The MXGP of Flanders ran in much hotter conditions than on Saturday, making the arduous Stedelijk Motocrossterrain Lommel circuit even more physically demanding, and it saw a stupendous battle in both Grand Prix classes that had the packed spectator banks in raptures throughout the day’s racing!

Even though it was overcast on Saturday, the circuit was tough enough for the riders in the shorter RAM Qualifying Races, so the full-length GP confrontations held in strong sunshine added even more of a physical challenge, but it was one that the very best relished as they sought to not just survive, but thrive!

The MXGP class was expected to be a battle of the sand masters, between Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s reigning World Champion Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s record GP winner Jeffrey Herlings.  And it certainly delivered that battle! With some incredible riding, Herlings delivered a knockout punch to record a perfect 1-1 day, make a statement about his speed in the soft stuff, and close in further on the World Championship lead!

A similar battle was expected in MX2, but in two highly eventful races that saw most riders fall from their bikes at one point or another, it was Championship leader Kay de Wolf who claimed his sixth GP win of the season for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing and extended his advantage in the World Championship over his teammate Lucas Coenen by some margin!

The psychological warfare between the two men bidding for the “King of Sand” title, Prado and Herlings, continued in morning Warm-up as RAM Qualifying Race winner Prado was only just bested by the Dutchman, although the 0.130 second difference told Jeffrey that Jorge would be right there in the races!

The first MXGP race was, quite simply, incredible.  Fans, commentators, even seasoned professionals in the crew and those who have spent a lifetime around the sport were astounded at what they saw.

It looked like Prado was the one putting his marker down at the start of the race, with a scorching pace from a typical Fox Holeshot that nobody could live with.  As Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer and Calvin Vlaanderen for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP put themselves between Prado and Herlings initially, red plate holder Tim Gajser started in sixth for Team HRC and looked a little off the pace, being briefly passed by the Fantic Factory Racing machine of Brian Bogers.

Vlaanderen soon pounced on Seewer, and Herlings went through as well before the end of the first full lap, then “The Bullet” moved into second at the end of lap two.  Looking up the track, he had about five seconds to make up, but Prado put the hammer down to extend the distance between him and the Dutchman. On lap four there were ten seconds between each of the leading four riders, as Romain Febvre caught his teammate Seewer, and made a pass that forced the Swiss rider to run wide and allow Gajser through, putting the two ex-Champions into fourth and fifth, where they would stay to the flag.

As if the 15-minute mark was his signal to go, Herlings started to close the gap to Prado, but then disaster struck in front of the packed gallery of fans as he collided with a lapped rider and hit the floor!  With Prado still on a good pace, and the gap up to 17 seconds after Herlings remounted, the battle looked like it would never materialise.

What followed was one of the greatest recoveries from adversity in Motocross history, as somehow “The Bullet” started to claw back the lead, putting in the fastest lap of the entire race on lap 12 of 16, taking a five-second chunk out of Prado’s advantage!  Carving through lapped riders, he caught the Spaniard less than a lap later, nailed a double-dune section that few had perfected all day, and flew into the lead before anyone could believe what they were seeing!

Barely relenting his speed in the final laps, Herlings himself pulled out a ten-second lead in the last three laps to claim yet another famous victory in his already incredible career.

Behind Prado was a lonely Vlaanderen, who put in another sterling ride for third. Behind Febvre and Gajser was Glenn Coldenhoff, another Dutchman on a great late charge and sixth for Fantic Factory Racing, then Kevin Horgmo backed up Saturday’s good result with seventh for Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz.  Vlaanderen’s teammate Andrea Bonacorsi claimed eighth ahead of Bogers and Seewer.

Unfazed by the pace of Herlings towards the end of race one, Prado went for the same tactic again in race two, the one that has served him so well in recent years, taking yet another Fox Holeshot Award, his 14th of the year, and scampering away at the head of the field. Herlings did well to come out of turn two in fourth place behind the Kawasaki men, with Febvre passing Seewer for second into turn three.

