After the rock-hard surface of Uddevalla last weekend, the stars of the MXGP World Motocross Championships have to switch back to sand racing mode for this weekend’s MXGP of The Netherlands at Arnhem, and the Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden circuit set a rugged stage for today’s RAM Qualifying Races!
The home fans were ecstatic to cheer success for a home rider in MXGP, but perhaps not the one many expected, as Glenn Coldenhoff took a famous first victory for Fantic Factory Racing, defending a stunning holeshot with the passionate crowd at his shoulder over every jump and bump! And best Brit was Conrad Mewse, having a wildcard ride in 14th place after being fastest in qualifying practice for the wildcard group. That time would have put him seventh fastest overall when combined with the practice for the GP regulars.
Lucas Coenen fought to the front quickly to take the MX2 RAM Qualifying Race win for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, as his teammate and Championship leader Kay de Wolf was cheered through to a stunning second place after being involved in a first lap incident that involved many riders!
Home hero Jeffrey Herlings showed his pace for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing early in the day with the fastest time in Free Practice, but reigning World Champion Jorge Prado grabbed the first gate pick for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing with the best lap in Time Practice, as Team HRC’s Tim Gajser took second from Herlings.
The extra buzz around MXGP this weekend is the presence of the new Ducati Factory MX Team, with nine-time World Champion Antonio Cairoli returning after nearly three years of retirement to race the Desmo450 MX machine on his favourite sandy surface!
Prado looked to have claimed the holeshot into turn one, but as he ran wide on the exit it was Glenn Coldenhoff who came through in the lead to the cheers of the home crowd, especially a large group of “GC259” t-shirt wearers by the second corner! Prado held on to second, with Cairoli briefly third before the Italian was overtaken by last year’s winner, Kawasaki Racing Team leader Romain Febvre.
Coldenhoff made his best efforts to escape, as his countryman Herlings had to work his way through from a tenth-placed start, passing title rival Gajser around the first full lap, then gaining a position each lap at the expense of Calvin Vlaanderen for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team, then Febvre’s teammate Jeremy Seewer, and finally Cairoli to get to fourth by lap five! “The Bullet” did get to within striking distance of the front three, but would finish in that fourth position ahead of Gajser, who had his worst Qualifying result of the year so far in fifth.
Vlaanderen was to claim sixth with a pass on Cairoli on lap eleven, and with Mattia Guadagnini grabbing eighth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, that made it eight manufacturers in the top eight positions! Brent van Doninck took ninth for JM Honda Racing, with Seewer claiming the final point for tenth.
At the top of the order, Prado was stuck in a sandwich as he tried to attack Coldenhoff with Febvre all over his back wheel. Feeling better than he has since his French GP thumb injury, the man in green took advantage of a small mistake from the Spaniard on lap ten to take second!
Coldenhoff weathered the storm of pressure from the Frenchman but held on to win by just under a second, with Prado a similar distance behind Febvre! It all bodes well for an entertaining day’s racing tomorrow, especially as Prado has now closed the points gap to 15 between himself and Gajser, with Herlings a further 32 behind!
Glenn Coldenhoff:” That was a big win. I came a long way, you know. Even though it’s only Saturday, it was good. I took a decent start, Jorge (Prado) was in front and I could sneak behind. I was in the lead straight away and the Dutch fans were awesome. I pushed till the end. Maybe I spent a bit too much energy but I felt like I didn’t add the results I wanted this year, so I really wanted to get this win. I’m really happy for everyone. The team is working amazing. They all work really hard. It’s paying off a bit. And I know the race is still tomorrow, but we go with that same motivation tomorrow. And hopefully we can be back up here on the box”
MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), 25:08.785; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:00.970; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:01.968; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:03.121; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:19.025; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:29.011; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Ducati), +0:33.712; 8. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:36.432; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:38.225; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:39.200
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 763 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 748 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 716 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 543 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 517 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 460 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 457 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 335 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 301 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p. Main Photo: Jorge Prado
Main Photo: Glenn Coldenhoff
Bottom Photos: 1. Romain Febvre; 2. Jorge Prado leading the start
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Lucas Coenen and Kay de Wolf were just over a tenth of a second apart in Free Practice, and the Dutchman snatched the fastest time from his teammate in the closing laps of Time Practice, as the mental battle between the pair reaches boiling point!
De Wolf was completely closed off down the start straight, however, by Liam Everts, who had been third fastest for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in both Practice sessions, although it was his teammates Sacha Coenen and Andrea Adamo who charged through the first two corners in the leading positions!
Behind them, however, was a massive pile of riders who crashed as the groomed surface met the rest of the track, and both De Wolf and the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing star Simon Laengenfelder were involved! De Wolf started charging through the pack immediately, the crowd urging him on to defend his Championship lead!
Meanwhile, Adamo ran wide out of the third corner and allowed the returning F & H Racing rookie Quentin Prugnieres and Lucas Coenen to slip past, with Everts also working his way up to fifth past the Italian around the first full lap of the track. Lucas made short work of passing the Frenchman to grab second place and set off after his twin brother Sacha.
De Wolf took until lap four to carve his way into the top ten, by which time Lucas had jumped alongside Sacha to take the lead and disappear into the distance. By comparison his teammate was working incredibly hard, driven on further by the fans and the trackside announcer, and by lap six he had passed Prugnieres, the Gabriel SS24 KTM of wildcard Cas Valk, and the Monster Energy Triumph Racing rider Camden McLellan to jump into sixth spot.
Everts got past Sacha Coenen for second on lap seven, with Adamo following him past their teammate two laps later, as Mikkel Haarup also passed the young Belgian to take fifth for Monster Energy Triumph Racing. Haarup didn’t enjoy the position for long, however, as De Wolf caught the group and was up to third by lap eleven!
Prugnieres, meanwhile, dropped down the order after two GPs away to finish in tenth behind Valk, with Sacha Coenen also fading to eighth behind a poor-starting Rick Elzinga, who claimed seventh for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2.
Haarup and McLellan put the Triumph machines into fifth and sixth at the finish, with Adamo fourth. De Wolf never backed off his pace to close in and finally pass Everts for second on the very final lap! With Lucas Coenen already pacing himself, the Belgian still won his sixth RAM Qualifying Race of the year by over 21 seconds.
The salvage job from De Wolf limited the Championship damage to just a single point, keeping the gap to nearly a full Sunday’s worth, at 48 points. Laengenfelder could only recover to 13th, outside of the top ten for the first time on a Saturday this season, and is now 81 behind the Championship leader in third.
As always, the treacherous sandy conditions will make for a stunning day’s racing on Sunday, and the already boisterous crowd will grow to make a loud and tangible atmosphere for the Grand Prix races. Don’t miss a wheel turn and join us tomorrow!
Lucas Coenen: “When you get the flow on those type of tracks, it’s always fun! You don’t lose so much energy. But yeah, it was good. The start was around P2 in the first corner and then Adamo passed me. It was a little bit sketchy in the beginning, so I stayed calm and just passed him back and then I was behind Sacha and I passed him too and did my own race. So, it was a good race. Now two races tomorrow will be fun”
MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 25:07.407; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:21.785; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:23.132; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:30.792; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:31.808; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:34.441; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:42.345; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:44.593; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:55.567; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:59.560
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 734 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 686 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 653 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 602 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 517 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 505 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 461 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 418 p.; 9. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 279 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 273 p.
Top Photo: Lucas Coenen
Bottom Photos: 1. Kay de Wolf; 2. Liam Everts