Febvre & Geerts top MXGP of Flanders | Top-10 for Evans

MXGP 2023

Round 13 – MXGP of Flanders, Lommel

Round 13 of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship landed in Flanders over the weekend, with riders duking it out on the mythical sands of Lommel on a new layout.

In MXGP Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre kept his winning streak going, extending it to four. MXGP Red Plate Red holder,  Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado finished second overall with a race win. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff was back on the podium, confirming his recent form.

In MX2 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts won a perfect Grand Prix with 50 points, in front of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen. Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder continued to perform to a high standard

KRT’s Mitch Evans also enjoyed his best GP of the season as he continues to rebuild from pre-season injuries. The Australian was down in thirteenth after the initial sort-out in race one but put his head down in the toughest GP of the year to move into the top-ten on lap seven and continue to push, taking over eighth on the penultimate lap.

He held down twelfth for half of race two before slipping back to sixteenth at the finish as the exertions of race one took their toll to be classified thirteenth on the day and he remain fourteenth in the series points-chase.

Mitch Evans

“Moto one was really good; I pushed through really well to eighth and was happy with my riding. I got a better start in race two but got caught up in turn two and lost a heap of positions. I came back through again but then I felt a lot of cramping in my lower back. There were a lot of positives again; just the last ten to fifteen minutes could have been better.”

News Highlights  Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders 2023

MXGP Race One

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer took the FOX Holeshot but Glenn Coldenhoff then took the lead in front of Romain Febvre and Seewer. Coldenhoff was looking strong, but Febvre closed in.

Under pressure, Coldenhoff made a slight mistake on lap 4 and missed a rut on a turn leaving the door open for Febvre who took the inside and the lead. Febvre was the quickest on track and it showed as he pulled away quickly to lead the race until the checkered flag and win the race with a 15 seconds’ cushion.

Coldenhoff kept pace too, after getting passed by Febvre, cruising in second position. Third place was disputed throughout the race in comparison. Seewer looked very composed until he made a mistake and crashed on lap 6.

Benefitting from the mishap was Calvin Vlaanderen and Jorge Prado. Prado got caught in the traffic at the start and found himself sixth but made his way back up quickly to fifth behind Vlaanderen on lap 2. Both riders battled it out, until the last lap when Prado overtook Vlaanderen to finish third while the Dutch rider settled for fourth. Seewer continued the race in fifth place, where he finished.

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SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato went from ninth to sixth, overtaking Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández and home hero Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Jeremy Van Horebeek. Horebeek eventually finishing seventh.

Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans was looking good on the track and gained plenty of places going from 13th to eighth after a great battle with another rider who found his flow this weekend – MRT Racing Team Beta’s Ben Watson. Watson was eighth on lap 14 but Evans put on the pressure and made a successful move on lap 15 which left Watson in ninth.

Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Brian Bogers rounded out the top-10 and Team HRC’s Tim Gajser unfortunately fell on the first lap picking himself up in 26th but fought his way back to 15th in the end.

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two

Fernandez took the second FOX Holeshot – his first of the season – but countryman Prado quickly took the lead, to never put a foot wrong during the second race, winning comfortably.

Getting a poor start Febvre had a mountain to climb when he found himself around 20th place after few corners. On a tough track where it is difficult to overtake, Febvre showed his skills and talent to move up to fourth by lap seven.

Febvre moved in behind Seewer and Coldenhoff and needed to make a pass stick to climb onto the podium, and this is exactly what he did. He first picked off Coldenhoff on lap 10 for third and then pressure on Seewer. Febvre kept charging and powered through Seewer a lap later for second.

Seewer could not contain teammate Coldenhoff who got a better drive on the straight to pass Seewer and finish third.

Behind them Vlaanderen solidly rode in fifth, Fernandez settling for sixth. Forato confirmed his form from race 1 with another good display that saw him climbing up the ranks to finish seventh.

What a race it was for Harri Kullas who maintained a position the entire race within the top 10, for his season’s best finish of 8th. Van Horebeek and Bogers stayed consistent to finish ninth and 10th respectively.

Mitch Evans dropped out of the top ten to finish 16th for race two.

The overall went to Febvre on 47-points, Prado two-points off in second, and Coldenhoff the final overall podium placer. Seewer and Vlaanderen were fourth and fifth both on 34-points.

Prado now leads the standings on 665-points, to Febvre’s 566, while Seewer is a distant third on 506-points.