After putting a pass on Seewer before the end of the first lap, Herlings had Febvre fall from second place and leave him a clear path to the leader. This time it was a simple eight-second gap that he had to haul in, but with a couple of rare errors from Prado as he struggled to find his line in a right-hand corner, “The Bullet” once more pounced and led from the halfway point onwards.

Behind them, Gajser had moved forward in the first full lap to reach fourth place and benefit from Febvre’s tip-over.  The two former Champions fought hard, but the Frenchman, after many attempts, eventually took over third on lap twelve – a move that put him back onto the podium for the first time since his injury in France, and helped out the leading two by taking points away from the red plate holder!

Meanwhile, Vlaanderen was having a nightmare with two crashes that left him in twelfth at the finish, while Seewer held off a late charge from Coldenhoff.  The Dutchman had crashed in the RAM Qualifying Race and had to fight from poor starts all day, thoroughly deserving his hard-fought fifth overall, helped by Horgmo running wide in the later laps with a slight throttle issue.

JM Racing Honda’s local man Brent van Doninck took a solid eighth ahead of Bonacorsi and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing star Mattia Guadagnini.

Out front, Herlings cruised on the last lap but still won by over ten seconds from Prado, executing his game plan of maintaining a solid pace throughout the race and still having enough left to overhaul Prado’s initial burst of speed.  It brings “The Bullet” to totals of 106 Grand Prix victories and 202 GP race wins.  More importantly for him, it brings him to within 14 points of Prado, and 38 points behind Gajser at the top of the field as they head to the MXGP of Sweden in two weeks’ time.  With six rounds to go, any one of the top three could still take the title and they will all give their maximum to have it their way!

Jeffrey Herlings: “I really need to bring my starts. Once I get 1-2 good starts then it’s okay. If we can improve on them that could be great. I think once I can get top start we can always fight for first, second or third and that’s my goal. Still 6 race to go, we came from a long way. Even if I have one DNF, I’m only 36 points behind I believe so we’ll see. For now we’re just go race by race and let’s see where it will bring me””

Jorge Prado: “I mean it’s been a good weekend, yesterday winning the RAM Qualifying, and today twice second. I had a veery good speed all day long but at the end of the race the ‘bullet’ was coming and on such a heavy track I was struggling to keep the same flow the whole race. I did my best to try to beat Jeffrey (Herloings) but he was quicker today and I’m very happy with my second place. Good points for the championship too. Next round ids Sweden so see you guys there!”

Romain Febvre: “I didn’t start well yesterday but we made some changes last night. Then physically I am not where I would like to be because it was always going to be a tough race. Somehow today I felt very good and simply plaedy with the track for 4-3 andto get back on the podium after only two GPs is amazing. I’m very happy.“

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:19.995; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:10.374; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:34.563; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:47.677; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:53.164; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +1:05.943; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:12.435; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:17.903; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:21.842; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +1:23.448

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:30.084; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:10.375; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:21.152; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:34.283; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:42.595; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:43.548; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:58.244; 8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +1:14.626; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:22.102; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:22.995

MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 30 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 27 p.; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 10. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 20 p

MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 705 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 681 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 667 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 507 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 479 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 419 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 405 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 317 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 p

MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 722 points; 2. GASGAS, 681 p.; 3. KTM, 679 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 594 p.; 5. Yamaha, 548 p.; 6. Fantic, 450 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 221 p.; 8. Beta, 149 p

As in MXGP, the second-placed rider from Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race switched the order around in the Warm-up, as Lucas Coenen out-paced Kay de Wolf by exactly nine-tenths of a second, with Liam Everts also showing good speed in third for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

Nothing could quite prepare us for the wild ride of MX2 at Lommel!  Race one began, as many have this year, with a Fox Holeshot Award for Sacha Coenen and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, although his brother Lucas was right with him during the first lap, and Team HRC rookie Ferruccio Zanchi was showing great pace in third! De Wolf took a couple of attempts to get past the young Italian, but with Lucas unable to get past Sacha, the tall Dutchman cruised up to his teammate’s rear wheel and skipped past in a long right-hand corner.  On lap two, Lucas made the first of several mistakes on the day, and De Wolf ripped past Sacha with sheer pace through the unending depth of the sand.

