The Selaparang circuit ran in the reverse direction today for the MXGP of Lombok, but the heat and humidity of the island on the edge of the Indian Ocean remained, and even increased from last week, to test some of the most elite athletes in the world of sport across two gruelling races for each class!

This event was part of the fourth Indonesian double header in the last seven years, and the MXGP class had always seen riders sweep both rounds, until this year when that trend was halted by Jeffrey Herlings, completing a perfect weekend when he won every race and topped every practice session for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.  “The Bullet” claimed his 105th Grand Prix win, although he faced stiff opposition from Championship leader Tim Gajser, whose second overall increased his points lead as he holds onto the red plate for Team HRC.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider Calvin Vlaanderen earned his second trip to the podium in as many weekends with two strong third places.

The MX2 class was dominated by Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen, enjoying his own perfect weekend for his fifth career Grand Prix win, and eating into his teammate Kay De Wolf’s points lead in the process. Mikkel Haarup equalled his best career result with second overall for Monster Energy Triumph Racing, ahead of Simon Laengenfelder who took third for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing.

Jeffrey Herlings had topped the time tables in every session of the weekend, as well as winning the RAM Qualifying Race, as he lined up for the first race of the year, even taking the fastest lap in the morning Warm-Up by over a second from Tim Gajser!

It was the Slovenian, however, who took his fourth Fox Holeshot Award of the year, and defended moves from Herlings who was right there in second place from the first corner! Vlaanderen, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer, and Mattia Guadignini for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing were all ahead of reigning Champion Jorge Prado! However, through an inspired series of waves and one corner the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing superstar leap-frogged them all into third and was snapping at Herlings’ rear wheel!

The Dutchman held off the reigning Champion, however, as he kept the leader just in sight, but not close enough to be eating his roost or to push too hard early on.  A few seconds behind Vlaanderen and Seewer, the battle raged for sixth place between multiple riders, with the older heads of Fantic Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Valentin Guillod for Team Ship to Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR prevailing for sixth and seventh ahead of their younger rivals. Guadagnini, Guillod’s teammate Kevin Horgmo, and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s rookie Andrea Bonacorsi played their part in a great battle, but finished in that order from eighth to tenth. They were all reaching for the cold drinks and the ice bath at the end of the race!

The leading pair started to stretch away from Prado, who could not rest with Vlaanderen, a week after his first overall podium of the year, pushing him all the way.  Just after the 25-minute mark, Herlings bit down on his mouthpiece and closed the gap, initially running off the track as he got one corner a little wrong, but on lap 13 of 17 he pounced with a superb inside pass on his rival! Any attempt to strike back was immediately halted for Gajser, who span to the floor in the following corner!

Just after getting the two-lap board, Vlaanderen attacked the #1 plate holder, and burst into third with a great run through the waves at the top of the circuit! The Spaniard immediately backed it off, finishing nearly 14 seconds behind the Yamaha at the close.

The race victory, the 198th of his incredible career, went the way of “The Bullet”, although Gajser increased his series lead further due to the late drop-back of Prado.

The start of race two was like an action replay with Gajser again claiming the Fox Holeshot ahead of Herlings, but the Dutchman launched out of the third corner in a wild-looking but decisive pass to take the lead immediately! Guadagnini had started strongly in third ahead of Vlaanderen and Seewer, while Prado languished in ninth and took his time to get moving!

Vlaanderen and Seewer both got past Guadagnini within two corners after half a lap, although Seewer suffered an off-track excursion and had to fight back from eighth position.  Guadagnini then also dropped his machine on the second full lap, ultimately finishing in 12th.

Meanwhile, Guillod had moved up to 4th position, and held on for that place for the duration of the race! Prado worked past Bonacorsi on lap five but had to put up with constant harassment from Seewer as the Kawasaki man would not let him relax, and as such he was unable to catch up to Guillod. The 31-year-old Swiss rider celebrated his best result for 8 years with a trademark massive whip, testament to his physical fitness in such tough conditions.

Vlaanderen secured his second consecutive overall podium with another lonely but solid ride into third place, but Gajser was not settling for second as he closed to within half a second of Herlings at one point!   The Dutchman confessed after the race that he was struggling with a clutch issue but brought it home to win by just over six seconds, extending his all-time records to 199 GP race wins and 105 overall Grand Prix victories!

