Herlings and Kay de Wolf top MXGP of Latvia

MXGP 2023

Round Eight – MXGP of Latvia – Kegums

The MXGP of Latvia, marked the eighth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship, with unpredictable weather conditions, including rain during the second races adding to the challenge.

It was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who got his first hat-trick of the season with a perfect 1-1-1 in front of Red plate holder Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Pradoand Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre who closed out the podium.

In MX2, it was another complete domination with Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf who won his first GP in MX2 in the best possible way with also a hat-trick 1-1-1. Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk finished second on the podium for his second podium finish of the season in front of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant who gets a back-to-back podium finish.

Aussie Mitch Evans was out of luck at turn one of the first moto as a collision to his inside pushed the Australian almost to the track perimeter through the turn and he faced a long haul from twenty-first at the first timing split.

But he persisted to the end, his final pass for seventeenth coming just three laps from the finish. Race two saw Mitch find a better run through turn one and from thirteen on lap one he continued to push, taking over his eventual eleventh place on lap eight of sixteen to clinch eleventh overall on the day.

Mitch Evans

“This track has never been my favourite but we made another step forward during the week and that showed in the results. Now I just need to get back into race fitness and make up for the bike time I missed at the start of the year. Now I’m looking forward to Germany; I really like that track and it’s more my style.”

MXGP Race One

In Race 1, Jorge Prado took his seventh FOX Holeshot of the season and powered through to take the lead in front of Ruben Fernandez and Jeffrey Herlings. Herlings quickly passed Fernandez to push forward behind Prado.

Prado managed to keep Herlings at bay and even increased his lead to six-seconds. After regrouping Herlings set a few fastest laps and started to threaten Prado on lap 14 of 17. Herlings eventually muscled his way in as he went up the inside of Prado to take the lead, to never look back.

Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez was the best of the rest as he kept riding at a great tempo to stay third from lap 1. Behind him the battle for the fourth place raged on between Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff.

Following several tries, lap 13 was the moment for Coldenhoff to get the final word, overtaking Vlaanderen for fourth, relegating him to fifth.

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Romain Febvre managed to claim to sixth after an average start. Rounding out the remainder of the top ten was Seewer, Forato, Bogers and Lupino.

Australia’s Mitch Evans finished the race in 17th.

MXGP Race 1 Results

MXGP Race Two

In race 2, Jorge Prado took the FOX Holeshot and kept the lead in front of Febvre and Herlings. Febvre had excellent pace and managed to pass Prado on lap 4 to lead most of the race, Herlings also simply too fast as he passed Prado for second on lap 7 and began to increase his pace to edge closer to Febvre.

Eventually on lap 13 of 16, Herlings pounced and overtook Febvre to take the lead and win the race to get his first perfect weekend of the season.

With a win in the RAM Qualifying Race and 1-1 on Sunday, Herlings got maximum of point to reduce the gap to Prado on the leaderboard.

Febvre settled for a strong second place to go 6-2 and third overall. Prado on his side continues to be a model of consistency with a 2-3 to keep his Red Plate.

Behind them Coldenhoff was fourth from start to finish to go 4-4 and a fourth overall, in another picture of consistency.

Seewer managed fifth after coming from the back. Seventh on lap 1, he passed Bogers for sixth on lap four and benefitted from Fernandez’ misfortune on lap 8 to move into fifth, finishing  fifth overall with a 7-5.

Bogers, unfortunately had to retire from the race few laps later while podium hopeful Fernandez had a bike problem and had to retire – claiming ninth overall.

Forato showed all his talent to go from 10th on lap 1 to sixth in the end as he passed sand specialist Vlaanderen on lap 7 for eighth, bouncing back from France.

Lupino and Ostlund rounding out the top 10, with Mitch Evans 11th.

In the end Jeffrey Herlings had the perfect weekend with a 1-1-1 to get the maximum points while Jorge Prado keeps the Red Plate and add another podium to his consistent season. Romain Febvre gets a back-to-back podium and moves back up to third in the Championship.

