Romain Febvre & Lucas Coenen top MXGP of Sumbawa

MXGP 2023

Round 10 – MXGP of Sumbawa, Indonesia, Samota

Round 10 of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship rolled into Samota over the weekend, as the season reached the MXGP of Sumbawa Indonesia, where Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre came out victorious – for the first time of the season – heading off Red Plate Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer.

In MX2 it was another first as Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen got his career first victory in style with a perfect hat-trick ahead of his countrymen Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts. That marked another the first full Belgium podium since 2014 in Talavera where Clement Desalle won in front of Jeremy Van Horebeek and Kevin Strijbos.

Aussie Mitch Evans confirmed his pace on the KX450-SR – joining his teammate in the top-three off the start of race one. He surrendered places through the early laps but still looked secure in seventh after twenty minutes before the heat started to take its toll and his lap-times, as with most of the field, increased significantly and he was pushed back to ninth at the finish.

A solid opening lap to race two found the Australian eighth and a consistent rhythm saw him move up to seventh, where he’d finish for eighth overall.

Mitch Evans

“My start was really good in moto one but I just struggled a little in the heat towards the end. I had a better feeling physically in race two and could make a couple of good passes for seventh. We keep making steps every week so that’s good.”

MXGP Race One

Romain Febvre was the quickest out of the gate as he took the FOX Holeshot and just kept going. Jorge Prado followed from the start, struggling not to lose sight of Febvre, before he pushed ahead to a five-second gap.

Everything was shaken up on lap 13 of 17 when Febvre lost the control of his bike on the down slope and went down, Prado passing to take the lead. Prado was then never caught. Febvre regrouped and was able to keep Jeremy Seewer at bay for second.

Seewer had a strong race and rode in third position for the entirety of the race. Teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff also made a very good showing as he overtook Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans on lap 2 to move up to fourth where he’d finish.

Evans could not contain Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández on lap three and moved down to sixth. Despite getting his rhythm back the Australian started to fade a bit moving down to ninth by race’s end but showed great pace.

Fernandez managed another good race, claiming fifth on lap three and retaining that position to the finish line. Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen finished in sixth position.

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SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato was seventh, De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Benoit Paturel eighth. Valentin Guillod rounded out the top 10.

Other Aussies making the trip over included Lewis Stuart in 15th and Nicholas Murray in 16th.

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two

In race 2, Febvre again took the FOX Holeshot and the lead from the get-go. This time Febvre didn’t let his chance to win his first Grand Prix of the season go, never looking back and keeping his focus throughout the race.

Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod started fast to find himself behind the leader, however Prado and Vlaanderen were quicker and passed him on lap four. The Swiss making further mistakes to drop to ninth by race end.

Prado held second until lap 14 of 17 when an impressive Seewer came from fifth into second. Prado rode cleverly and settle for third to keep his Red Plate.

Vlaanderen got caught up by Seewer on lap nine and finished a strong fourth.

Coldenhoff caught Vlaanderen’s back wheel and fell, while on the charge, the move proving not too costly in the end but the ‘Hoff’ had to settle for fifth.

Evans rode another solid race to finish seventh, Forato eighth, Alvin Ostlund rounding out the top 10.

Lewis Stuart and Nicholas Murray again finished in 15th and 16th, and would hold the same positions in the round overall, respectively.

The weekend’s overall saw Febvre take the round win on 47-points to runner-up Prado’s 45. Seewer third on 42. Mitch Evans eighth with 26-points.

Prado retains a 101-point lead in the standings, ahead of Romain, Herlings currently third.

Romain Febvre – P1

“It was important to finally win again, both for me and for the team and we’ve done the job this weekend; I was fastest every session and I feel my speed was really good. We had a start-test day this week; I did ninety-eight starts and three clear holeshots this weekend show that we found some good solutions. Now it’s up to me to carry on like this. The second moto was mine all-the-way but it was my own mistake in the first moto. I was under no pressure, leading by several seconds and I was opening the gap. I felt I could take my time but it’s a little off-camber at that part of the track and I just went on the edge of the line; I opened the gas too early and I slid through one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. I was leading but it’s never over until the end; it was my mistake. I’m just a little disappointed because it should have been a perfect 1-1 weekend; we took back a few points, and I’m now second in the series, but it could have been even more.”

Jorge Prado – P2

“It was a good weekend! I got the win in moto one, which was very nice, and I keep winning motos each week, which is good. I could not hold onto second in the second moto – the track was sketchy. I am happy with second overall. Everything looks good at the moment. Thank you to my team for all of their hard work.”

Jeremy Seewer – P3

“Today was solid. I rode smooth, stayed safe, got decent starts and didn’t make too many mistakes. The heat was brutal today, but actually, I felt fit and stayed solid all day. Romain (Febvre) was a bit better today, and that is why he won, but I would say Jorge (Prado) and I were running a similar pace. I’m happy with the result, still would like a bit more, but podium is always good and I will take this momentum into the next GP.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P4

“I had the speed this weekend, especially in the second moto. I was feeling good, and I had some good lines that would have worked great for passing, but when I saw Jeremy (Seewer) pass Calvin (Vlaanderen), I decided to go. I made the pass pretty quickly, but then he cut in from the outside, and perhaps I should have braked a bit harder, but I was impatient at that moment and ended up going down. Once I was back up, I tried to push hard again, but in the end, the gap was a little bit too big, and with five minutes to go, the heat got me as well. Fourth overall today. Not really happy with that, but I’m motivated to bounce back next weekend.”

