MXGP

After his best result of the season in yesterday’s Qualifying Race, Calvin Vlaanderen set the fastest time in the Warm-Up session for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, ahead of Febvre and Calvin’s teammate Maxime Renaux. 

With a similar game plan to his race on Saturday, however, Coenen went elbow-to-elbow with Febvre to claim his third Fox Holeshot Award of the season, while Fernandez also looked in contention for the early laps, although Renaux hit the floor as he exited turn two from what was looking like fifth position, allowing Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team pilot Mattia Guadagnini through into that spot.

Although Glenn Coldenhoff was left at the start gate initially, his Fantic Factory Racing teammate Brian Bogers was loving the tricky conditions and passed Guadagnini, then went around the outside of Fernandez to take third through the wave section at the far end of the track.  Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP rider Pauls Jonass moved up to fifth past Guadagnini.

Vlaanderen had pace, and was making moves, including two passes in two corners on the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team’s Jeremy Seewer, then banged-up Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Jeffrey Herlings.  Herlings had an up and down race to end up in tenth behind Guadagnini, who was also battling the pain from his early season injuries.  They both fell prey to a charging Coldenhoff who rose to eighth in the closing laps behind a strong ride from Team Motul Honda Motoblouz SR pilot Kevin Horgmo.

Bogers looked strong until the halfway point, when he twisted awkwardly up a hill and let the bike go from underneath him, visibly wincing with pain from his shoulder.  It looked like he would retire as he held his arm limply, but then suddenly re-joined the race to finish 18th at the flag.  His Fantic Factory Racing teammate Andrea Bonacorsi fought into the top five as Vlaanderen made a succession of mistakes in the deep mud that dropped him to 12th, but one of the best performances of the race came from Renaux, who fought from the very back of the pack to pinch fifth from Bonacorsi on the very last lap!

While Fernandez and Jonass rode lonely races to third and fourth, Febvre repeatedly attacked Coenen for the lead, but the rookie proved equal to the challenge to take the win by just over six seconds.  A frustrated Febvre nonetheless moved ahead in the Championship by just three points from the absent Gajser.

The start of race two was almost a carbon copy as Coenen moved to the top of the season’s Fox Holeshot Award standings with his fourth of the year, millimetres ahead of Febvre, as Fernandez fought past Vlaanderen to take third place on the downhill towards turn three.

In slightly drier conditions that made the lap times a few seconds faster than race one, Renaux slipped out of fifth on the first full lap to allow Bonacorsi into that spot ahead of his teammate Coldenhoff. The drying circuit made the going quite thick and one-line, and while Herlings made a good move to pass Coldenhoff for sixth on lap ten, he fell back down a position with a small crash on the following lap! This would leave “The Bullet” ninth in the GP.

Very few were making progress, and as Horgmo veered off the side of a jump to avoid a sideways Renaux, he sunk his Honda into some off-track mud that left him unable to finish! That advanced Guadagnini to tenth, where he would finish overall, as Renaux only got back to ninth to leave him seventh overall ahead of his teammate Vlaanderen, who rode well for fourth in race two.

Jonass claimed fifth overall with eight in race two, losing fourth to Bonacorsi on the second race tie-break.

Fernandez fought to keep the leading pair in view, but ultimately finished third for his first podium result since Maggiora in September 2023!  Meanwhile, Febvre threw everything at Coenen, who survived a few scary moments in the tricky conditions, but finally it was Febvre who made the biggest mistake with a near-crash that left him resigned to another second place!

The 12th GP win of Lucas Coenen’s career, and second on the bounce, puts him 43 points behind new leader Febvre in the Championship, and just 18 away from overtaking Gajser’s total.  It’s unclear when the Slovenian will be back, and how close to the top pace he will be, but for sure the teenage Belgian will be a real challenger in the races to come. The red plate will be attached to Febvre’s Kawasaki however, for the first time since the end of 2021, when they line up at Lugo next weekend!

Lucas Coenen: "It was a really good weekend overall. I didn’t expect this kind of result coming in, especially with the mud—I struggled a lot here last year. I knew the starts would be key, and I managed to get them today. Romain (Febvre) was pushing hard the whole time, and I got a bit nervous, but on the last lap he made a mistake and I didn’t see him anymore. That was probably my best lap of the race. Now it’s time to get back to work and focus on Lugo."

Romain Febvre: "These mud races can go either way—you win big or lose big. In Spain, I struggled and lost a lot of points, so I came here really focused on making good starts, and I did that in both motos. I battled with Lucas (Coenen) the whole way; I passed him twice in the first race, but he came back strong. At one point I had to think smart—I had more to lose than to gain—so I took second overall and grabbed the red plate. I’m feeling very very good about that and looking forward to next weekend."

Ruben Fernandez: "It’s been a while since I was on the podium—last season I missed a lot of races, and it took some time to get back into rhythm. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do with my hands! But it feels great to be back, especially here in Portugal, which always feels like a home GP for me. That will give me a big boost for my home GP in Lugo next week!"

MX2

Yesterday’s Qualifying Race winner Andrea Adamo set the fastest time in morning warm-up to declare his intent for the races ahead, but the MX2 class had the worst of the weather, even after the delay to help track workers clear the worst of the water from the track and the surrounding areas.

