CHALLENGING ROAD-TRIP

JUNE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY REMAIN THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT OF THE SEASON FOR THE MXGP AND MX2 RIDERS. AT LEAST FOR THOSE WHO TOOK PART IN THE TRIP TO INDONESIA. THE WELCOME THEY RECEIVED ON THE ISLANDS OF SUMBAWA AND LOMBOK WAS LIKE NOTHING THEY HAD EXPERIENCED BEFORE. BUT BEFORE THAT, THE LATVIAN AND GERMAN STAGES WERE FULL OF SURPRISES.

On arrival in Kegums, the weather wasn’t exactly ideal. And yet, the skies seemed azure for the Red Bull KTM team whose leader, Jeffrey Herlings, had just achieved a historic performance in Spain: breaking the record for the number of Grand Prix victories, held until then by the legend Stefan Everts. Unfortunately, some ‘technical’ misadventures at the French GP broke the dynamics of the Dutchman, as he continued to pick up precious points in the 2023 World Championship standings and gradually instilled doubt in the head of the solid leader at the start of the season, Jorge Prado. Thus, the number 84 continued his winning ways in Latvia, and in style. A double victory - his second of the season - for a 103rd Grand Prix in his record books, while taking 9 points off Jorge Prado before heading to Germany. And we can even say a triple victory, with his first win coming in the RAM Qualifying Race. It must be said that it came down to very little between Herlings and Prado, and the intensity of this qualifying race sums up pretty well the degree of rivalry between these two men. For the time being, it was the Dutchman who won, less than a second ahead of the Spaniard. Ruben Fernandez crossed the finish line third... 16 seconds later. Victory could only go to one of the two in this 8th Round of the World Championship, but in what order?

In race one Jeffrey Herlings made a mistake which cost him a few seconds at the start of the heat, but he didn’t give up and after a few laps, the Dutchman was once again sticking on the train of the Spaniard, whom he finally managed to overtake on lap 14, to finish 7 seconds ahead with the best time recorded on the track. Behind this titanic clash, Ruben Fernandez rode a very good race to take 3rd place, ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff and Calvin Vlaanderen. Romain Febvre got off to a poor start and finished 6th, ahead of Jeremy

Seewer, Alberto Forato, Brian Bogers and Alessandro Lupino, who completed the top 10.

The second race was contested in difficult conditions after the rain had passed. After a good start, Romain Febvre took control of the race on lap 4, getting the better of Jorge Prado. Herlings followed him. At a good distance from the Kawasaki rider, he waited for the most opportune time, 4 laps from the finish, to start an overtaking movement which Febvre could not respond to. The Frenchman finished 2nd, 4 seconds behind the KTM rider, but nearly 15 seconds ahead of Jorge Prado. On the GP podium, the roles were reversed between Febvre and Prado, who took the 2nd place ahead of number 3 from Kawasaki.

In MX2, Kay de Wolf opened his Grand Prix victory counter. Of course, the Nestaan Husqvarna rider had already won GP rounds, but he had never stood on the highest step of an MX2 podium. Now it’s done, with a 1-1-1 record, like his compatriot in the top category, and as a bonus the red plate as leader of the MX2 World Championship, despite being snatched by Andrea Adamo in qualifying race. At Kegums the young man demonstrated that the Dutch riders’ fondness for sandy tracks was far from a myth. From the RAM Qualifying Race, with his teammate Roan Van de Moosdijk, he made sure to send a clear message to his rivals: this weekend will be his. And even though Thibault Benistant tried to put up some resistance in Race 1, the French rider had to give in to the Dutchman’s onslaught on lap 7 and was unable to retake the lead after that. Roan Van de Moosdijk tried to play his own card at the start of the race, but he was relegated to 3rd position and finished almost 30 seconds behind his teammate, ahead of Liam Everts and Andrea Adamo.

In the following race Thibault Benistant crashed due to the challenging conditions of the track due to the weather, and lost any hope of victory that weekend. Lucas Coenen took the lead, ahead of teammates Kay de Wolf and Roan Van de Moosdijk. One by one, the Husqvarna boys made mistakes which had no effect on the already established Top 3, but which ultimately benefited number 74, who was delighted to take 50 new points and win the Latvian round. Andrea Adamo crossed the finish line in 4th place, ahead of Kevin

Horgmo. Thibault Benistant, Mikkel Haarup, Liam Everts, Oriol Oliver and Isak Gifting occupied places 5 to 10. Before heading off to Germany, Kay de Wolf was able to savor the first Grand Prix of her career, winning ahead of Roan Van de Moosdijk and Thibault Benistant.