Another Dutchman, Rick Elzinga, was riding well for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, but Sacha’s teammate Everts was also on the move.  On a frantic lap six, De Wolf fell from the lead, handing it back to Sacha, as Everts slotted past Zanchi for third. However, on the next lap, Everts went down around the same corner that claimed De Wolf, the red plate holder took the lead back, and then Lucas was back up to third behind Zanchi!

It all changed again on lap eight, as Lucas hit the ground for the second time, leaving Elzinga in third ahead of charging Monster Energy Triumph Racing star Camden McLellan! The South African battled through the race with his teammate Mikkel Haarup, and they both benefitted from another crash for Everts and a last lap heartbreaker for the previously rock solid Zanchi! Elzinga had already moved up to second by that point to match his best race result of the year, and McLellan held his teammate back to claim third and fourth for the Triumph team!

Amazingly, Lucas recovered to fifth ahead of Everts and Zanchi at the finish, with the top ten being completed by Simon Laengenfelder, eighth for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, Karlis Reisulis taking ninth for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, and Sacha Coenen eventually in tenth.

The diminutive Belgian took his 14th Fox Holeshot Award in race two, making it a clean 50% strike rate for the 2024 season! Yamaha men Reisulis and Elzinga chased after him to begin with, the Dutchman passing the Latvian into the third corner as De Wolf worked past Laengenfelder into fourth!

The series leader appeared to be taking his time, patiently picking off riders to take the lead from Sacha on lap five.  Lucas had already fallen and had to come into Pit Lane for fresh goggles.  The home favourite had to work through the pack to get into the top ten at the close.

What was looking like an easy race for De Wolf turned out to be anything but, as a crash on lap eight put him back to third briefly, and he had to pass Sacha for the lead again on lap nine! Elzinga followed him through, putting in a great ride to make it a Dutch 1-2.  On lap eleven, the chasing duo of Everts and Laengenfelder moved forward into second and third, and they were chasing Elzinga, who had become the first Yamaha rider to lead in MX2 since the injury for Thibault Benistant, as De Wolf misjudged a sand dune to send his bike off the track and himself, in a hole, on it!

Tasting victory in his grasp for the first time since Trentino in April, Laengenfelder nailed a section of the circuit near the spectator banks, and first got past Everts for second, then taking advantage of an issue for Elzinga, who seemed to be nursing a hot motor, swept into the lead on lap 13 of 16! De Wolf wasn’t done yet, however, as he followed Everts past Elzinga, and passed the tiring Belgian with a beautiful, feet-up move around the outside of a huge berm as the two-lap board beckoned!

A first corner crash had limited Zanchi’s race to a twelfth-place finish, leaving him out of podium contention, and Lucas Coenen got up to eighth on the final lap, passing McLellan who took ninth ahead of SB Racing KTM’s Jens Walvoort. Haarup had to settle for seventh, Sacha Coenen sixth, and Reisulis fifth, as Elzinga managed to nurse the bike home for fourth to cement a fine second place overall!

De Wolf had one late charge on Laengenfelder’s lead, but ran off-track with a lap to go to end his charge in second.  The German’s third race win of the season was enough to put him onto the third step of the podium, but De Wolf clinched his sixth GP win of the year, the seventh of his career, and extended his lead over Lucas Coenen to a mighty 65 points.  Laengenfelder is also back in play for second, lying just 12 points back of the second Husqvarna rider.

With five of the last six rounds due to take place on hard pack, the GASGAS man could still be a force to be reckoned with, and the unpredictable nature of the class means that big points swings are always possible, so the entertainment from MX2 is sure to continue to the very last lap of the season!

For now the teams will rest up with a weekend off before a three-week run of GPs in Sweden, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. Join us in the Nordic North at Uddevalla for the MXGP of Sweden on the 10th & 11th of August!

Kay de Wolf: “I’m extending my championship lead once again so I’m really happy with that. I’m not really happy about that second race but I won the overall for the 6th time so I’m very with that now. It’s so nice to do it for this team. We’re only two minutes away from the workshop here so the whole team is here, so I’m sure they really enjoy this one.

