One of the favourite circuits for both riders and fans alike, Matterley is hosting its 14th MXGP event this weekend, and its first round in the summer months since 2021, and while British fans enjoyed the FIM Monster Energy Motocross of Nations at the venue last October, one of three such events here, the individual challenges in both MXGP and MX2 are just as enthralling and unpredictable at a high-paced circuit which has seen many close battles over the years!
The winner in that most recent summer event was a certain Antonio Cairoli, and the nine-time World Champion will line up again this weekend, in his second race of the year for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team. At the circuit where he clinched his seventh title in 2013, the Sicilian has won at Matterley more than anyone else, with six GP wins in total, one ahead of the tally of his former Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jeffrey Herlings. The Dutchman won here for the last time in 2020 as he looks for his third GP victory in a row.
Still leading the Championship table is French fighter Romain Febvre, who holds a 26-point advantage for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP and needs to stop the leakage of points to his teenage chaser Lucas Coenen, who has finished second overall at each of the last four GPs for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Former MX2 Matterley winner Glenn Coldenhoff holds third in the series for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP and is a big fan of the Hampshire circuit. Home hero Ben Watson, off the back of his best result for MRT Racing Team Beta, will once more try to break into the top ten or better for his local fans!
The pendulum of momentum in the MX2 class has swung in several directions over the last four GPs, and although the Latvian round was won by Sacha Coenen, it’s his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Simon Längenfelder who has taken his strongest position yet at the head of the series, with a 27-point advantage over 2023 World Champion Andrea Adamo. Reigning World Champion Kay de Wolf won race two in Latvia to bring himself just ten points adrift of Adamo in third for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, and has good memories of winning the MX2 class here at the Nations last year. 
The EMX250 European Championship holds its ninth round at Matterley Basin, and Latvian star Janis Reisulis leads the series for VHR VRT Yamaha Official EMX250 by 37 points, and returns to the circuit where he clinched his EMX125 title in 2023. JM Honda Racing’s Noel Zanocz is second ahead of Francisco Garcia on the Venum BUD Racing Kawasaki. Dirt Store Triumph Racing’s Billy Askew will be hoping for a repeat of his top three race finish at Trentino in front of his home fans and leads the charge of a dozen Brits hoping to get amongst the top scorers this weekend!
The EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing series will be on round ten at Matterley, and Racestore KTM Factory Juniors rider Nicolò Alvisi leads the standings by 28 points from MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 pilot Mano Faure, who has won the last two rounds. Filippo Mantovani holds third for the KTM Beddini Racing Team, while top Brit Drew Stock is coming off his first win in the British Championship for Lifeline Madison Yamaha to lead a pack of seven home riders aiming for 125cc glory!
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MXGP World Championship leader Romain Febvre has seen his points lead drop to just 26 in recent weekends, as his main contender Lucas Coenen has finished second overall in each of the last four GPs,while the Frenchman has finished third overall in the last two. The Belgian has also won three of the last five Qualifying Races to help his advancement in the points chase.
Neither rider has tasted victory at Matterley Basin, with Febvre taking just three podium finishes, a third place in 2023 his most recent, at a track which saw the end of his title defence in 2016, and his day at last year’s Motocross of Nations was also one to be forgotten. Coenen only took 11th overall in his only GP appearance here in 2023, but looked fast at the Nations before a crash broke his collarbone in his last race on a 250. Third-placed rider Coldenhoff took MX2 victory here back in 2013 but hasn’t climbed the British podium since. Maxime Renaux, fourth in points for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, won the MX2 class in his title year of 2021, as well as an EMX125 overall win back in 2015, and second in the Open class at last year’s MXoN.
Fifth in the Championship is Ruben Fernandez, who has just passed his injured Honda HRC teammate Tim Gajser in the standings, and he was third in that Open class last year after a fine second in race two. He also climbed the podium here in MX2 in 2021.
