Cycle News Staff | May 6, 2024
Round five of the FIM Motocross World Championship saw wet conditions as rain soaked the track for the MXGP of Portugal on May 5. The treacherous racecourse wreaked havoc on the riders and the points chase, and the red plate changed hands in the MXGP division. At the end of a muddy weekend of racing, Pauls Jonass and Liam Everts stood atop their respective podiums.
HIGHLIGHTS
MXGP
Tim Gajser is gaining momentum as the series hits its stride. He won the weekend’s qualifying race and rolled that into a holeshot in race one with longtime competitor Jeffrey Herlings hot on his heels. The two five-time champions duked it out in the opening laps, with Herlings eventually overtaking the position. The leader later fell back into Gajser’s hands when Herlings’ bike expired and forced him out of the race. This made things easy on Gajser as he cruised to the win and took over the points lead in the process.
Tim Gajser was all smiles after winning the qualifying race and moto one.
Jorge Prado held the red plate going into race one, but a crash and two pit stops pushed him back to 15th at the finish line.
Jorge Prado fell in race one and was forced to pit twice.
Standing Construct Honda’s Jonass snuck past Romain Febvre on the final lap as the two claimed second and third. This set Jonass up for a strong overall finish.
Pauls Jonass snuck through for second on the final lap of race one.
Race two again saw Gajser run to the front, but a crash in the first turn spelled trouble for the new championship leader as both he and Prado found themselves at the back of the pack. With one and two in points near the tail end of the field, Herlings looked for redemption from race one. He put his Red Bull KTM at the front of the pack and eventually crossed first to take his first race win of the 2024 season. Jonass again took second and used 2-2 finishes to claim his first-ever Grand Prix overall win.
Jonass won the first overall of his career with 2-2 scores.
“This year, our main goal was to be consistent, enjoy my riding, and enjoy racing,” said Jonass. “We work very hard in the wintertime with the team, and we improved a lot from last year, and it’s paying off as you can see the results! Now, it’s staying consistent! I really enjoyed the mud today.”
Herlings got redemption from his DNF in race one by winning race two.
Febvre landed on the box in third with 3-4 scores, giving him second on the day. “I wouldn’t say that I stayed out of trouble this weekend, but, you know, it was really tough conditions, tough to ride for everybody,” said Febvre. “I took two good starts, and in race one, I was behind Tim and battled with him, but with one lap to go, I passed the finish line and crashed, full of mud, crashed again before the finish line and lost the second place there. Then in the second race, I hope Tim is okay after the start as he slid in front of me, and I couldn’t avoid him entirely. But in the end, I got third, so I’m a bit disappointed, as I feel I could have made it, but overall picture, it is very good for the championship.”
Romain Febvre finished third overall.
Gajser managed to finish 10th after crashing early and was awarded third overall for his 1-10 results. He now leads the points by 14 over Jorge Prado.
“Of course, it is great to get the red plate after all the work we’ve put in,” Gajser said. “Even getting the podium position after that second moto was a surprise, but those conditions can be a lottery. I made far too many mistakes, which is frustrating, as I had a really good start before that first mistake, and from there on it was just survival. It was also a shame because the first moto was a good one for me. I got the holeshot and had a good battle for the lead and eventually won in difficult conditions.”
Jonass.
Prado finished outside the top 10 in both races, going 15-12 for 13th overall. “I was the fastest when the track was dry early in the weekend, but then the rain came on Saturday and Sunday,” Prado said. “In the qualifying race, I struggled a bit with getting the bike set up, but by Sunday, I was the fastest again. I had good speed, but the starts from P7 were tough: there were mistakes, crashes. The conditions on Sunday made it super tough. I had to make two pit stops in the first moto, and then I crashed after a good start in the second moto. It was a pity, because I know I’ve been hard to beat on this track—but sometimes, that’s just how it goes!”
MX2
Everts was the star of the show in Portugal as he kicked off the weekend by winning the Ram Qualifying Race. He rolled that into two holeshots and two race victories, sweeping the muddy weekend with relative ease. The Red Bull KTM rider stayed out of trouble and avoided the messy carnage going on behind him. This is his second consecutive GP overall win and puts him third in the championship standings.
Everts swept the weekend with 1-1 scores.
“These are the kinds of weekends you dream of,” Everts said. “Everything goes so well and you are just in the zone, just your focus, your bike and the track. These days don’t come often. You win a championship on tough days, but this was a good one! I know tougher ones will come but this was something special.”
Everts.
Yamaha’s Rick Elzinga landed second overall after two consistent motos. The Dutch native started up front in race one and traded spots with Simon Laengenfelder in the early stages before finishing fourth, matching his career-best finish. He’s credited with the holeshot in race two and kept it upright to finish second in the moto and second overall. This marks his first-ever overall podium and bumps him up two spots in the points standings.
Elzinga grabbed his first career podium.
“I really can’t be happier,” said Elzinga. “My first MX2 podium is just amazing. I really like this track, so it was a shame about the mud, but, in race one, it wasn’t too bad. I started third then moved into second but then made a few mistakes. I ended up fourth, but overall I was happy with my riding. I took the holeshot in race two but ran too wide, so I lost a couple of places. I was third for a while and then moved into second and made no mistakes, stayed up, and finished second for second overall and my first-ever podium in MX2.”
Elzinga’s teammate Thibault Benistant landed on the podium for the second race in a row.
Elzinga’s teammate, Thibault Benistant used 5-4 results to claim third overall. While not finishing on the podium in either moto, the French rider battled all weekend long and avoided mistakes to put together two consistent race finishes. This is his second consecutive podium as well.
“It was a really tough weekend because of the weather, but there is plenty to be positive about,” said Benistant. “Tough conditions are part of motocross and to get on the box with a 5-4 is good and good points for the championship.”
MX2 Podium.
Simon Laengenfelder (GasGas) and MX2 points leader Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) finished second and third in race one but off the box in race two. Laengenfelder hit the deck hard in the second moto and exited the track holding his collarbone. De Wolf finished ninth in race two, which dropped him to fourth on the day. He still maintains the points lead. CN
MXGP (Top 5)
- Pauls Jonass (Hon) 2-2
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 3-4
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 1-10
- Brian Bogers (Fan) 5-7
- Cornelius Toendel (KTM) 12-3
MX2 (Top 5)
- Liam Everts (KTM) 1-1
- Rick Elzinga (Yam) 4-2
- Thibault Benistant (5-4)
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 3-9
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 6-7