Rick Elzinga: “I honestly could cry from happiness now. You work so hard for this. Mentally it is hard and I had to get over it this season that is why I’m a bit emotional. It was a perfect moment to win but then there was a technical issue somewhere so I had to rode out until the end bring it home in 4th place in the second race. The all team put so much work into it and thank all the people behind me to believe in me.”

Simon Laengenfelder: “I’m really happy after the second race. Unfortunately, we had some difficulties to get the right settings for my bike but finally everything was much better in the second race and I could ride like myself. I showed some good speed and with that race win I’m very happy as I love the sand!”

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:  1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:52.969; 2. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:04.057; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:07.207; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:12.249; 5. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:13.053; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:16.611; 7. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:23.491; 8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:26.859; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:42.011; 10. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:45.760

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), 35:33.487; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:07.317; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:19.423; 4. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:31.202; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:35.897; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:44.840; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:53.794; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:12.130; 9. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:14.644; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:15.744

MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 47 points; 2. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 38 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 32 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 32 p.; 7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 28 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 26 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 23 p

MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 683 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 618 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 606 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 556 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 465 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 457 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 429 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 391 p.; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 255 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 254 p

MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Husqvarna, 761 points; 2. KTM, 679 p.; 3. GASGAS, 613 p.; 4. Triumph, 500 p.; 5. Yamaha, 490 p.; 6. Honda, 289 p.; 7. Kawasaki, 261 p.; 8. Fantic, 195 p.; 9. TM, 39 p

MXGP OF FLANDERS QUICK FACTS:
Crowd Attendance: 34,500
Circuit length: 1850m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 21˚/24°
Weather conditions: Cloudy/Sunny

For more news check out our dedicated MXGP/MX2 News page

Or visit the official MXGP website mxgp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com

The deep sand of Lommel awaited the FIM World Motocross Championships today, and the RAM Qualifying Races at the Stedelijk Motorcrossterrein Lommel circuit tested the world’s top Motocross racers as always to make for two thrilling contests!

Reigning World Champion Jorge Prado won a stunning MXGP encounter for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, as a packed venue couldn’t take their eyes away from a charging Jeffrey Herlings, who very nearly caught the Spaniard on the final circulation, ultimately having to settle for second for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing!

The win sees Prado get closer to Team HRC’s Tim Gajser for the lead in the RAM Qualifying Challenge for the season, as he now has four Saturday wins to the Slovenian’s six in the battle for the RAM Driving Experience.

The battle for victory in MX2 again came down to the two Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates, Kay de Wolf and Lucas Coenen.  With decisive early passing by Kay and a late mistake for Lucas, it was dynamic Dutchman De Wolf who extended his Championship lead, but for sure the teenage Belgian will be back tomorrow!

After Herlings had set the quickest time in Free Practice, Prado set a fast early pace in Time Practice which Herlings very nearly caught at the end of the session, while Crendon Tru7 Honda rider Conrad Mewse shocked everybody on his return to MXGP action with the third fastest time, even ahead of Gajser!

As it would play out, the RAM Qualifying Race would mirror the Time Practice session for the top two positions, as Prado pulled a clean holeshot, tailed by Gajser and JK Racing Yamaha fast starter Isak Gifting.  Prado proceeded to pull a gap, as Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP duo Calvin Vlaanderen and Andrea Bonacorsi battled past Gifting, with Herlings initially in sixth place!

It took Herlings until lap five to get past Vlaanderen for third, as Fantic Factory Racing star Brian Bogers held fifth ahead of Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz charger Kevin Horgmo.  The Norwegian put on a brilliant race, passing both Bonacorsi and Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre halfway through, before lunging past Bogers for an eventual fifth position on lap nine of twelve, proof that his fitness is at a high level in the gruelling sand.

By lap seven, Herlings had caught Gajser, and was barely held up by the Championship leader as he swept past on a long left hander, and set his sights on the five-second gap to Prado out front!

Behind them, Gajser took a lonely third ahead of Vlaanderen, Horgmo, Bogers and Febvre, with Mewse proving his speed to recover from an awful start and pass Bonacorsi for eighth, as the Italian held on for ninth.  The final point went to Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer.

With Herlings quicker in the first three quarters of the circuit, he threatened to pass Prado in each of the last three laps, finally diving to the inside of a big left-hand corner berm in a move that looked decisive, but somehow the Spaniard danced out of the way and held on, using his speed in the final sector to claim a hard-earned fourth RAM Qualifying Race win of the season!

With the top three in the Championship again taking the top three positions in the race, albeit in a different order, there is little movement in the Championship situation, but with the big points being paid out tomorrow, that could be a different story! With an even bigger crowd due in to line the fences around Lommel, the atmosphere is going to be astronomical when the big boys hit the circuit on Sunday!

Jorge Prado:”I felt good quite all day long. In the RAM Quali race I didn’t find my flow at all but I managedto stay in front of everyone else. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get a bit more flow and I can ride more like myself as I was a little bit tight. Also I need to get used to these ruts in the sand as it makes it hard to get the rhythm but it’s the same for everyone. We’ll go again tomorrow but it’s nice to be again inP1, especially in the sand right?!  So let’s see tomorrow two 35minutes, in will be interesting!”

MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification:  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 26:24.996; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:01.078; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:25.512; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:40.400; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:46.526; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:52.860; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:58.329; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Honda), +1:07.539; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:10.247; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +1:10.723

MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 671 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 637 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 617 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 478 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 452 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 389 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 367 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 289 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 p

Again the Nestaan Husqvarna boys topped the Practice times, Lucas Coenen in the morning, before Kay de Wolf claimed first gate pick in the Time Practice session, ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star Liam Everts and a surprising Camden McLellan for Monster Energy Triumph Racing!

As with MXGP though, the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing team claimed the holeshot, as Simon Laengenfelder, helped by a near-crash in the first corner for Everts’ teammate Sacha Coenen,  took the early lead. He held off an outside charge from Lucas to keep the lead for over half of the first burst around the track!  That proved crucial as series leader De Wolf was able to reel them both in and make quick passes on them both to head the pack at the end of the first full lap!

Lucas Coenen was able to blast around the outside of the German to make an inside move stick into the following corner, and then it was the battle of the teammates out front as we have seen through much of this MX2 season.

Laengenfelder had to fend off a challenge from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 sand lover Rick Elzinga, but the young Dutchman couldn’t make a move and the pair stayed in third and fourth until the chequered flag.  Behind them was Everts, who had suffered two crashes in the first four laps but still recovered to fifth with a last lap pass on McLellan. Without mistakes, Liam could be the biggest threat to the Husqvarna men tomorrow.

Karlis Reisulis brought his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 machine home in seventh ahead of Sacha Coenen, while Ferruccio Zanchi mounted a heroic comeback from the very back of the field to take ninth for Team HRC.  Dutchman Scott Smulders also advanced well to take the final point for KMR Honda Racing Team Powered by Krettek.

Lucas Coenen continued to pressure his teammate, looking for that two-point swing and the mental victory against his Championship rival, but a mistake that led him to running off track on the penultimate lap left the young Belgian with too much to do, and the Dutchman took the race win by just over six seconds at the flag.

De Wolf will take stock, as will his teammate, and the duo could well give us a pair of incredible races tomorrow, with Everts, McLellan, Laengenfelder, and Elzinga all with a chance of getting onto the podium as well!

Do not miss a single spinning wheel of action tomorrow, because both classes have some monumental battles in prospect for us!

Kay de Wolf: “It was a really nice and comfortable race. I felt good out there. I just did my own thing and, in the end, I made a few small mistakes but we’ll fix it for tomorrow. Otherwise, riding was good and I’m very happy with it and I’m looking forward for tomorrow to do it again”

MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 26:15.748; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:06.539; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:42.429; 4. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:46.790; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:47.680; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:49.153; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:12.016; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +1:32.898; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:56.757; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Honda), +2:15.150

MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 636 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 589 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 568 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 521 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 457 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 433 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 389 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 365 p.; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 236 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 231 p

MXGP OF FLANDERS QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1850m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 21°
Weather conditions: Cloudy

TIMETABLE 
SUNDAY: 09:45 EMX Open Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.

