Prado & Herlings share MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara glory

2024 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round 11 – MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara
Selaparang Circuit

The 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship reached the MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara at the Selaparang circuit on the island of Lombok on the weekend, where relentless heat and humidity added to the challenge. Reigning Champion Jorge Prado took the Grand Prix win, despite tying on points with Jeffrey Herling.

In the MX2 class red plate holder Kay de Wolf won both races for the first time this season, further extending his advantage at the top of the table.

MXGP – Qualifying Race

It was Jeffrey Herlings who dominated the MXGP Qualifying race, taking his KTM to victory over three-seconds clear of Jorge Prado, while Tim Gajser rounded out the top three another three-seconds in arrears. Jeremy Seewer and Calvin Vlaanderen completed the top five, making for a KTM, GASGAS, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha represented.

Kevin Horgmo finished sixth, followed by Valentin Guillod, Jan Pacar, Andrea Bonacorsi and Glenn Coldenhoff as the top Fantic racer in tenth. Lewis Stuart was 15th, as top and only Aussie.

MXGP – Qualifying Race Results

MXGP Race One

Jeremy Seewer took his third Fox Holeshot Award of the year, but Herlings used his inside start gate to great effect and grabbed the lead into the second corner. Gajser in third initially, but Prado charged around the outside to get past the Slovenian.

Prado and Gajser nudged past Seewer to give chase to the flying “Bullet” out front. Jeffrey put the hammer down with consecutive fastest laps in the first three full circulations, building a small gap over Prado.

Behind the leading three, Calvin Vlaanderen managed to jump past his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammate Andrea Bonacorsi for fifth, before closing in on Seewer, catching the Swiss rider at the end of lap 12.

He met with spirited resistance, but ultimately the South African-born Dutch star fought his way into fourth, with Bonacorsi also passing the Kawasaki as the two-lap board came out. The Italian claimed fifth at the finish, the best result yet of his young MXGP career. Seewer had to settle for sixth.

Prado got as close as two seconds to leader Herlings, while Gajser struggled with a tyre choice that he said later put him at a serious disadvantage and took the points for a solid third.

Herlings was able to pull out a ten second gap at the chequered flag, his fourth race win of the year, ahead of Prado.

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MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two

Race two’s first corner was a mightily close contest for the Fox Holeshot Award and Gajser took it by half a tyre thickness from Prado, but both were immediately passed by Herlings into the second corner.

At the top of the circuit, Prado was caught out and left the circuit, losing second to Gajser, as a fast-starting Vlaanderen also looked menacing.

The Yamaha man then made his own mistake as he dropped the bike in a right hander before the end of the first full lap. He picked it up in seventh, as Seewer, Mattia Guadagnini and Kevin Horgmo team went past him.

On lap four, Herlings jumped into a patch of mud and went down, gifting the lead to Gajser as Prado started to catch them both. As the top two in the series took the finish line jump together, the Spaniard held the inside line, but slowed as the Slovenian went for the cutback, mis-timed it and tripped over Prado’s rear wheel.

Gajser only just got back up ahead of Jeffrey, but seemed to be more affected by his crash than the Dutchman was, and Herlings found his way past on lap eight.

A further crash for Gajser on lap nine dropped him behind Seewer and a recovering Vlaanderen, and they finished from third to fifth in that order. Vlaanderen’s fourth position was enough to earn him his, and Yamaha’s, first MXGP podium result of the season.

Herlings had a ten second gap to Prado when he got past Gajser and despite looking up for him at every opportunity, was unable to hack it down by much.

The Spaniard backed off on the final lap which cut the final margin of his victory to 5.4 seconds, but it meant that the GASGAS man claimed his 10th Grand Prix win for the brand, and 45th of his amazing career.

MXGP Race Two Results

MXGP Overall

The results mean that from 34 points at the start of the weekend, Gajser’s series lead has been cut down to just 22 to Prado. Herlings is also closer to the lead, now just 58 points behind the Slovenian, having earnt equal points to Prado on 47 for the round.

Jorge Prado – P1

“I mentioned before coming to Indonesia that my goal was to win here and every GP. It was disappointing about the result in Maggiora, but I was fully focused on coming back strong. We started the second half of the season well with this result. I felt good today on the bike, but it was physically demanding. Both races were different, but this one was particularly challenging due to the physical conditions. The heat was intense, and the track was extremely rough and sketchy. There was a lot of water put down after the break. I got caught a few times in mud holes, and my bike went sideways. However, I regrouped, controlled my pace, and managed to take the win. Now, let’s have a good weekend of training and rest to be ready for round two here in Indonesia!”

