Headlines
Febvre And Valin Make it a French Frenzy at The MXGP Of Czech Republic
MXGP: The classic circuit of Loket saw the first action of Round 14 today at the MXGP of Czech Republic, as early sunshine gave way to driving rain for the afternoon’s Time Practice sessions and Qualifying Races for both the MX2 and MXGP classes!
Headlines
MXGP: The classic circuit of Loket saw the first action of Round 14 today at the MXGP of Czech Republic, as early sunshine gave way to driving rain for the afternoon’s Time Practice sessions and Qualifying Races for both the MX2 and MXGP classes!
There was joy for France with victory in both of those races, and it was also a double for riders in green! Romain Febvre took just his second Qualifying Race victory of the year to edge further ahead in the Championship for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, although Lucas Coenen limited the damage to just one point by finishing second, as Ruben Fernandez took third spot with a last lap pass for Honda HRC!
The MX2 class saw two rookies at the top of the order for the first time all year, as Mathis Valin claimed his very first race win for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2, showing true mastery of the muddy conditions ahead of Honda HRC’s Valerio Lata, and Kay de Wolf staged a great recovery from a terrible start to claim third for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing!
The track crews will have a busy few hours ahead to prepare the venue for tomorrow’s races, but the experienced organisers were able to provide a circuit that withstood the conditions for some great racing today!
The morning session was a great one for hard-pack master and six-time Loket podium finisher Jeremy Seewer, who set the fastest time for Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team. Calvin Vlaanderen was second for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, less than two-tenths behind, with series leader Febvre not far off in third.
The rain had already started before the MXGP class ripped into their Time Practice session, and Febvre wasted no time in getting into his groove, rapidly setting the fastest time of all early on, before the rain got heavier and started to seriously affect the circuit. Lucas Coenen kept the pressure up to claim the second gate pick behind his title rival, while privateer Jan Pancar impressed with a great third place for his own TEM JP253 KTM Racing outfit.
With the constant rain making the track very wet for racing, all of the competitors knew the importance of a good start. Febvre delivered, getting a great jump to exit the first corner in the lead, although Glenn Coldenhoff railed around the outside to grab the advantage for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP into the second corner! Coenen was right on their tail, and nearly pushed past the Frenchman into turn three. Ruben Fernandez had forced his Honda HRC machine past Jago Geerts for fourth, as the Belgian also lost out to his Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP teammate Maxime Renaux before the end of the opening lap, leaving them in fifth and sixth ahead of the JK Racing Yamaha of Isak Gifting.
Febvre started to put the track together on lap two, and in a superbly executed manoeuvre he shifted from outside to inside in a right-hander to carve past Coldenhoff! The Dutchman was unable to retaliate, and a lap later Coenen also got past, this time around the outside of a tight left-hander, leaving the teenager with a four-second gap to close in on Febvre.
Andrea Bonacorsi was having a good ride for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP, after a fall by Gifting dropped the Swede down to 11th on lap four, and the Italian passed Geerts for sixth on lap six! Geerts slid down on a hill while fending off an attack from Seewer, and was to come home in tenth just behind Gifting. Seewer also made a small mistake to allow Brent van Doninck through to take seventh for JM Racing Honda.
Coenen had closed in on Febvre by mid-race, but the Frenchman was able to pick up the pace and pull away again, eventually winning by just over 2.5 seconds and extending his Championship lead by one point to leave the margin at 16. Fernandez pulled off a surprise last lap pass on Coldenhoff to take third, with Renaux making a steady return from injury in fifth, ahead of Bonacorsi.
With weather likely to be a factor tomorrow as well, the lessons learned today will stand all of the riders in good stead for the main Grand Prix races to come!
Romain Febvre: “Again, with the start, it makes such a difference to the result at the end. I almost pulled the holeshot, but Coldenhoff came from far outside, turned really well, and had the inside, so I let him take it. With the mud, it was a bit tricky because I didn’t want to follow too closely and get my goggles too dirty. Somehow, I managed to pass him downhill, and then I could pull a gap and have some security. When I’m on the bike, I feel pretty good and hopefully tomorrow we have two good starts like this and then we’ll see.”
MXGP – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 24:45.729; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:02.584; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:05.413; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:11.653; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.069; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:23.392; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:32.513; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +0:36.135; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:42.717; 10. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:53.829;
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 637 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 621 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 456 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 415 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 366 p.; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 358 p.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 353 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 325 p.; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 299 p.
In the Free Practice session held during a sunny morning, Sacha Coenen claimed the fastest time for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, just holding off a late charge from Monster Energy Yamaha MX2’s Thibault Benistant, with Valerio Lata a happy third behind the Frenchman.