Jeffrey Herlings – P1

“A tough race. I was a bit scared the start mesh was going to be slick in the second moto, so I dropped the revs and almost missed the start but I still came out 3rd. I had to work hard to get through and it was not easy at all to catch and pass Jorge and Romain but when I went for it, I could make it happen. Romain was riding really good. I had to fight. 1st place as well yesterday so a good GP and I’m very happy and pleased to have a perfect weekend. Now onto Germany.”

Jorge Prado – P2

“The weekend was okay, but not too special. I felt better on Saturday than I did today. I had a great chance in the first moto, but I was not riding free. The championship is long and there are positives that I can take from the weekend, so we will focus on those and keep on working.”

Romain Febvre – P3

“I made a good start out of the gate and along the straight but two riders touched alongside me and it was a mess with many people crashing; I managed to stay up but I was in the pack. My speed was good when I had a clear track but it was quite difficult to pass on this track. It was really muddy for race two but I like that; I had good lines and when I took the lead I could make a gap and keep it even when Jeffrey came to second. There were a couple of spots where I was faster and a couple where he was and I thought I could keep it, but I couldn’t jump everything at the end and he caught me. I tried to stay with him but he is the best at the moment so in the end I had to accept second. It’s a pity I couldn’t hold on for another win but my speed is good.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P4

“I was close to the podium today, but I couldn’t match those guys in Race Two today. I was not happy with my riding in the second race. I could not get comfortable. I made so many mistakes and had to slow down. Looking at the positives, the first moto was good, I made some good passes and found some aggression, which is something I have been missing lately, but still, I should have been on the box today. From here we will just take this result, which is my first solid result in a while, and keep building.”

Jeremy Seewer – P5

“I had the pace to be third or fourth today, but after going down hard yesterday, I had quite a bit of pain in my elbow, so I just did my best today. I rode really well in Race One, I had the pace of the top guys, but had to fight from quite far back because of where I was at the start. It was a strange feeling to be one of the best starters, but there was no possibility to start up front this weekend because of my place on the gate. Still, I was good in the opening laps and made some good passes and fifth is not too bad in this situation, but not where I want to be.”

Ruben Fernandez – P9

“A very disappointing end to what was looking like a good weekend. I had a good first moto, riding a clean consistent race for third place and I was excited for the second moto. Unfortunately in between the races, there was a lot of rain and that changed the track a bit, but I still was in a good fifth position, for a long time in the race. Then I had a big incident on the step-up which meant that I had to pull into the pits. I was able to re-join the race and came back into the points but that’s not what I was hoping for when I arrived here. A big thanks to the team for all their work and I hope to get back to where I belong in Germany next weekend.”

MXGP Race 2 Results

2023 MXGP of Latvia Round Overall

MXGP Standings

MX2 Race One

Roan Van De Moosdijk took the FOX Holeshot but Thibault Benistant quickly claimed the lead in front of Kay de Wolf. Benistsant rode strongly but it was de Wolf who looked the livelier on the bike and set several fastest laps.

Eventually on lap 7 of 17, de Wolf made an incredible move to pass Benistant and stayed very low on the jumps to keep the advantage. Benistant never gave up and made a late charge while getting the fastest lap along the way but de Wolf managed the situation and won the race, Benistant settling for second.

Van De Moosdijk was very solid and kept a decent pace to hold third from start to finish. Behind him Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts finished fourth and continues on his great form as he managed to overtake Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen on lap 6.

Andrea Adamo had a poor start landing 10th on lap 1, but the Italian did what he does best and rode to fifth 5th by lap 7, which he held to race end.

Rounding out the top 10 were Kevin Horgmo, Isak Gifting, Mikkel Haarup, Oliver Oriol and Sacha Coenen.

MX2 Race 1 Results

MX2 Race Two

L.Coenen grabbed the Race Two FOX Holeshot and led the way in front of his two teammates, de Wolf and Van De Moosdijk. L.Coenen was looking comfortable but went down on lap 13, letting de Wolf take the lead.