For more news check out our dedicated MXGP/MX2 News page

Or visit the official MXGP website mxgp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com

It’s time to get the paddle tyres ready for the FIM Motocross World Championship riders as round 14 of the series takes us to the deep sand of the Stedelijk Motorcrossterrein Lommel venue in the north-eastern corner of Belgium for the MXGP of Flanders this weekend!

While it is of course the home Grand Prix for the many Belgian riders that will take part, its close proximity to the Dutch border will bring many fans from The Netherlands to cheer on their heroes, and numerous riders from all nationalities have taken up residence in the area, with many of the top teams making it their base of operations for the GP season.

Belgium is famously home to more World Motocross Champions and Grand Prix winners than any other country, and more MXGP events have been held at Lommel than any other Belgian venue apart from the legendary Namur.  This will be the 11^th consecutive year that MXGP has visited the circuit, and the 22^nd event held here in total.  The first was back in 1990, a 250cc GP that was won by the determined Finn Pekka Vehkonen.  The circuit has also hosted two memorable MXoN events, the Trophee des Nations in 1981, which was the landmark event that saw the first ever win for the USA in Nations competitions, then the first ever win for Germany in an incredible 2012 Monster Energy FIM MXoN contest!

The current MXGP field has 6 previous Lommel GP winners entered for the event, including four of the top six of all-time!  It is current World Champion, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, who currently holds the record of four GP wins around the famous sands, although his two major rivals for honours this season, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing main man Jeffrey Herlings, are close behind with three victories each. Herlings has won more individual races than anybody else at Lommel, with eight compared to Prado’s seven and Gajser’s five.  The “big three” will continue their epic battle for the MXGP World Championship after a stunning weekend of racing at Loket!

MX2 will see the two Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates, Kay de Wolf and Lucas Coenen, continue their see-saw duel for the title, with the Dutch rider defending a 46-point lead over his young Belgian rival. Both can expect a solid turnout of their fans to get behind them at Lommel!  De Wolf is the only rider lining up for MX2 to have won races here before, which were actually the first two GP race wins of his career, the first in 2021 when he was still only 16 years old!

The event will also see the resumption of the battle for the EMX250 European Championships, with the top three of the series separated by only 19 points, as Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin lies just 13 ahead of Gabriel SS24 KTM teamster Cas Valk, with Valerio Lata just six points further back for Beddini GASGAS Factory Juniors!

The one-off EMX Open European Championship event will also be at Lommel, with a host of professional riders moving up from their domestic Championships to fight it out on the GP stage.  The class is unrestricted in terms of age and engine size, and has attracted over 50 riders to enter!

After a truly epic MXGP of Czech Republic that saw Tim Gajser take Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race as well as the overall win, with Jorge Prado second and Jeffrey Herlings third after winning race one and charging through the pack in race two, the prospect of seeing these three titans fight it out in the deep sand of Lommel is truly mouth-watering!

The major factor in all of this is the sand, with only Sardegna and Latvia really giving us an idea of what these three might do in such conditions, and Prado added to the spice by declaring himself the ‘King of the Sand’ in the post-race interview at Riola Sardo! The Spaniard did enjoy a perfect weekend there during his best period of the season so far, but Herlings found winning form at Kegums to stake his own claim as the master of the soft stuff.  Both will need to make ground here, as Gajser’s Loket win saw him stretch his lead to 36 points over Prado, and 55 over Herlings.  There is no doubt that “The Bullet” is back to his brilliant best, and his local fans will be hoping to see more of that on the sort of surface that has seen even more dominance than usual throughout his amazing career.

That said, Jeffrey hasn’t won a GP at Lommel since 2018, as he was denied by Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre in 2021, and hasn’t made it this far into the season since then.  The Dutchman’s wins took place back in 2011 in MX2, and then 2017 & ’18 in MXGP. He also won the Open class at the 2012 ‘Nations, even with him riding the 250 against the world’s best on 450s!  Gajser has won there three times in the MXGP class, once in 2019 and twice in 2020, when MXGP was here three times in the COVID-affected season.  Prado won his only MXGP overall in the other event that year, after winning for three straight seasons in MX2 from 2017 to ’19.