Just before the rain started to come down in Time Practice, however, last year’s Czech GP winner Kay de Wolf emerged as the fastest rider by just over half a second from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder, while Camden McLellan put in a promising third fastest lap for Monster Energy Triumph Racing, on a circuit that he has great history on.
With the first gate pick, De Wolf seemed to take a big gamble on selecting the extreme outside starting position, far from the more inside gates of his main rivals. The gamble didn’t pay off as he got out-jumped by the rider inside of him, JM Racing Honda man David Braceras, and instead it was Valin and Lata who held a rookie 1-2 at the head of the field, although McLellan briefly sneaked past the Italian into the third corner!
The South African’s good start was destroyed, however, as he crashed into the corner after the Finish line, dropping immediately to around 16th position. Andrea Adamo had claimed third for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Benistant, but De Wolf was on the rampage! Already up to sixth with an incredible plunge down a hill to pass three riders halfway round the first full lap, the reigning Champ was then past the Kawasaki of Kay Karssemakers for fifth as they started lap two! Czech home hero Julius Mikula was a strong seventh for TM Moto CRD Motosport, but red plate holder Längenfelder was passed and left by De Wolf and still fighting on the edge of the top ten.
Guillem Farres had tangled with his teammate McLellan to drop down the order, eventually coming home tenth to grab the final point for Monster Energy Triumph Racing behind the BTS Racing KTM of Jens Walvoort. Sacha Coenen had a difficult first corner and had to carve his way through the pack to claim eighth. Mikula was passed by Längenfelder mid-race, but still scored his best Qualifying Race result yet in seventh.
De Wolf worked steadily to close in on Benistant, and the pair actually caught Adamo with two laps to go! Suddenly the Frenchman made a mistake on the uphill section to the start line, allowing the Dutchman up into fourth! On the final lap the Husqvarna rider roared alongside Adamo up the longest hill on the circuit, and with a bit of body language the Champ was up to third! Gaining one point on Adamo leaves him just four behind the second-placed rider in the series, and gaining two more on Längenfelder, who was sixth behind Benistant, now puts him 45 behind the German.
There was no mistake up front by the two rookies, however, as Valin took his very first win in MX2 by 6.5 seconds over Lata, who was a further two seconds up on De Wolf. The Kawasaki kid becomes the seventh Qualifying Race winner of the season in MX2, and the 11th rider to take a chequered flag in any GP race in 2025! Lata’s second place is also a welcome relief from a mediocre run of form.
Will there be more French glory in either class in tomorrow’s Grand Prix races? Or will the rest of the pack have an answer on the challenging slopes of the Czech Republic? Tune in tomorrow to find out!
Mathis Valin: “Yes, I needed that. Luckily, I had a good start in these conditions which helped me a lot. I kept riding well and did most of my race alone, which was quite good. I’m happy about it and I want to thank the team and everyone around me. Now, we need to stay focused for tomorrow!”
MX2 – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:00.296; 2. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:06.500; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:08.517; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:09.581; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.940; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:47.651; 7. Julius Mikula (CZE, TM), +1:09.668; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +1:20.935; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:26.560; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:33.083
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 618 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 577 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 573 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 485 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 464 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 393 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 306 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 289 p.; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 273 p.
MXGP OF CZECH REPUBLIC QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1595m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 20°
Weather conditions: Rainy
Amazon.co.uk
£519.00
PRIMEPRIME
Insta360 X4 Motorcycle Bundle - 8K Waterproof 360 Action Camera, 4K Wide-Angle Video, Invisible Selfie Stick, Removable Lens Guards, 135 Min Battery Life, AI...
Amazon.co.uk
£388.00
PRIMEPRIME
DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro Motorcycling/Mountain Cycling Combo, Action Camera 4K for Riders, 1/1.3" Sensor, 155º FOV, 4hrs Battery, Sports Data Recording, Chest...
Amazon.co.uk
£59.99
Quad Lock Motorcycle Handlebar Mount PRO for for iPhone, Galaxy, Pixel and Universal Adapters
-11%
Amazon.co.uk
£141.49 £159.99
PRIMEPRIME
Oxford Beast Lock Padlock. Motorcycle Diamond Sold Secure. LK120, Black
-6%
Amazon.co.uk
£229.99 £244.99
PRIMEPRIME
Oxford Beast 22mm chain x 2.0mtr. High Security Heavy Duty Motorbike Chain. Sold Secure Diamond. LK127
For more news check out our dedicated MXGP/MX2 News page
Or visit the official MXGP website mxgp.com
©Words/Images are from an official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com
* Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click on the link and make a purchase. Any money made goes straight back into the website and magazine. Your support is appreciated!
Keep Up to Date with the Most Important News