From happiness to nightmare

As they were setting down in Teutschenthal, two hours South-West of Berlin, a question was running through the minds of the most astute MXGP observers: would this weekend see Jeffrey Herlings take the lead of the championship? The answer came quickly. A comfortable victory of the RAM Qualifying Race for Jorge Prado left the Red Bull KTM rider almost 10 seconds behind him. Only Jeremy Seewer, on his factory Yamaha, tried to thwart the Spaniard’s plans, without much success. Worse. While leading in Race 1, Herlings crashed heavily with 3 laps to go. Quickly in third position behind Jeremy Seewer and Jorge Prado, the Dutch rider had done the hard part by overtaking the Spaniard and then the Swiss rider in the second half of the race. However, the German track proved to be refractory to any inattention, and Herlings paid the price. He nevertheless crossed the finish line in 20th place, while suffering, but was unable to take part in Race 2 due to a suspected injury in his neck. This incident opened the door to victory for Jorge Prado, ahead of Jeremy Seewer and Ruben Fernandez. Glenn Coldenhoff and Alberto Forato finished respectively 4th and 5th, while Romain Febvre, who suffered a crash at the start of the race, took 6th place. Calvin Vlaanderen, Valentin Guillod, Mitch Evans and German Tom Koch took the last 4 places in the Top 10.

In Race 2, Glenn Coldenhoff distinguished himself by making the best start. However, Jorge Prado followed well behind the Dutchman, as did Romain Febvre, Ruben Fernandez and Valentin Guillod. Jeremy Seewer crashed out in the first meters, making Alberto Forato and Alessandro Lupino collateral victims. But the Swiss rider managed to climb back into the Top 5 by the end of the race, passing the Kawasaki of Mitch Evans with three laps to go. The other Kawasaki rider, Romain Febvre, also crashed, for the second time that weekend. The Frenchman quickly passed Evans, and halfway through the race, he made light work of Ruben Fernandez to move up to 3rd place. In front, Jorge Prado finally attacked in the final laps after having stayed in Glenn Coldenhoff’s slipstream for more than 25 minutes and - no doubt - pushed the Dutchman under pressure into a fault. This enabled him to take the lead of the race and claim his second win of the day. With JH84 out, Prado secured his second win of the season, going 1-1-1. But above all, after this 9th round, the Spaniard was 67 points clear of his main rival, still 2nd while pending a potential date of return...

In the other category, Jago Geerts’ return from injury seemed to be the event of the weekend, after missing the GP of Kegums, but the Belgian was finally eclipsed by one of his compatriots: Liam Everts. The son of legend Stefan Everts won the first Grand Prix of his career in Germany, ahead of Andrea Adamo and Thibault Benistant. And yet, a third Belgian could have made the difference, as Lucas Coenen came within a whisker of the double. In the first race, Sacha’s twin, who started 3rd behind Roan Van de Moosdijkwinner of Saturday’s qualifying race - and Liam Everts, surprised everyone by quickly taking the lead and widening a considerable gap over the competition. Seven seconds ahead of Liam Everts, but 17 ahead of Andrea Adamo, who took a fine 3rd place. The Italian took advantage of the only fault committed by Roan Van de Moosdijk, to settle in the Top 3. Thibault Benistant did the same and took 4th position ahead of the Nestaan Husqvarna Rider. For his part, Jago Geerts grabbed 13th place.

In Race 2, Lucas Coenen quickly moved into the lead, ahead of Liam Everts and Jago Geerts, before Andrea Adamo and Thibault Benistant got the better of the Yamaha rider to move into 3rd and 4th place a few laps later. Halfway through, the leader of the race thought it was a bad joke when his bike definitely stalled in a corner, giving the lead to Liam Everts. With almost 10 seconds over his teammate Andrea Adamo at the end of the race, the number 72 was never troubled again. He won ahead of the Italian and Thibault Benistant. Mikkel Haarup took a good 4th place, in a duel with Roan Van de Moosdijk who finished 5th. Jan Pancar, Jago Geerts, Isak Gifting, Marcel Stauffer and Kay de Wolf, who was suffering from a foot injury, took part in the Top 10. Andrea Adamo took over the leadership of the MX2 world championship, 13 points ahead of Thibault Benistant and 17 points over Kay de Wolf.