Gajser restored his Championship lead over Prado to what he had before they came to Indonesia, back out to 34 points, but he will have one eye on “The Bullet” as the #84 closed his deficit to the leader by a mighty twenty points over the two weekends on the island of Lombok!  The fight will truly be on over the remaining eight rounds between the three multiple World Champions at the top!

Jeffrey Herlings: “I was very happy to get the win the second race because I had a little clutch issue in this second race but this is testament to how KTMs are built as kept going until the end,  and a big thanks also to KTM Factory Racing Team as I could not have won this race without them, so thank you to all the team and the guys at home working on it. All my sponsors, thank you and I’m very pleased with a 1-1-1 for the first time this year  “

Tim Gajser: “It was way better than last week you know, I was feel much better and more comfortable on the track too to attack! First race, I got a good start but made a couple of mistakes toward the end then Jeffrey (Herlings) got me. I thought that I could come back on him start to push but the next corner I crashed unfortunately. The speed was good though and I’m so happy with my starts as we work so hard with the team. We had a great battle with Jeffrey too in the second race but I had to settle in the end. A huge thanks to all my team and everyone around me.”

Calvin Vlaanderen: “It was solid, solid! I’m so happy to be back on the podium after last week, the confidence was definitely there this weekend and I felt good. I had a good first race in third and managed to pass Jorge (Prado) in the last couple of minutes because I was feeling strong. In the second race, I had to make the necessary to put myself in good position and try to chase the front two but they were a bit faster than me and I knew I had a good gap behind so I brought it home. Just want to say a big thanks to the team, my family, my girlfriend, really everyone who is supporting me back home in South Africa and the Netherlands. I’m just so stoke! Thank you so much”

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:21.365; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:07.436; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:14.873; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:28.814; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:39.037; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:48.801; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:52.802; 8. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:56.184; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:57.985; 10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:09.584

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:56.731; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.087; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:11.716; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:13.768; 5. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:16.160; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:17.898; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:36.780; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:52.587; 9. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:00.313; 10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:07.632

MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 44 p.; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 34 p.; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 32 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 31 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 28 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 26 p.; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 22 p

MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 608 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 574 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 557 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 429 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 411 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 360 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 264 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 259 p

MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 625 points; 2. GASGAS, 574 p.; 3. KTM, 569 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 511 p.; 5. Yamaha, 467 p.; 6. Fantic, 386 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 183 p.; 8. Beta, 142 p.

Lucas Coenen hammered home the point made with his win in Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race, by claiming the fastest lap in morning Warm-Up.  However, it was Simon Laengenfelder, feeling much better with both the heat and his sleeping cycle thanks to the extra time here between the two GPs, who launched into the lead to claim his fourth Fox Holeshot Award of the year in race one!

In familiar style, Lucas Coenen battled into the lead before the end of the first full lap. His teammate De Wolf followed him past on lap three, as Haarup battled with Sacha Coenen and his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Andrea Adamo.  The reigning Champ slid to the ground as he tried to get past his younger teammate, giving himself a mountain to climb! Sacha then followed suit by nose-diving into the floor on the penultimate corner of lap six, allowing Haarup and the third factory KTM of Liam Everts into the fourth and fifth positions that they would keep to the flag,

On lap 11, De Wolf, who had just started to eat into the lead of his teammate, made a mistake and allowed Laengenfelder past, and although the Dutchman gave a spirited chase, he couldn’t get back in front of the German.  As Lucas kept his nerve to clinch his first Sunday race win in over a month, it took the Championship lead down to 59 points between the teammates!

Laengenfelder repeated his holeshot in race two, but again Lucas Coenen was lurking, passing his brother almost immediately, just before Sacha lost his wheels from under him on a corner jump, and would finally finish in 13th after a further crash halfway through the race.

Lucas then closed on Simon at the front, causing near contact as the German defended his lead, but then suffered a big moment on the corner before the end of the first full lap, allowing the young Belgian to fly past!

Meanwhile, Adamo was looking in determined mood, passing Haarup on lap two, but his teammate Everts did not yield, and the pair came together in a right hand corner collision that put them both on the floor! De Wolf was also struggling, a couple of mistakes including a crash after the big triple jump demoting him to a sixth place finish.

That came after he had been passed by Haarup, the Danish rider bouncing back from his disappointments of the previous round to then force past Laengenfelder for second position on lap nine!  Lucas Coenen was already 12 seconds up the track at this point, but Haarup continued to charge anyway.