Jeffrey Herlings – P2

“It was a shame; it should have been a 1-1-1 for me today but I made a mistake. I crashed by myself and hurt a little bit my knee but we should be good for next week. In the end 1-1-2 over a weekend is pretty good too.“

Calvin Vlaanderen – P3

“I’m so happy! It’s been a long two years since I was on the podium, and it’s taken a lot of work and sacrifices to get back up here. So, I want to say a huge thanks to the whole team and everyone around me. I’ve been close to the podium a few times this year but today I felt really good. To really battle with the front guys though, I need better starts. With the team we’ve been working hard on them, and they’ve improved a lot, but I need to be getting holeshots or at least be in the top three. Overall, I’m super-stoked to be on the box and today has been great for my confidence.”

Tim Gajser – P4

“Things didn’t go my way today, on what was quite a difficult track. I couldn’t find a good rhythm in race one and just had to settle for third place. Race two started a lot better, including getting the holeshot but I ran a bit wide and let a couple of guys through. I then fought hard in the first few laps and got myself back into the lead, but a couple of mistakes and I ended up finishing fifth. It’s not where I want to be, but I had five days to recuperate and then we go again next weekend.”

Mattia Guadagnini – P7

“It felt good to lead in the second moto, but overall, it was a tough weekend. On Saturday, I had a big crash in the first lap of qualifying, which forced me to pit. I focused on finishing to avoid a bad starting position for Sunday. In race one, I had a decent start, managing to gain positions by cutting inside from the outside. I found my rhythm and climbed up to eighth. Unfortunately, on the last lap, my rear brake got stuck due to a stone or something similar, costing me two positions. It was frustrating because I gave my all throughout the race. In the second moto, I had a strong opening lap and moved up to fifth. I held sixth for most of the race until a small crash due to track conditions dropped me to seventh. This resulted in seventh place overall. I aim to improve next weekend and believe I have what it takes to stay in the top five in the upcoming races!”

Andrea Bonacorsi – P8

“Two good days for me this weekend. Yesterday I worked on finding my flow around the track and placed ninth in the Qualifying Race, so that wasn’t too bad. Today was really good, especially Race One. I started around sixth or seventh and then held sixth all race. Then, on the last lap, I passed Jeremy Seewer for fifth, so I was really happy with my performance. I had another good start in Race Two but lost some positions in the first turn. I was then running in eighth but then I had a small tip-over and lost a lot of places. It was really hot, and I did my best to regroup, but I ended up 12th. So, a bittersweet day let’s say. But I showed that if I start up front, then I can run up front, so that’s really positive, and I’m excited for next weekend.”

MXGP Round Overall

MXGP Championship Points – Top 20

MX2 – Qualifying Race

Lucas Coenen topped the MX2 qualifying race, Kay de Wolf closest in second but almost six-seconds off his pace, with Simon Laengenfelder rounding out the top three for GASGAS. Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts took fourth and fifth for KTM, Mikkel Harrup sixth on the Triumph, with teammate Camden McLellan ninth.

MX2 – Qualifying Race Results

MX2 Race One

Lucas Coenen took the win in the RAM Qualifying Race on Saturday, but it was his brother, and winner of the last two GPs, Sacha Coenen, who put his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing across the Fox Holeshot Award line first, before Simon Laengenfelder dived inside to immediately lead into turn two ahead of Andrea Adamo.

De Wolf got through into second after a few corners, the reigning champion making a mistake through a corner, had to pause, and lost two places to the Monster Energy Triumph Racing rider Mikkel Haarup, and a slower-starting Lucas Coenen.

Lucas dropped the bike a lap later as a berm gave way from beneath him, and a a similar fate later befell Laengenfelder, so keen to grab his first race win since Trentino in April that he just pushed a little too hard and toppled over on lap eight.

De Wolf accepted the race lead, and never relinquished it, although a mistake in a left-hand corner near the end of the race nearly allowed Haarup past.

Sadly for the Dane, he then tipped over on the very last lap, costing himself second as Adamo pounced. Liam Everts managed to push through into fourth, passing teammate Sacha Coenen with three laps to go, while Laengenfelder slipped down the field to sixth after looking like he had hit the wall physically.

He still made ground on his rival for second in the series, as Lucas Coenen could only get back to seventh after his crash, winning another Husqvarna vs Triumph clash against Camden McLellan, who looked strong in his first race back from injury.

