The twelfth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship came to an end today in Loket for the MXGP of Czech Republic. The track conditions were really good, the temperatures dropped compared to Saturday and riders could express themselves on the technical track of Loket.
In MXGP, it was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre who won his third GP in a row and continues his charge in the Champoionship. Red Plate Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado finished second to get another podium and keep scoring important point while Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer got his second podium out of the last three Grand Prix which shows his great consistency.
In MX2, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts won back-to-back GPs to keep his chances of lifting the MX2 title. Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder got another great podium showing very good speed while Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf clinched his first podium since his foot injury.
In race one, the FOX Holeshot was taken by Jorge Prado but Romain Febvre took the lead straight after. Febvre kept going and never looked back as he looked very confident on a track he has won twice in the past. Despite a couple of scares towards the end of the race, Febvre dominantly won the race.
Prado looked like he had the pace to chase after Febvre but on lap 10 of 19, teammates Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeremy Seewer were pushing each other for 3rd and got closer and closer to Prado. In the end Seewer made a succesful move on Coldenhoff for 3rd on lap 13 and kept going to then pass Prado a lap later to go 2nd. Seewer finished 2nd while Prado had to draw some energy to keep Coldenhoff at bay and finished 3rd. Coldenhoff settled for 4th.
It was another solid race for Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen who made a good start to get to 5th and kept this rank until the end. Team HRC’s teammates Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez got a similar start as they were 7th and 8th respectively on lap 1. Then Fernandez inched closer to Gajser and made his move on lap 5 to move up to 7th and kept charging to overtake Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans for 6th on lap 7. For Gajser, this first race was a good test but he could not defend on Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Jeremy Van Horebeek on lap 11 and had to settle for 9th for his first race after months. Evans made a solid race as he only got overtaken by Fernandez and finished 7th while Van Horebeek also rode consistently within the top 10 and even passed Gajser to finish at a good 8th place.
It was a great operation for De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Benoit Paturel who gained a place from 11th to 10th as he passed KTM Kosak Team’s Maximilian Spies. Spies finished 12th in the end while the imporessive performance of the day was for Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod who found himself in 24th position on lap 1 to incredibly charge forward. His tireless effort made him finish at an excellent 11th place given his poor start.
In race 2, Seewer took the FOX Holeshot and the lead in front of Prado and Febvre. While the battle was fierce between the front three riders it was Febvre who first took the better of Prado on lap 2 to go 2nd and kept speeding forward to put pressure on Seewer for the lead. The French rider finally made it to the top on lap 6 of 19. However, another rider invited himself in the battle which was Vlaanderen.
Vlaanderen showed blistering speed to overtake first Prado on lap 3 and Seewer when he made a mistake on lap 7. Vlaanderen was a solid 2nd and kept racing with a strong pace but Febvre at the lead looked very composed until lap 16 when he crashed to pick himself up in 4th position. Vlaanderen then took the matter into his own hands to power through victory and win his first race of the season. Unfortunately for Vlaanderen it was still not enough to get his first podium of the season. He went 5-1 and finished 4th overall.
Prado followed and finished 2nd while Seewer finished 3rd. The expected podium didn’t change in the end with Febvre holding Gajser at bay for 4th, synonymous of the overall win. With 3-2, Prado got another podium finish in 2nd place while Seewer got 3rd overall with 2-3.
Gajser had a great second race as he passed this time his teammate Fernandez for 5th on lap 6 to finish 5th in the end. Gajser went 9-5 for 7th overall on his return after months without competition. Fernandez settled for 6th for to get to 6th overall.
Coldenhoff didn’t have the same pace as in race 1 and had to settle for 7th in the end but with 4-7 he still got 5th overall. Van Horebeek managed to get to 8th on lap 3 and kept that spot until the end to go 8-8 for a good 8th overall for the Belgium before going to Lommel.
Behind, KTM Kosak Team’s Tom Koch showed up again with a good performance as he consistently rodein 9th place from lap 3 tuntil the end to go 16-9 for 10th overall while Evans battled to finish 11th after a poor start that saw him in 15th on lap 1. Evans went 7-11 to clinch another overall top 10 with 9th overall.
Romain Febvre: “I’m very happy to win after my mistake in the second race. I was leading comfortably but I made my own mistake and crash twice but this is motocross. I still capitalised on my performance and finished 4th to win the GP”
Jorge Prado: “It’s been a positive weekend. With these performances today I need to be really happy as I had stomach problem in race one but I still managed to stay upfront and fight. I am staying consistent and didn’t make many mistakes which was key here. I’m now looking forward for the next rounds which will suit me more and we will go for the win.”
Jeremy Seewer: “I’m feeling good, things are going well at the moment. My physical condition is good, my starts and my speed are really good too. IT is just a bit frustrating to finish third when you fight for the GP win the whole day. It was good racing, I’m third overall and I will bring these performances to the next GPs”.
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 34:50.813; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:00.822; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:08.411; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:09.577; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:19.677; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:39.139; 7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:45.613; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:52.012; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:55.651; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:58.075
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), 35:14.549; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:04.404; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:05.542; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:09.000; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:10.943; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:17.862; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:26.106; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:29.697; 9. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +0:45.062; 10. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +0:59.589
MXGP – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 43 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 42 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 42 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 41 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 30 p.; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 28 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 26 p.; 9. Mitchell Evans (AUS, KAW), 24 p.; 10. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 17 p
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 614 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 510 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 465 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 452 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 428 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 402 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 p.; 8. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 302 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 276 p.; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 p
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. GASGAS, 620 points; 2. Yamaha, 602 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 526 p.; 4. KTM, 510 p.; 5. Honda, 483 p.; 6. Beta, 216 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 49 p.; 8. Suzuki, 15 p.;
Main Photo: Romain Febvre
Bottom Photos: 1.Jorge Prado ; 2. Jeremy Seewer
In Race 1 it was Jago Geerts who took the FOX Holeshot and took the lead at the same time. F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo made an amazing start and found himself riding right behind in 2nd place. Geerts controlled the race from start to finish even though Horgmo got closer toward the end of the race. In the end Geerts won in front of Horgmo who got his season’s best finish in 2nd.