The comeback of the race came from Adamo. In the humid conditions he showed a true Champion’s grit, passing Laengenfelder for third on lap 12, before closing in on Haarup to grab second place with two laps to go! That move looked to have dropped the Triumph man to third overall, until Laengenfelder tipped over two corners from home, allowing Everts past and promoting Haarup back up to second overall, matching his best career result from Portugal in April 2022! Laengenfelder had to settle for third on the podium.

Nobody could get near to Lucas Coenen, however, and the teenage Belgian cruised to a final winning margin of over five seconds, and the second perfect weekend of his season.  His fifth career GP win puts him now 49 points behind his teammate, and few would deny that he has the determination to make a run at the 2024 title!

After everybody in the series travels back to Europe, there is a week off before we head to the classic venue of Loket for the MXGP of Czech Republic.  Do not miss the continuation of these two epic Championship battles on the 20th & 21st of July!

Lucas Coenen: “First race was very difficult like for everybody. The heat was really high but I could cool down quite well between the races. I really did my own race in the second one, just passed Simon (Laengenfelder) and took it easy. I feel good so now we keep on going for the next one”

Mikkel Haarup: “We messed up last weekend but we kept believing. I put a hell of a ride in the second race but first of all I want to thank Monster Energy Triumph Racing, my mechanics, the whole crew. They kept me motivated throughout the week and kept my head clear so we could focus on this weekend. I also want to thank all the sponsors and everybody at home for supporting us, it means a lot to me and keeps me motivated for the rest of the season”

Simon Laengenfelder: “I was so happy about the first race, and also to keep Kay behind me. In the second race at the end my energy crashed and went slow but the mechanic wrote on the board that I would have a podium if I stayed so I just went for it. So I’m finished but I made it!”

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:  1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 33:56.609; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:04.273; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:05.096; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:12.029; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:20.389; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:53.457; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:56.826; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:08.826; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:11.541; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:14.062

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:51.702; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:04.910; 3. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:05.658; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:19.113; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:26.015; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:58.445; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:03.411; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:08.121; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:10.631; 10. David Braceras (ESP, Fantic), +1:24.547

MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 50 points; 2. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 38 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 38 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 37 p.; 5. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 35 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 34 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 26 p.; 8. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 20 p

MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 576 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 527 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 509 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 471 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 455 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 399 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 346 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 341 p.; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 228 p.; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 p

MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Husqvarna, 644 points; 2. KTM, 593 p.; 3. GASGAS, 516 p.; 4. Triumph, 424 p.; 5. Yamaha, 407 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 261 p.; 7. Honda, 247 p.; 8. Fantic, 171 p.; 9. TM, 39 p

MXGP OF LOMBOK QUICK FACTS:
Crowd Attendance: 50,000
Circuit length: 1640m
Type of ground: Semi Volcanic
Temperature: 32°
Weather conditions: 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 MXGP World Motocross Championship riders tackled the Selaparang circuit in reverse direction today for the RAM Qualifying Races, although the oppressive heat and humidity remained to continually test the athletes to their limits as they pushed for points and gate selection positions.

In MXGP it was a second straight RAM Qualifying Race win for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star Jeffrey Herlings, who made a strong move on Team HRC’s Tim Gajser towards the end of the race, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP man Calvin Vlaanderen finishing a fine third.

MX2 also saw the same winner as last week with Lucas Coenen recovering from a small crash to take the win for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, who enjoyed another 1-2 finish for the season with Kay de Wolf finishing in second place! Simon Laengenfelder once more took third for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing.

“The Bullet” has shown a lot of speed in the two Indonesian rounds so far, showing no problems with the heat of the region despite not racing here since 2018. He topped the timesheets in both Free and Time Practice, with Tim Gajser and Fantic Factory Racing’s lone warrior Glenn Coldenhoff achieving the third fastest time.

Gajser got the jump on Herlings out of the gate, however, and leaned on his rival enough to grab the holeshot, but the Dutchman was with him, ahead of Vlaanderen and his sparring partner from last week, Jeremy Seewer, who held fourth from Coldenhoff and last week’s GP winner Jorge Prado.

The Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing rider did not look to be in top form, starting in sixth place and taking his time to move forward, passing Coldenhoff over the finish line jump at the end of the first full lap, then taking until lap seven to make a switchback pass on Seewer for fourth position, which was where he would finish the race.

Vlaanderen did well to fend off the attentions of the reigning World Champion, and got within attacking distance of Herlings for second place, although that seemed to light the fire under the GP win record holder, who suddenly began closing the gap to Gajser!  The KTM dived up the inside of the Honda, making contact but not initially getting through, before Herlings pulled a stunning move on the final corner before the finish line, taking the lead as the “two laps to go” board came out!

The race finished in that order, as Vlaanderen rejoiced in another top three finish to go with his first overall podium of the season last weekend.

Prado’s fourth place finish means that he drops two more points in the Championship to Gajser, who is now 24 points ahead, with Herlings now 33 behind the Spaniard in third.
Gajser is also still leading the 6 month’s RAM Driving Experience with five win so far!

Jeffrey Herlings: “Obviously last week I suffered from the heat in the second race. This time I thought let’s not start flat out but saving energy towards the end of the race. I feel very good physically. It wasn’t really nice how I had to pass Tim (Gajser), as I kind of touched him and I feel bad because I’m not this kind of rider but I had to overtake him like this! Now I look forward for tomorrow and I hope to be up here again!”

MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification:  1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 24:22.283; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:01.386; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:04.034; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:06.485; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:07.767; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:28.754; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:32.400; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:39.991; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:43.104; 10. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:43.908

MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 564 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 540 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 507 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 389 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 380 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 332 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 238 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 227 p

Simon Laengenfelder was fastest in Free Practice, but it was those twin brothers at the top again Time Practice, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen claiming first gate pick ahead of Lucas.

The shorter and marginally younger of the twins, Sacha, fired into the lead from the gate, with Laengenfelder initially second, although the Nestaan Husqvarna riders got past the German in rapid succession, Lucas Coenen ahead of De Wolf as it would be until the end of the race.

Sacha’s teammate Andrea Adamo had passed Laengenfelder for fourth on the first lap, but got the new wall jump before the Pit Lane badly wrong, doing well to stay on but allowing the GASGAS back past, as well as Team HRC’s Ferruccio Zanchi.  That proved to be a vital blow to his race as the younger Italian then dropped the bike two corners later, and the reigning Champion could not avoid his fallen machine!  Adamo got back up to tenth at the close for the final point, while Zanchi came home in 15th.

Lucas Coenen hauled in his brother, and made a pass around the outside as Sacha unintentionally paused in a rut.  It wasn’t over though, as on the following lap, Lucas pushed the front wheel too hard in a corner and dropped back into second!  Then it was Sacha’s turn to have the ground give way from beneath him, suffering more of a delay as he ran off the edge of a steep berm and argued with an advertisement hoarding in the process!

This put Lucas back in the lead, with De Wolf making a late charge to pass Laengenfelder and therefore inherit second when Sacha left the track. The German ended up in third and the young Belgian recovered to claim fourth.  Mikkel Haarup took fifth for Monster Energy Triumph Racing, ahead of Liam Everts who also left the track early on, taking sixth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

Lucas Coenen therefore took one point away from his teammate’s series lead, which is now on 64 points. Lucas looks in determined mood to hack that down, but anything could happen here tomorrow!

Lucas Coenen: “It was a tough one today! The start wasn’t that bad as only my brother (Sacha Coenen) got a jump on me and then I went on the inside and went 2nd. I just did my race but then lost the front in a corner and tipped over. The track is sketchy and I like it this way. Tomorrow we’ll have two race and will try our best!”

MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 24:15.060; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:04.688; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:09.780; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:13.874; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:23.028; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:24.989; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:37.138; 8. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:37.833; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:46.960; 10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:48.652

MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 541 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 477 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 471 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 437 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 418 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 361 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 326 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 319 p.; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 217 p

MXGP OF LOMBOK QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1640m
Type of ground: Semi Volcanic
Temperature: 32°
Weather conditions: Sunny

WEEKEND TIMETABLE (LOCAL TIME GMT+8)

SUNDAY: 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 12:15 MX2 Race 1, 13:15 MXGP Race 1, 15:10 MX2 Race 2, 16:10 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

As the teams and crews of the MXGP Motocross World Championships enjoy a week without travelling before the MXGP of Lombok this weekend, the track workers prepare the Selaparang Circuit to run in the opposite direction for the second Grand Prix at the venue in as many weekends, ready for round twelve to take place in the heat of Indonesia.

Jorge Prado and Kay de Wolf took the victories at last week’s MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara, named after the governmental province that contains the island of Lombok, and they will be hoping to add themselves to a tradition of double GP winners among the islands in recent years.

In the MXGP class, the winner of the first Indonesian round has always repeated the victory at the second event.  MX2 has only seen this once, and it was Jorge Prado that did it back in 2019!

Prado has now won the most GPs in this part of the world with four in total, while it was De Wolf’s first win in Indonesia.

The reigning World Champion Jorge Prado performed a stunning bounce-back for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing at the first round in Lombok, hacking down the Championship lead of  Team HRC’s Tim Gajser from 34 points to 22.  Jeffrey Herlings, who lies third for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, also cut into the Slovenian’s advantage over him, which is now down to 58 points.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider Calvin Vlaanderen earned his first podium of the season last weekend, consolidating his fourth place in the Championship ahead of Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer. Both men took their first overall GP wins in Indonesia, Seewer in 2017, and Vlaanderen in 2018.

Prado’s win at the weekend was his first here in the MXGP class, but his fourth in total after his first in MX2 in 2018, and the double in 2019. Gajser stays on three, as he took the double in 2019 plus the single event at Sumbawa in 2022.  Romain Febvre won both Indonesian GPs in 2023, and Herlings a similar double in 2018.

Fantic Factory Racing MXGP star Brian Bogers has to miss this weekend’s GP after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race, he has dropped out of the series top ten as Valentin Guillod moved up for Ship to Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR. The experienced star Glenn Coldenhoff from Fantic Factory Racing MXGP find himself 7th position in the Championship and will hope to bounce back after his 9th place in the first Indonesian round.

Can Herlings, Gajser, or any of the chasing pack prevent Prado from doing the double near the equator, or is there another twist in the complex tale of the 2024 MXGP season?

MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 555 Points;   2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 533 Points; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 497 Pts; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 381 Pts; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 374 Pts; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 Points; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 327 Pts; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 Pts; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 238 Pts; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 224 Pts.

MX2 Championship leader Kay de Wolf scored his first double race win of the season for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing at the MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara, stretching his Championship lead further to 65 points over his teammate Lucas Coenen, who in turn moved back past Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing star Simon Laengenfelder for second place. The German is still just four points further back, and will hope to have built up more resistance to the heat and humidity in his time here after suffering in the previous round.

De Wolf and Lucas Coenen are now the only two riders in MX2 who have won GPs in this part of the world, and only once in MX2 has a rider won a second straight GP in Indonesia, which was Prado in 2019.  Last year, Jago Geerts took the MXGP of Lombok win in MX2 after Lucas Coenen won his first ever GP in Sumbawa the week before.

Andrea Adamo had the best weekend of his world title defence last weekend and cut the gap down to his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Liam Everts in their battle for fourth in the Championship. Monster Energy Triumph Racing star Mikkel Haarup suffered last lap crashes in both of Sunday’s GP races, only losing a podium finish on a tiebreak, so the Dane will be fired up to make amends in this weekend’s event. Although Sacha Coenen lost his GP winning streak last weekend, the Belgian took his 11th  Fox Holeshot Award, giving him a 50% ratio for the season so far, so the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing man has a good chance of getting out front again!

Although the Championship gap has grown, the racing is never predictable in the ever-hectic MX2 class with multiple riders capable of battling at the front!

MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 532 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 467 Pts;  3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 463 Points;  4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 432 Pts; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 417 Pts;  6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 355 Pts; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 322 Pts; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 312 Pts; 9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 Pts; 10. Quentin Prugnieres (FRA, KAW). 217 Pts.

TIMETABLE (Local Timing UTC+8)

SATURDAY: 9:15 MX2 Start Practice, 9:45 MXGP Start Practice, 10:45 MX2 Free Practice, 11:15 MXGP Free Practice, 12:45 MX Open Free/Time Practice,13:20 MX2 Time Practice, 14:00 MXGP Time Practice, 14:45 MX Open Race 1, 15:25 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 16:10 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race.

SUNDAY: 10:00 MX Open Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 12:15 MX2 Race 1, 13:15 MXGP Race 1, 15:10 MX2 Race 2, 16:10 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