With the track in a similar condition to last year, many considered 2024 winner Liam Everts to be the favourite for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, and he duly took the Fox Holeshot Award for the second time this season, as Adamo ran wide to allow the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Sacha Coenen through into second, with De Wolf right on his tail.

Everts’ day wouldn’t get any better, however, as he fell on the corner before the Pit Lane tunnel jump, and would suffer many more crashes to leave him just 11th at the flag.  Coenen took up the lead, then De Wolf dropped his machine to give second up to Adamo.  As the Champ remounted, he pushed Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Camden McLellan wide and left the South African on the ground instead!

Oriol Oliver briefly held fourth for Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors, until he crashed on lap three.  Then right at the start of lap four, Coenen jumped to the edge of the track and left the bike buried, firing himself over the bars!  The bike was stood up where he left it!  The young Belgian had another off-track excursion which left him in 19th by the end.

Adamo then held the lead, and with his pit-board telling him to ride “ENDURO STYLE!”, he pulled clear from De Wolf and the chasing Laengenfelder, as both riders pushed to the limit in a battle with clear Championship implications!

Behind the leaders, David Braceras claimed a solid tenth for JM Racing Honda with a late pass on his Monster Energy Triumph Racing compatriot Guillem Farres, although a crash on the last lap by Thibault Benistant cost the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 man a top ten finish.  Valerio Lata claimed ninth for Honda HRC, with his teammate Ferruccio Zanchi in seventh ahead of the TM Moto CRD Motosport machine of Julius Mikula.

Back from injury, the Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 rookie Mathis Valin maintained a great fourth position for most of the race, before a frustrating tumble on the penultimate lap dropped him to sixth at the flag. This allowed Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 man Rick Elzinga through to a season-best fifth place finish, and WZ-Racing KTM’s Quentin Prugnières through to a career-best fourth!

Among the title contenders there was a twist in the tale, as De Wolf finally made one mistake too many, sliding sideways on an uphill corner to allow Laengenfelder, with no goggles, past into second! The four-point swing put the German to within two points of the series leader heading into race two, although winner Adamo closed in on the pair of them with his second race win of the season!

This time Adamo was making no mistake to claim his second Fox Holeshot Award of the season, but Laengenfelder was not so fortunate as he lost his front end from second position in turn two! Then Coenen attacked the Italian over the finish line jump to take the lead, while Farres got the best start of his season yet to place third at the end of the first full lap! 

Everts’ day went from bad to worse as he slid off the side of a jump and was unable to continue with his buried machine, while Zanchi was lucky to survive a similar incident on the same jump to hold on to sixth behind Valin in fifth and De Wolf in fourth.

Laengenfelder, meanwhile, was on a rampage, up to twelfth by the end of the first full lap and steaming through his competition! De Wolf managed to fire past Farres in lap three and give chase to the KTMs ahead. By lap seven, however, Adamo had worn down Coenen to take the lead with a decisive inside pass, and set sail for the win!

Prugnières had to fight back from his own poor start to claim tenth in the race, but that was still good enough for a career-best fifth overall. Zanchi took sixth overall with 7-9 finishes, while the Yamaha teammates Elzinga and Benistant finished eighth and ninth overall.

Having a better second race, after getting stuck in the first outing, was the Venrooy Racing KTM of Cas Valk, who took a fine sixth at the flag behind Valin, who took his best result yet in MX2 with fourth overall.  Farres suffered a small crash with four laps to go which dropped him to eighth in the race, still good enough for tenth overall.

Laengenfelder’s charge amazingly took him all the way to the rear wheel of De Wolf, and he very nearly passed his Dutch rival on the final lap, although neither could catch Coenen who put a confidence-boosting ride in for second place, and seventh overall.

Adamo completed his first ever perfect three-win weekend with a four-second margin to take his fifth career GP win, and third of the series! He has already won more GPs this season than he did the year he was World Champ! Due to De Wolf undoing the damage from race one to Laengenfelder, there is now four points between first and second, with Adamo now just six points behind the German!  It’s a true three-way Championship battle as we head to the forests of north-western Spain!

Andrea Adamo: " I rode really well this weekend. It was amazing, no mistakes, and the starts were really strong, especially yesterday. That put me in a good position for today (first gate pick), which was important because the conditions, especially in the first race were wild . The second one wasn’t as bad, but still tricky. To go 1-1-1 for the first time in my career is just incredible. I’m super happy with the result."

Kay de Wolf: "The track was really difficult this weekend—super muddy—but we made the best out of it. It was a bit of damage limitation, but I scored solid points and even gained a few in the championship, so I’m pretty happy overall. The riding was decent, the results were decent, and now we look ahead to next weekend. It looks like more rain is coming, but we’ll deal with it and try to enjoy it. Big thanks to the team and everyone around me for their support."

Simon Längenfelder: "It was a tough weekend, and I really had to dig deep, especially in that second race. The track had basically one good line, and going off it cost a lot of time. I made a mistake at the start and had to fight through the pack. I came back to fourth and closed the gap to Kay (de Wolf) in the last two laps, but I was just one lap short of making a move. I know I should be happy, but I’m not really happy because I want to win now”