna Racing Team. After KTM's recent takeover of the Italian brand, this is seen by many as a way of promoting that bike and elevating its status so that it can start to be considered one of the "big six" in the near future. When asked about his decision, Jeffrey Herlings said: "I'm excited for the opportunity, KTM have been great to me and I believe that with some good testing and work, I can make this new Husqvarna bike competitive for the upcoming year. I always like to challenge myself and I think this could be a great opportunity!" Of course this will now end speculation about Jeffrey's future in America as Husqvarna are unable to compete stateside due to the bike homologation rules.
I may be wrong, but I believe the interview being quoted came from an April fools prank originally. However, somewhere it was recently reported that Herlings has to move up to MX1 (450) class next year, and KTM doesn't want both him and Cairoli under the same tent on the same bike. So there could be some truth to it? Time will tell. Once Husky has a competitive 450 mxer KTM will pay the fees to have it homologated into AMA racing.
Under current rules Herlings will have to move up. But in the farsical circus act that is Guiseppe Luongo and Youthstream, the latest rumor is that they will change the rules to allow the darling of the 250 class (Herlings) to stay for another year. Already this year they have ignored the 108% rule when it suited them, to allow Livia Lancelot to compete (she was used as a gimmick pawn) and local riders from Thailand and Quatar (to woo the local promoters) as well. The FIM World championships are a joke, they can't even get enough riders to fill the gate so they run the hoopty "Super Final". Pit Bierer, who runs KTM's race effort in Europe, said Husky will field a 250 GP team and will field riders who aren't expected to win at first but can make the top 10.
I second that! It's amazing how many rules they write, change, ignore, or delete mid season. Sometimes a rule is in place for one race, but not the next race. Them changing the rules for Herlings it totally believable. What a joke.
For me, Herlings is a welcome badass non-conformist into the mix, whatever the mix/spin/deal is for 2014. Kind of a modern day Hannah/ Staten type, not afraid to speak and act outside of political correctness demanded by the series organizers. I like that even if some tag him as a punk kid (he is-why the F not) for his outbursts, the guy has raw cocky attitude and super MX talent.
HOMOLOGATION & DISPLACEMENT RULES SUCK IF YOUR NOT OVER 250 cc OR 450 cc & YOU CAN BUY IT I SAY RACE IT