Romain Febvre – P1

“It was another great weekend for me. The new track layout is even more technical and already since yesterday morning I have had a really good flow. I was soon second in the first race; Glenn tried to make a gap but he was making mistakes so I could pass him and pull away for the win. But I had to ride really hard for it in the second moto; it was chaos in the first two turns and for sure I was nearly last. I thought it would be hard from there with everyone cutting each other up in the pack but I think I am the best out there at the moment and I could work my magic and kept my pace to the end. I almost caught Prado with two laps to go but I was just exhausted by then so I was satisfied with the overall. Not many people have ever won four-in-a-row; that is something special.”

Jorge Prado – P2

 “I think it was an okay weekend! The track was hard, which is normal for Lommel. I got better every single time that the gate dropped – I am happy about that. I felt much more confident in the second moto. I am happy that everything is working so well this season, so we will try to keep this consistency up.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P3

“I felt good all weekend. I grew up in these conditions. I really like the layout of Lommel like this. It’s heavier and a lot more technical, more like some of the Dutch sand tracks like Lierop. It was really tough out there; I enjoyed it, although I did have some struggles as well. I didn’t get the best start in Race Two, and I struggled to pass Ruben Fernandez and Jeremy Seewer. It ended up not being the best weekend for me, but focusing on the positives, we won the Qualifying Race yesterday for my first Pole Position of the season, and my speed was there, but I’m a little bit disappointed to not get the win today.”

Jeremy Seewer – P4

“I don’t want to make excuses; I think I can still fight for wins and podiums in the sand, even with little legs. I just need to be perfect. I can be happy with today, though. I had solid starts, good speed, good rhythm and good physical condition. It’s hard to race the guys that have grown up here in Belgium and The Netherlands seem to have something extra in the sand on race day. The thing is, you can’t train or practice for these conditions. I already train here a lot all year long, but honestly, you can’t even compare the conditions to how it shapes up at a GP. It’s so different. But anyway, I am happy with my performance. I had the pace, but unfortunately fourth overall, but solid points for the championship. I’m still looking forward to some strong results in the upcoming races.”

Ruben Fernandez – P8

“I knew it would be a tough weekend, but I feel happy that I gave it my all and I kept pushing until the end. It was also nice to get the holeshot in race two, so that’s good and gives me confidence for future races. My results weren’t what I hoped but if I hadn’t had the small mistake near the end of the first moto, I feel like that points total would have been a much fairer reflection of my speed. I will keep working on my sand riding though, and look for more improvements in Finland next weekend.”

Tim Gajser – P15

“I came into the races today feeling a bit better than yesterday and I started the first race really well. Unfortunately on the first lap, the rider in front of me got out of control a bit and I hit his rear wheel. When I tried to get up, I put my hand on the exhaust and got a really bad burn so for the rest of the race I had pain and struggled to really push as coming back from last was tough. In race two, the pain wasn’t so much and I again I was doing well at the beginning of the race but a small mistake dropped me down the field again. I fought back to 13th so overall it wasn’t good results, but it is another block in my recovery process and I keep building.”

MXGP Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Flanders, Round Overall

MXGP Standings – Top 20

MX2 Race One

Jago Geerts snatched the FOX Holeshot and the lead in race one, ahead of countryman Lucas Coenen. The Belgian riders pushed each other for a good part of the race with L.Coenen ensuring Geerts couldn’t relax for a second.

On lap nine Geerts started to edge away from L.Coenen and set into a good rhythm to race to victory while L.Coenen finished second.

Behind the front two, Simon Laengenfelder and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo showed control and speed, Laengenfelder getting the better of Adamo on lap 2 and kept this placing to finish third comfortably.  Adamo settling for fourth.

WZ Racing Team’s Oriol Oliver was fifth on lap 1 and was on course to finish there until Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts, Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Andrea Bonacorsi and F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo charged past on the last couple of laps.

Oliver still finished in a strong eighth. For Everts, the performance was astonishing as he fell and had to battle his way up from 16th on lap one to finish in an impressive fifth place.

Racing in MX2 for the first time this season, Bonacorsi showed that he has the speed to compete with the top riders as he went from 11th to sixth. Horgmo stayed consistent in seventh.

MX2 Rookie Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga was getting more consistent as he gets used to his bike and managed to ride within the top 10 to finish ninth.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen showed that he can bounce back after a fall, going down on lap 2 to move down from sixth to 12th but he didn’t give up and fought back up to 10th.

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two

Fantic Racing MX’s Haakon Osterhagen took his first FOX Holeshot but crashed a few corners later and didn’t finish the race. Geerts took command of the race once again from there, going on to another dominating Grand Prix win and his third GP in a row to close in on Adamo in the standings.