The start was eventful as many riders such as Red Plate Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts got involved in a multi-rider collision in before the first corner. Adamo got back up and managed to get back to 12th over the first lap but crashed again as Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga forced a move on lap 2. Adamo in the end crossed the line 13th. Everts got back to 17th in the end. Elzinga managed to finish 10th as he consistently rode within the top 10.
It was also a great start for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen who found himself 3rd on lap 1. He kept on going and fought for his place in front of the excellent JM Honda Racing’s Camden Mc Lellan. Unfortunately S.Coenen could not defend on Kay de Wolf and Simon Laegenfelder on lap 12 of 18. S.Coenen settled in the for 5th and his season’s best finish. De Wolf and Laengenfelder followed each other to finish 3rd and 4th respectively.
Mc Lellan in the end also got overtaken by de Wolf and Laengenfelder on lap 7 and finish at a really good 6th place in front of another good performer Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Emil Weckman who only lost one position to finish 7th.
Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen got unlucky as he lost many positions on the mutli-rider collision after several corners. The young Belgian found himself 15th on lap 1 but powered through to get to 9th on lap 12. He then caught his teammate Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk and managed to pass him on lap 17 to finish 8th. Van De Moosdijk settled for 9th.
In race 2, Laengenfelder clinched the FOX Holeshot and went on with the lead. S.Coenen made another great start but unfortunately faded away during the race and settled for 7th to get his season’s best finish with 7th overall. Laegenfelder looked like a solid leader but Adamo had other plans. The MX2 Red plate had an average start as he found himself 6th on lap 1 but put his head down and charged forward. His incredible determination led him to overtake lap after lap Geerts, Mc Lellan, S.Coenen and in the end Laengenfelder on lap 11 of 19. After that Adamo simply disappear at the front and continued on his great pace to win his first race of the season. Adamo got 5th overall which is excellent given the unfortunate chain of events in race 1.
Laengenfelder who had an excellent race, finished 2nd to 4-2 and 2nd overall to get a back-to-back podium. Behind him, Geerts rode smart and managed to get where he wanted to be. He overtook Mc Lellan for 4th on lap 7 and S.Coenen for 3rd a lap later to controlled his race and finish 3rd. It is another back-to-back GP win for Geerts who is reaching his level from before his injury. Mc Lellan showed incredible riding throughout the day as he went 6-5 for 6th overall, his best finish this season.
De Wolf displayed another really good performance as he charged from the back. 9th on lkap 1, de Wolf kept his cool to move up the rank and finish 4th for a 3-4 and his first podium since his foot injury. His teammate L.Coenen stayed consistent and only lost one position from lap 1 to finish 8th behind his twin brother. He also finishes just behind his brother in the overall in 8th position.
It didn’t go as planned for Horgmo in race 2 as the Norwegian was not able to confirmed his 2nd place as he went down early in the race to find himself 21st on lap 1. Horgmo never gets down incredibly went up to 9th in the end in one of the most spectacular comebacks of the day. In the end he finished just outside the podium in 4th but displayed quality riding.
Marcel Stauffer showed great things during both races as he went 11-10 to get his first overall top 10 of the season in 9th. Weckman also got a good 10th overall with 7-15.
Everts didn’t have the best weekend but he got his flow back in race 2 to finish 6th and show a good and encouraging speed for next weekend in Lommel. He finished 11th overall. Elzinga on his side did not find the same flow in race 2 and finished 13th and 12th overall.
Jago Geerts: “The goal is to take as much points as possible but if I don’t feel comfortable on the track, I don’t want to take too many risks like in the second race. It still a very good day with the overall win and I’m very happy about the weekend.”
Simon Längenfelder: “I am very happy I have to say because I am so close to home it does really feel like a home GP with many German fans present. I felt very good and I had a very good start in the second race. I’m doing my thing and I feel coming back more and more. The physical strength is getting better and better so I’m looking forward for the rest of the season. ”
Kay de Wolf: “For sure I needed this. Its been a tough few weeks but wee managed to get on the podium which is amazing.In the second race had to fight hard for it but I made it happen in the end so I’m really happy with it.”
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 33:46.123; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:02.248; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:08.918; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:12.608; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:19.683; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Honda), +0:24.963; 7. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), +0:25.791; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:26.807; 9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:29.718; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:30.440
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 35:41.660; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:05.279; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:13.877; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:18.190; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Honda), +0:19.355; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:19.813; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:33.345; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:35.908; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:40.559; 10. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), +0:43.099
MX2 – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 45 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 40 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 34 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, HON), 31 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 30 p.; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 26 p.; 9. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Emil Weckman (FIN, HON), 20 p
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 506 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 478 p.; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 471 p.; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 462 p.; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 433 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 432 p.; 7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 368 p.; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 359 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 316 p.; 10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 248 p
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Yamaha, 634 points; 2. Husqvarna, 590 p.; 3. KTM, 574 p.; 4. GASGAS, 452 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 333 p.; 6. Honda, 221 p.; 7. Fantic, 18 p.;
Main Photo: Jago Geerts
Bottom Photos: 1.Simon Laengenfelder ; 2. Kay de Wolf