Another rider that is entered for MXGP is Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider Jago Geerts, who has been out since getting injured in his MXGP debut back at the opening round in Argentina.  The Belgian has won at Lommel in MX2 for the last three years, and while it will be a different prospect in his return from injury in MXGP, he will certainly be encouraged by his previous success at the venue.

Febvre has been incredibly strong here in recent years, with GP wins in 2021 and ’23, and will hope to get amongst the title contenders in his second event back from injury. Fantic Factory Racing star Brian Bogers claimed his only career GP victory to date at Lommel in 2022, where he shared race wins with his 2024 teammate Glenn Coldenhoff. 

The riders currently in fourth and fifth, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen and Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer, have both twice been on the podium at Lommel, but yet to taste victory. As well as Coldenhoff, they will be keen to keep their consistent season going and prevent Febvre from fighting back up the Championship order past them!

JM Racing Honda rider Brent van doninck, in his return from injury last weekend at Loket, incredibly became the first Belgian to score points in the MXGP class this season with an impressive ride for 8^th overall. In his more favoured terrain, he is likely to push even higher up the order at his home Grand Prix, with a lot of home support behind him!

The battle at the top of the order is not to be missed – who can call themselves the ‘King of the Sand’ and command the Championship momentum after this one?!

MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 663 Points;   2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 627 Points; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 608 Pts; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 471 Pts; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 451 Pts; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 389 Pts; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 363 Points; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 283 Pts; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 Pts; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 Pts.

The MX2 World Championship has been a brilliant one so far this season, with the result very much in doubt before every Grand Prix, even if the Championship lead has been consistently held by Dutchman Kay de Wolf since the end of the very first weekend of racing, and his fifth overall victory of the year at Loket was a result of persistent speed and enough patience to deal with the madness around him!

His Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate, Lucas Coenen, has shown just as much speed, if not sometimes more, but hitting the ground again in the Czech Republic halted his impressive run of five race victories when you include the RAM Qualifying Races from both Lombok and Loket.  Looking back to the duels in the sand between the pair in both Sardegna and Latvia, it was Kay who won back on the Mediterannean island, but Lucas who got the better of his teammate to finish second only to his twin brother Sacha in the Baltic State.

With a taste of progress in the Championship still fresh on his lips from his success in Indonesia, and a feeling that he may have the edge on pace with his home crowd behind him, Lucas will certainly be hungry for his first win on home soil, even though De Wolf has undoubted form on this circuit from years gone by. Kay took race wins in both 2021 and 2022, just missing out on overall victory to Jago Geerts on both occasions.

Behind them, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing star Simon Laengenfelder once again missed the chance for his first GP win of the year in Loket as he was hunted down by De Wolf in the final laps, but the German will certainly not give up as he looks to secure at least the bronze medal, and pounce if either or both of the Husqvarna riders slip up as we approach the last third of the season.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing again saw crashes for all three of their riders in the Czech Republic, and although Liam Everts scored a consistent fourth overall, both Andrea Adamo and Sacha Coenen failed to finish in race one, and the Italian could not return for race two, making their title chances now look very slim.  All three will be hungry for race wins, however, and their skills in the sand are not in question, especially Sacha after his overall victory in Latvia!

Monster Energy Triumph Racing still have high hopes of podium success, or even overall  victory, and Mikkel Haarup would dearly love to deliver on a circuit where a lot of their testing has been carried out.

MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 626 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 580 Pts;  3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 560 Points;  4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 515 Pts; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 457 Pts;  6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 433 Pts; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 382 Pts; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 362 Pts; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 236 Pts; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 229 Pts.

TIMETABLE 

SATURDAY: 08:05 EMXOpen Groupe 1 Free practice, 08:30 EMXOpen Groupe 2 Free practice, 08:55 EMX250 Group 1 Free practice, 09:25 EMX250 Group 2 Free practice, 09:55 EMXOpen Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 11:50 EMXOpen Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 12:30 EMX250 Group 1 Qualifying Practice, 13:05 EMX250 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 EMXOpen Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race

SUNDAY: 09:45 EMXOpen Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 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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Or visit the official MXGP website mxgp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com