Fighting for second were Laengenfelder and L.Coenen, Laengenfelder taking the advantage and riding in second until lap 10. L.Coenen showed speed after an average start from seventh on lap 1. He finally made a successful pass to move up to 2nd on lap 10, where he finished.

Laengenfelder had to settle for third, which was more impressive given that he only trained on the sand once before coming to Lommel – one of the toughest sand tracks in the world.

Everts got a better start this time and was fourth on lap 1 behind VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Ferruccio Zanchi. Everts passed Zanchi on lap three, only to be passed by L.Coenen, eventually finishing fourth. Zanchi faded a bit during the race and had to settle for 11th.

Elzinga kept building on his good performance and managed a consistent and fast fifth. Horgmo moved up from ninth on lap one into sixth by race’s end.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s David Braceras finished 7th, marking his season’s best. It was similar for Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Ivano Van Erp who managed ninth place on his first MX2 GP.

Adamo got a great start but crashed during the first lap, picking himself up in 20th place and was only able to recover to 13th place.

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf had to retire without completing the first lap. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant didn’t take part in the races on Sunday in the end after picking an injury in the MX2 RAM Qualifying Race.

The round overall went to Geerts with 50-points, Coenen.L second and Laengenfelder third.

Adamo leads the standings on 564-points, to Geerts on 551, while de Wolf in third on 501.

Jago Geerts – P1

“50-points this weekend, and in front of my home crowd, to win three races, it’s an amazing feeling. I felt good on the track all weekend, and actually, as the weekend went on, I kept feeling better and better. The second race in particular, I felt so good out there and didn’t make any mistakes, so hopefully, I can continue like this for the rest of the season and be in the fight for the title.”

Lucas Coenen – P2

“I am so happy to be on the podium at my home Grand Prix! This means so much. I feel like I could have pushed for the victory today, but I kept it consistent and finished second in every race. Thank you to my team for all of their hard work.”

Simon Längenfelder – P3

“I am really happy to compete at the front in the sand for Lommel! I am getting better with every race that happens, after my injury. I will recover well after this weekend and get stronger.”

Liam Everts – P4

“A hard weekend in general because I struggled a bit with the track and missed some fire and push. In the first race I was stuck at the start because someone crashed in front of me. I came back to 5th which was a decent moto. In the second race I had a fast start and hovered around 4th the whole race by myself. The gap just yo-yo-ed to Simon [Laengenfelder]. I thought the layout was good. It’s always nice to have something new and we practice here a lot during the pre-season. It was cool to ride it differently. Anyway, we moved up to 4th in the championship and did a good job in general. I’m looking forward to Vantaa, it’s a nice track and I think I won there in 85s actually!”

Kevin Horgmo – P5

“I had two decent starts today and I stayed sixth for a long time in the first moto; I wanted to pass for fifth but I didn’t have the flow and near the end two passed me but on the last lap I passed back for sixth. I felt strong for the second moto and was looking to take fifth after I passed my teammate but I crashed and had to start all-over-again from ninth. I feel like I’m not finding my rhythm in the first ten minutes so I need to work on that as I am strong at the end. This was the toughest GP of the season so we can now focus on racing, not just on surviving.”

Rick Elzinga – P6

“This weekend started tough, but it ended really well. I came in a little bit tired after a tough week physically and then struggled with bike set-up all day on Saturday. In the first race, I was already feeling a lot better, and as the weekend went on, it just got better and better for me. Fifth in the last race is my second-best result of the season, so I am really happy with that and shout out to Ludo for helping me get my suspension right for the races.”

Andrea Adamo – P7

“Until the second moto the weekend was pretty good! I had two P4s and good points but I wanted to use all my energy to follow Jago in the second moto and things don’t always go to plan! During the transfer between bumps the front wheel escaped and I fell. I was really lucky actually because I felt another wheel close to my hand. It was very close. I got up and tried to give everything and I was close to the top ten but fell again. From that point I was just counting the minutes. It was a very tough one for me but there were more positives than negatives this weekend. I have improved quite a lot in sand compared to previous years. I can see and feel I am fast but I know I am not as consistent as on hard-pack. I will fight as hard as I can in the next races and we’ll see what happens.”

David Braceras – P9

“I’m really proud of my race today; I got close to the top-ten so many times earlier in the season and now I finally made it… here in Lommel! I have put in a lot of work to achieve this and I want to thank everyone who believed in me. I moved forward to eighth in the first moto but I lost my rhythm a little near the end and had a small crash on the last lap to finish twelfth. I was particularly happy with my second moto; I started around tenth but pushed hard the first few laps to come to fifth for many laps.”

MX2 Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Flanders, MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings – Top 20