MXGP Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Sumbawa, Indonesia Round Overall

MXGP Standings

MX2 Race One

Jago Geerts clinched the first FOX Holeshot of the day, but fell on lap two to pick himself back up in sixth position. Getting his rhythm back he could only recover that to fifth.

Capitalising on the mistake, Liam Everts took the lead confidently but it was Lucas Coenen’s day as the blistering pace of the 16-year-old was enough to make a pass stick on Everts on lap 15 to win the race. Everts settled for second.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo battled hard with Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder. The last word going to Adamo on the very last lap as Adamo claiming third. Laengenfelder settling for fourth.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo looked strong, the Norwegian solidly finishing seventh. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant had to dig deep after a poor start to move up the ranks, overtaking Horgmo on lap 15 to finish sixth.

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s teammates Roan Van de Moosdijk and Kay de Wolf were unable to perform to their usual pace and had to settle for eighth and ninth respectively. De Wolf crashed on lap three, dropping to 11th at one stage as a result.

TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team’s Jan Pancar rode well under the tough conditions for tenth, ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen.

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two

Race Two saw S.Coenen show just how fast he can go, grabbing the FOX Holeshot just in front his twin brother L. Coenen. It was L.Coenen took the lead on the second turn and never looked back.

Geerts had another great start, finding himself second until Everts came knocking on the door on lap 10, his speed was too much for Geerts.

Geerts then had to deal with teammate Benistant, but managed to hold his ground to remain on the podium.

Benistant claimed fourth, battling with Horgmo who ended up settling for fifth. Van De Moosdijk increased his pace in the second race and more confidently for sixth. Teammate de Wolf was down in ninth.

Pancar kept pace, the Slovenian gaining three positions during the race to finish eighth. Things got more complicated for Laengenfelder as the German had an average start and fell down on lap 7 to pick himself up in 13th, climbing back to 10th.

Lucas Coenen took the overall on a perfect 50-points, Liam Everts runner-up on 44 and Jago Geerts retaining the final podium position on 36-points, ahead of Andrea Adamo (34) and Thibault Benistant.

In the standings, just five-poins sepearate Adamo and Benistant, 439 to 434. Third is Kay de Wolf on 417.

Lucas Coenen – P1

“I think this one is really special – this is an insane feeling that I cannot describe. I want to thank everybody who has worked extremely hard to support me. The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team has been amazing.”

Liam Everts – P2

“Saturday was quite OK for P3. My riding was good all weekend and we were competitive. I led the first moto but Lucas rode smart and got me with two laps to go. In race two my start was OK but my little teammate has less weight and got the holeshot! I fought back from P10 up to 3rd, had a tip-over and had to do it again from 6th. It cost me some energy. I gave everything I had. The last few laps were done purely with character! 2nd overall and I’m happy to walk away safe and with another podium.”

Jago Geerts – P3

“I came here expecting to be on the podium, but on Saturday, I woke up with a fever, so that made it really difficult for me this weekend, struggling with my fitness in this heat. Today I felt a little bit better, but still not great, so I am really happy to make the podium. From here, I will focus on resting and recovering so that I can come back fighting fit in Lombok.”

Andrea Adamo – P4

“Yesterday I started the day really good with P1 in both sessions and the quali race from Pole Position but then had a big crash in the second corner. So today was not easy and I didn’t feel great for the motos. I wasn’t on-point. The first race was OK in 3rd but I made a mistake in the second moto and had to recover from last position. Not a disaster but also not good! We’ll have to regroup and do better next weekend. We still have a the red plate and today was just about survival.”

Thibault Benistant – P5

“In the first race I had a really bad start and then had to come back through the pack to fifth. In the second race, the start was much better, but again, I always struggle a bit in the first 15 minutes of the race, so this is something I will work on to improve. I felt really good at the end of Race Two, but I need to find that same rhythm and feeling at the start of the race. Anyway, I am still quite consistent, which is important. I keep taking good points for the championship, and this is positive.”

Kevin Horgmo – P6

“It was a really tough weekend with the heat. That’s the same for everybody but after the crash in Germany and then the dislocation in Free Practice yesterday I was just happy to be able to ride today. I didn’t get the best start in the first moto but I was riding quite good until I felt a little empty towards the end. I was running a good third in the second race and really wanted that second place but I couldn’t quite get past and towards the end of the race I started to feel the heat again; I think that was understandable as I had almost no riding the last two weeks after Germany. But we need to be positive and I was happy to finish both motos in the circumstances. Now we can relax for a couple of days on Lombok and then we see for next week.”

Simon Langenfelder – P7

“It was great to be back aboard my MC 250F. I missed three rounds and jumping back into the middle of the season is never easy, but I am happy with what we did today. I feel like we can build on this and make steps forward quite quickly. I am really happy leaving Sumbawa.”

Roan van de Moosdijk – P8

“It has not been an easy weekend here. I just did not put myself in a position to fight for the podium in either moto – this track is not easy to make progress on. Still, we gained some solid points and look forward to the next one.”

Kay de Wolf – P10

“It was a difficult day but, like in Germany, we salvaged what we could and managed to gain some solid points. I am keen to get back inside of the top five at next week’s event in Lombok.”

Rick Elzinga – P12

“This weekend started really well for me. I felt good on the track straight away, and you saw that with my time in Timed Practice. In Race One, I got a really good start and stayed in third for about 10-minutes, but slowly started to fade back, and after 20-minutes, I had no energy at all. I really struggled to race in the heat this weekend, so 12th overall was the best I could do.”

MX2 Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Sumbawa, Indonesia MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings – Top 20