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two

Amazingly, Sacha Coenen took yet another Fox Holeshot Award in race two, making it a 50% holeshot ratio for the season with his eleventh of the year. He managed to hold a tight line to keep the lead this time, ahead of brother Lucas, as Ferruccio Zanchi squeezed past Laengenfelder for third as they hit turn two.

Halfway around, both De Wolf and Haarup, who also got past the German, got around the rookie Italian at the same time and set about chasing the brothers out in front.

It didn’t take them long, and the two Husqvarna men battled back and forth in a stunning display of clean racing that lasted for two laps before the series leader made a decisive move.

De Wolf then set after Lucas’s twin and at half-distance, lap eight, he jumped past Sacha to take the lead. The three teenagers who have dominated the MX2 class in recent weeks then held station, until within sight of the two-lap board Sacha lost two positions to Haarup and Adamo.

Incredibly, it was to be last-lap heartbreak for Haarup as he fell to gift Adamo a position for the second straight race, more heavily this time, and Sacha Coenen got past as well, leaving the Triumph man a dejected fifth, but still fourth overall, the two crashes doubtlessly costing him the overall podium finish.

Laengenfelder finished a distant sixth, ahead of Everts but as Lucas Coenen chased his teammate over the line in a race that got very close to the front, it puts the Belgian back ahead of the German into second in the standings.

MX2 Race Two Results

MX2 Overall

It was to be Kay de Wolf’s day, collecting his first double win of the season, his first GP win for nearly three months and pushing his advantage in the Championship to a mammoth 65 points, meaning that he will definitely return to Europe with the red plate on his Nestaan Husqvarna.

Adamo was second on 42-points, Lucas Coenen third on 36, tied with Haarup, with Sacha another two-points in arrears in fifth.

De Wolf now sits on 532-points in total, Lucas Coenen on 467 and S. Laegenfelder third on 463.

The series will stay at Selaparang as the circuit gets worked on to run in the opposite direction for next week’s MXGP of Lombok.

Kay de Wolf – P1

“It was two different races but I made some good passes in the opening lap and felt very comfortable out on track. I’m very happy with the changes made with the team in-between the races. So I’m looking forward for next weekend!”

Andrea Adamo – P2

“It was a good weekend. I’m happy to be on the podium. It was two completely different races and the starts were really important and I didn’t really have the best starts. It was a bit more difficult to come back in the second race but I’m so happy with my speed my riding so let’s go the second one.”

Lucas Coenen – P3

“It wasn’t the best weekend. I was still learning the track and it’s not my ideal track as it’s hard to ride smoothly. Due to its characteristics, it’s probably more. You need to attack you cannot. Now I now the track so next week I’ll show my real speed. Let’s see how will be the new layout but next I’m going to show!”

Sacha Coenen – P5

“Not that good this weekend, but I was really happy with the first moto holeshot! I feel like I can make a good start from anywhere. I almost tipped over though and make my way back to the top five. Not the best but not the worst. I was riding really good in the second moto but with five-six laps to go I started to feel pretty bad and had to slow. 4th so then 5th overall. Not a disaster. We’ll keep our head-up for the next race.”

Liam Everts – P6

“Difficult weekend. I felt like I couldn’t put together two solid races. Not the best start in the first moto and I came back to 4th and in the second I think I was 4th or 5th but tucked the front because they had watered the track so much. It was as surprise. Not so happy with the results but we’ll keep working and come back next weekend.”

Simon Laengenfelder – P7

“The first weekend here in Lombok is over, and to be honest, it was a bit of a struggle. In the first race, I had a good start and was leading. I felt comfortable on the bike, but unfortunately, I had a small tip-over, and after that, things went downhill. I felt like I had expended all my energy, and the last 10 minutes were tough. I finished 6th. In the second race, the heavily watered track presented a challenge, but overall, I felt good. Despite a less than ideal start, I made some good passes. Towards the end, I lost a few positions and finished sixth again. Now it’s time to recover this week and analyze what we can improve for the next weekend.”

Ferruccio Zanchi – P10

“Definitely a learning experience this weekend, with just being a completely different type of event than in Europe. I am happy to be here though and I’m happy with how I rode in that second moto, to fight hard and show a bit more of what I am capable of. I know that I need to get those sort of starts in every race and if I can do that, I can see that I’m getting closer and closer to finishing with the top guys.”

MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Championship Standings