De Wolf also had a scare when he went off track on lap 9 to pick himself up in third, but quickly passed Van De Moosdijk to take his second place back on lap 11. De Wolf then capitalised on L.Coenen’s mistake and went to win the second race.

It was a formidable way for de Wolf to win the first GP win of his career in MX2 with a perfect 1-1-1 and take the Red Plate in the same time.

L.Coenen finished second after missing out on race 1 to finish 10th overall. Van De Moosdijk kept his third place to go 3-3 for second overall and his second podium of the season.

Adamo had a strong race in fourth from start to finish and rode cleverly to  avoid any mistakes.

Behind him Horgmo continued on his good form as he managed to overtake Mike Gwerder on lap 2 to move up to fifth.

Benistant had to dig deep to in race two after going down in multi-rider collision on the first turn. Picking himself up in 15th position, Benistant showed an incredible array of skills and determination to pace forward to finish sixth.

Haarup, Everts, Oliver and Gifting rounded out the top 10.

Kay de Wolf – P1

“This is amazing. I have the red plate and finally got my first overall win as an MX2 rider. We had to wait a while for this, but we kept on fighting. I need to give a lot of credit to the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team. It is an amazing team and we always push forward. I am excited to go racing again in Germany.”

Roan Van De Moosdijk – P2

“I had a little crash in moto two. 1-2 is amazing for the team though! The rain made it difficult in the second moto, but we finished on the podium and I am really happy with the way that things are going at the moment. We will try to keep the ball rolling like this in Germany next weekend.”

Thibault Benistant – P3

“I was feeling good all weekend. I would only say that I took a bit too long to find my rhythm in all the sessions. The first race was quite good. It took time to get comfortable, but I felt I was improving every lap and by the end, I was riding free and fast. In the second race, I started quite well, but the riders on the inside came in too hard. There was no space for it, and I crashed. It’s frustrating because this weekend was going well and I know I had the speed to win, but I have to focus on the positives. I came back through the pack well, in tough conditions with a lot of rain, and still got on the box.”

Andrea Adamo – P4

“Yesterday I had the red plate briefly but today I’m again P2! I’m happy with my weekend though. I was not as fast as the top two-three guys but I had good enough results, especially after that second moto where it was very easy to make a mistake and lose a lot of points. We’re fighting for the championship and we don’t need to throw points away. The season still has a long way to go and I’m very proud of the position we are in. We’ll go right up until the last race for sure. Back to hard-pack now in Teutschenthal. I’m looking forward to it.”

Kevin Horgmo – P5

“Today was a solid day with sixth and fifth in the two motos; of course I want more but it was a real step in the right direction after the last few weeks. I was sick in Spain but I feel healthy again now. My thanks to all of the team for their hard work; they never stopped believing in me and now we just need to maintain the progress to get back to where we belong. I was standing complete outside on the gate after yesterday so I didn’t even put on the holeshot device and cut inside off the start to come through the first corner in the top ten and that made the races a little easier. It was survival out there in the conditions in race two but my bike ran 100% all moto.”

Liam Everts – P6

“Latvia done and mixed feelings on this weekend. The quali race was quite good and in the first race the result was positive but I wasn’t happy with my riding. My start was OK in the second but I was pushed out and hit, and that ruined my chances for a possible podium. I got back to 8th and made the most out of it. I didn’t give up and can now think about Teutschenthal.”

Lucas Coenen – P10

“I am happy with the speed and way that I feel on my FC 250. We are making a lot of progress, but it would have been great to join my teammates on the podium. I learnt a lot when out front in the second moto. It is just a shame about that late mistake at the end, but we will go for the podium again next weekend.”

Sacha Coenen – P12

“The weekend started well, I felt good on the track and good on the bike. I almost got the holeshot in the first moto and was running quite well for the first half but then had a few issues and finished 10th. Second one I had another good start but another rider hit me and I crashed really hard. I was able to continue and kept going. My speed was better than the first moto and the lap-times were strong. I had to stop twice for goggles and that was the only drawback. Germany next and I’ve ridden very well at that track.”

MX2 Race 2 Results

2023 MXGP of Latvia MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings