Cycle News Staff | August 21, 2023
Roman Febvre (Kawasaki) kept his slim Championship hopes alive with a 2-1 that gave the Belgian the overall MXGP victory at Arnhem on August 20. Championship leader Jorge Prado (GasGas) was second overall with a 1-4.
MXGP start. Photo: Juan Pablo Acevedo.
In MX2, German Simon Laengenfelder (GasGas) and Belgian Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) split the moto wins, but Liam Everts (KTM) came away with his second overall victory of the year. Andrea Adamo (KTM) still leads the Championship by a wide margin after a steady day in the Dutch sand.
MX2 riders dig into the Dutch sand.
The two men at the top of the MXGP Championship leaderboard, Prado and Febvre, battled for the win in the opening moto. Prado had the early advantage until Febvre slipped past on lap nine of the 18-lap race. Unfortunately for Febvre, a rock became wedged in his rear brake two laps later, which momentarily stalled his momentum. While he dealt with that issue, Prado and Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) rode past the Kawasaki rider. Febvre got back going again and was gifted second place in the moto when Seewer went down two laps from getting the checkered flag.
Prado held on for the win in race one.
Prado, Febvre and Seewer went 1-2-3 in the moto, while Glen Coldenhoff (Yamaha) and Tim Gajser (Honda) went 4-5.
Febvre came out blazing in moto two. He grabbed the holeshot and never looked back en route to victory. His 2-1 gave him the overall victory and his sixth GP victory of the season.
Febvre rebounded with a win and another overall.
Seewer and Coldenhoff engaged in a great battle for second as they closed in on Febvre late in the moto. It was a battle for the last spot on the overall podium, which ended up going Seewer’s way. Seewer (3-2) took second in the moto and Coldenhoff (4-3) third.
Seewer and Coldenhoff battled it out.
Prado was fourth in the moto, which was good enough for second overall (1-4), knocking the home favorite, Coldenhoff, off the podium. Gajser finished fifth again for fifth overall.
Prado’s 1-4 earned him an overall podium.
“The second race was so much better,” Febvre said. “I pulled the holeshot and rode my own race. I was feeling good, the track was heavy, but I could make the difference. It’s a shame for the first race that I could not win because I got a stone stuck in the rear brake.”
That makes six overall wins for Febvre this year.
In the MXGP Championship, Prado leads Febvre by 92 points. Seewer is another 77 points back in third. Coldenhoff trails Seewer by 52 points in fourth. Honda’s Ruben Fernandez is a distant fifth.
Championship leader Prado said, “This weekend was a tricky one. My rhythm was not quite right, but the first moto was good with a holeshot and a win. I had a worse start in the second moto and was in a fight at the beginning before putting myself in a decent position. It was super tough, and I did not want to make a mistake. It was an okay weekend in the end.”
Prado still leads the championship by 92 points.
Laengenfelder led from start to finish in the first MX2 moto, while Adamo and Everts fought over the remaining podium positions. Everts held down second for the first half of the race before falling and handing second to Adamo, who went on to finish second, with Everts taking third.
Langenfelder logged another moto win. Photo Juan Pablo
Dutch rider Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) ran in fourth for most of the race until he fell with two laps to go and dropped to ninth. Yamaha’s Jago Geerts inherited Elzinga’s spot and finished out the race there ahead of Kevin Horgmo (Kawasaki).
Adamo (80) and Everts (72) duked it out for the podium in race one.
Lucas Coenen came from behind early in the second moto to take the lead away from Everts. But Coenen had to do it all over again when he went down, but then had the lead once more by lap five. From then on, the race was all Coenen’s who went on to take the moto win.
Lucas Coenen grabbed the win in race two.
Everts fought off Geerts to take second, which was enough to give the KTM rider the overall victory with a 3-2.
Everts claimed the overall with 3-2 finishes.
First moto winner Laengenfelder had a midpack start and sixth was all he could do. His 1-6 netted the GasGas rider fourth overall. Coenen’s 6-1 resulted in second overall. Geerts finished third in the second moto for fourth overall.
Jago Geerts took a moto podium in his first race back.
“I didn’t expect to have the win today,” Everts said. “I should have been second in the first moto but made that clumsy mistake with two laps to go. I pumped myself up for the second moto and got the holeshot. I needed to keep Jago [Geerts] behind me, and that’s what I did.”
MX2 Podium.
Championship leader Adamo said, “Not bad motos for me today, mainly because I felt quite lost on the track after Saturday. I was struggling. So, we made some changes, and the first moto was good. I was even able to catch Simon [Laengenfelder] for a while until I had a little issue with the goggles. The tip-over in the second moto cost me the podium or maybe more. But I’m happy anyway because I felt fast and comfortable on the bike, especially when the track was so rough.
Adamo still holds the red plate.
Adamo still enjoys a comfortable lead in the Championship over Everts, 705-633, with three rounds to go. Another 30 points back in third is Geerts, who is just eight points ahead of Laengenfelder. Coenen is fifth, 84 points behind Laengenfelder. CN
MXGP
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-1
- Jorge Prado (GG) 1-4
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 3-2
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Yam) 4-3
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 5-5
MX2:
- Liam Everts (KTM) 3-2
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 6-1
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 1-6
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 4-3
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 2-5