Overseas

The next two rounds took the MXGP and MX2 troops to South-East Asia, to two of the 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia. And not the least welcoming. Sumbawa may not be the best known of the archipelago, but it is one of the best examples of Indonesian generosity, so often praised by explorers of this part of the world. And on Friday, the Welcome Event confirmed this. A ceremo- ny beginning with traditional dances at the Regent office, followed by speeches by the organizers and the island’s governors. But the best was yet to come. The entire delegation was invited to parade through the city’s main thoroughfares to meet the locals, in horse-drawn carriages pulled by amazing little horses, or on bicycles to get as close as possible to local traditions. A princely welcome, not to say royal. So many handshakes, so many smiles, so many shouts of joy… 10 minutes of enchantment to get to the Palace and be welcomed once again by a conquered crowd. After the official photo, it was time for an impromptu autograph session and a few selfies. But as the sun began to set, everyone was reminded that there was a competition the following day.

In the absence of Jeffrey Herlings, Jorge Prado was the most expected rider to be at the top. We especially saw Romain Febvre authoritative and aggressive on his bike, the number 3 tamed his opponents in the RAM Qualifying Race, which he won 2 seconds ahead of Jeremy Seewer and 4 ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff. On Sunday, he put an end to his bad luck and won his first Grand Prix of the season. More importantly, he tasted the joys of victory again almost two years after his last success on the world circuit; it was in Belgium in August 2021. In Race 1, the Frenchman took the lead from the first corner, chased by Jorge Prado, Mitch Evans, Jeremy Seewer and Glenn Coldenhoff. His Australian teammate, no doubt still lacking competition, was soon demoted from the top 3, to the benefit of the Yamaha Seewer-Coldenhoff duo. Despite a gap of nearly 6 seconds over the championship leader, Romain Febvre remained under pressure and the track played a nasty trick on him. On lap 13, the rider lost control of his Kawasaki, and with it a handful of seconds. That was all JP61 needed to take 1st place and the race victory. The native of Epinal, in France, ended with a 2nd position ahead of Jeremy Seewer. Glenn Coldenhoff and Ruben Fernandez finished just off the top three.

In Race 2, like a taste of deja vu, it was Romain Febvre who took the Fox Holeshot. Behind him, Valentin Guillod got off to an excellent start, ahead of Jorge Prado, Ruben Fernandez and Calvin Vlaanderen. However, the HRC rider was unlucky to fall in the 4th corner, dragging Benoit Paturel down with him. Both men left outside the top 10. But it was in front that everything was decided, particularly with Valentin

Guillod losing ground and Prado, Vlaanderen and Seewer overtaking him halfway through. At the same time, Glenn Coldenhoff also tried to play his card and catch Calvin Vlaanderen and Jeremy Seewer. But in the end, the number 259 crashed hitting the rear of the Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha rider. He eventually remained on 5th place. Jeremy Seewer and Jorge Prado were riding really close, but finally the Swiss rider was able to overtake the GasGas rider to finish 2nd behind Romain Febvre. Calvin Vlaanderen took 4th place. Ruben Fernandez finally came back from his troubles to take 6th place. Mitch Evans, Alberto Forato, Valentin Guillod and Alvin Ostlund took places 7-10. In any case, Romain Febvre was back to winning ways, and this augured well for the Frenchman before the second round of the Indonesian tour.

In MX2, the spectrum of the missed rendezvous at Teutschental did not haunt the mind of Lucas Coenen for long. 1-1-1 for the Belgian rider, who therefore displayed all his speed from the RAM Qualifying Race. In the first heat, it was Jago Geerts who made the best start ahead of Liam Everts and Lucas Coenen. A 100% Belgian leading trio, which quickly turned into a duo, Geerts falling in the lap 2. Then, Liam Everts took the lead ahead of Lucas Coenen. Rick Elzinga tried to follow, in vain. He knocked himself out of the top 5 halfway through the race, overtaken by Laengenfelder, Adamo and Geerts. So, Coenen decided to act in the final laps. Attentive to the way of riding of his compatriot and rival, he tried several times on the inside of the young Red Bull driver, before managing to overtake him with two laps to go. Liam Everts couldn’t do anything and left him the race win. At the same time, Simon Laengenfelder made a mistake that cost him the 3rd place. Andrea Adamo overtook him and climbed to third ahead of the German and Jago Geerts.

In the 2nd race, it was the other Coenen, Sacha, who took the lead in the 1st corner, but he lost it during the first downhill. Jago Geerts, Simon Laengenfelder and Kevin Horgmo made the show behind. From lap 2, Geerts took 2nd position, overtaking Sacha Coenen. Championship leader Andrea Adamo fell in the opening minutes and was outside the Top 15. Liam Everts also crashed in a corner, but was able to restart 6th, eventually taking 2nd place behind Lucas Coenen, who already had more than 10 seconds advantage. Later, Simon Laengenfelder also saw Indonesian soil up close. The Red Bull GasGas rider was outside the top 10. The end of the race was difficult, especially for Jago Geerts who was under pressure from Thibault Benistant, but the number 93 firmly held on to 3rd place to offer a Belgian triplet on the podium. Coenen-Everts-Geerts, the same three guys at the top of the Sumbawa GP standings. 16-year-old Lucas Coenen granted himself the right to dream bigger.