Besides Cairoli and Herlings, the only other rider lining up in MXGP this weekend who has victories at Matterley Basin is Jago Geerts, who has been rising in stature for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, and took his final MX2 GP victory here in 2023 to add to the trophy from 2020. Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team rider Jeremy Seewer, tenth in the series behind Herlings, has climbed the podium at each of the last two MXGPs at Matterley, and even won here in EMX250 back in 2013, so he could be a dark horse for a top finish while all the attention is on his erstwhile teammate Cairoli. His other teammate, Mattia Guadagnini, took second overall in MX2 here in 2021, and it’s just the sort of hardpack that the popular Italian loves.
Motul Team Honda Motoblouz SR rider Alberto Forato won at Matterley in EMX250 in 2019, and he is in need of a good result, while his teammate Kevin Horgmo returns from injury after a win in a French Championship race last weekend.
British rider Adam Sterry is the next home rider in the standings after Watson, and the Chambers Racing KTM rider also won in EMX250 here back in 2015, so he’ll be looking to get amongst the points again, as will Lexa MX riders Josh Gilbert and John Adamson. Wild card riders Jamie Carpenter of the Crendon Tru7 Honda team, and privateer Honda man Max Broadbelt will also enjoy their first MXGP experience on home soil!
It’s tough to predict a winner from the leading contenders, and the Matterley circuit allows the 450cc machines to truly show their power, so expect this one to be anarchy in the UK!
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 530 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 504 Points; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 362 Pts; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 347 Points; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 338 Pts; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 Points; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 300 Pts; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 284 Pts; 9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 279 Pts; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 253 Pts;.
The MX2 World Championship saw its fifth overall winner in 11 rounds, last time out in Latvia, as Sacha Coenen finally did his speed some justice with a victory for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, although it came at the expense of his teammate Simon Längenfelder, who crashed on the final lap to lose the GP win. However, with such a poor GP for another Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, Andrea Adamo, the German actually retook the Championship lead and left with an advantage of 27 points, the largest lead for anyone all season. His team will be hoping that he can hold this positive result in his mind instead of that last mistake at Kegums. The re-attachment of the red plate should help!
Längenfelder should be confident heading to Matterley Basin, however, as he is the only rider lining up in MX2 this weekend with a GP win to his name at this track. He took a double race victory here at the start of the 2022 season, as well as a race win in 2023 on his way to second overall.
Third overall in that 2023 GP was Adamo, while Kay de Wolf just missed the podium despite finishing second in race two. The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team leader sits ten points behind Adamo, and is looking to rebuild his title defence from Matterley onwards. His teammate Liam Everts took an EMX125 maximum here in 2020, and is also facing a battle to get back into title contention. He also has young Coenen behind him now in the series, as Sacha’s Latvian win pulled him away from Thibault Benistant in the series. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider should be strong on the hardpack surface this weekend, but has yet to shine in Hampshire so far in his career.
Camden McLellan will ride out from a packed Monster Energy Triumph Racing rig on the British manufacturer’s first home GP, but the seventh-placed rider in the Championship will be hoping for a repeat of his Trentino race-winning performance.
Van Venrooy KTM Racing’s lone wolf Cas Valk is ninth in the Championship behind the Honda HRC rider Valerio Late, and the Dutchman, like Herlings a 2024 British Champion, took the overall win here in EMX125 in 2022 and has just 12 points to catch up to the Italian, who had a disastrous zero weekend in Latvia. The Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors rider Oriol Oliver, who won at last weekend’s British Championship round, will look to get the British fans behind him at the home race for his team, and should advance into the top ten of the series ahead of the injured Ferruccio Zanchi.
The MX2 World Championship has been impossible to call all season long, and with many riders loving the circuit, these races should continue to entertain throughout the Grand Prix weekend in England!
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 515 Points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 488 Pts; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 478 Points; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 419 Pts; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 389 Pts; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 378 Pts; 7. Camden McLellan (RSA, TRI), 324 Pts; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 265 Pts; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 253 Pts; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 220 Pts;.
SATURDAY: 08:00 EMX125 Group 1 Free Practice, 08:30 EMX125 Group 2 Free Practice, 09:00 MXE Time Practice, 09:20 EMX250 Free Practice, 09:50 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 11:50 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 12:30 EMX250 Qualifying Practice, 13:15 MXE Race 1, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 EMX125 Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY: 09:40 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 12:20 MXE Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.
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