The prolonged magic

Three days off it’s never much, but when you get them in certain places then, quality easily replaces quantity. Seeing the photos posted by most riders on their social media, this theory could easily be verified. And to help them return to competition smoothly, the local organizer had planned new festivities. Therefore, a dinner was organized two days before the RAM Qualifying Race, for which the red carpet was literally rolled out, with photographers, local orchestra, and welcoming committee in traditional dress. Enough to overshadow the most prestigious festivals on the planet. A few speeches were made later, and it was finally from the plates that the best came, with a buffet of a thousand flavors. And to digest, what better than a dance? Some riders and team members were invited to wiggle on the track by a troupe of Indonesian dancers and they clearly got into the game.

The party over, Motocross resumed its rights. On the site of the former Lombok airport, converted into a circuit, Jorge Prado was the first to show himself, by finishing the RAM Qualifying Race ahead of Ruben Fernandez and Romain Febvre; the three men being separated by only 4 seconds. The rest of the competition was going to be tighter. On Sunday, Romain Febvre had the best start in Race 1, ahead of Ruben Fernandez, Jeremy Seewer, Jorge Prado and Valentin Guillod. Seewer quickly fell after being overtaken by Jorge Prado. He restarted 5th behind his teammate Glenn Coldenhoff. Overtaken by Paturel and Vlaanderen, the other Swiss, Valentin Guillod managed to return to 6th position behind Coldenhoff, who set the fastest lap on the track. Before halfway, Ruben Fernandez crashed while he was in 2nd place. The Spaniard was 4th behind Prado and Coldenhoff, before almost going off the road, which Jeremy Seewer took advantage of. He eventually finished 5th. With 3 laps to go, Romain Febvre, 6 seconds ahead of Jorge Prado, saw the Galician coming back to his wheel, and in the following lap, the championship leader made a strong attack. JP61 crossed the finish line first ahead of Febvre, Coldenhoff, Seewer and Fernandez.

In the second heat, Valentin Guillod took his first Fox Holeshot of the season, but it was Jorge Prado who immediately took the lead ahead of Romain Febvre. The Kawasaki rider lost two places in the first waves section, but only temporarily. At the end of the first lap, while chasing Prado, the Frenchman left the track on a jump, he lost a few seconds but did not lose places. A few laps later, the number 3 came back into the GasGas rider’s draft and took the lead of the race. Behind, Glenn Coldenhoff managed to stop his teammate Jeremy Seewer at the end of the race, to take 3rd position. The Swiss and Ruben Fernandez shared the last two places in the Top5. Anyway, back-to-back victories for Romain Febvre, who has made Indonesia his land of conquest.

On its side, the MX2 class comes down to one name: Jago Geerts. The Belgian has let his opponents know that his left wrist injury is a distant memory. He flew through the RAM Qualifying Race, finishing 4 seconds ahead of Husqvarna rider Roan Van de Moosdijk and 8 seconds ahead of Simon Laengenfelder. Race 1 was not that different. Despite the Fox Holeshot obtained by his teammate Rick Elzinga, the number 93 quickly took the lead, leaving a nice gap between him and the rest of the pack. Behind, Andrea Adamo tried to follow in 2nd position. The battle was played out between Roan Van de Moosdijk and Simon Laengenfelder, to grab 3rd place. The Dutchman got the last word. Kay de Wolf followed his teammate, leaving the German rider to close the Top 5.

At the start of the second race, Jago crossed the Fox Holeshot line first, but Simon Laengenfelder responded strongly, immediately taking the lead of the race. Regardless, the Belgian immediately reacted and regained leadership in the first lap. Behind him, Roan Van de Moosdijk also overtook Simon Laengenfelder, from lap 2. Andrea Adamo tried to follow, but the Italian fell and was 6th behind Lucas Coenen. In the second part of the heat, the KTM rider worked hard to catch up and then overtake Lucas Coenen, Roan Van de Moosdijk and Liam Everts. A feat that allowed him to grab 3rd place, but it was Jago Geerts, fist in the air, who won this second round ahead of Simon Laengenfelder. Liam Everts and Lucas Coenen finished respectively 4th and 5th. In the Grand Prix standings, Jago Geerts edged out Andrea Adamo and Simon Laengenfelder, but the Italian remained leader of the standings, ahead of Thibault Benistant and Kay de Wolf. Is this a sign that the Yamaha Belgian rider can still dream of the red plate again? We are not there yet...

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