Herlings & Laengenfelder win 2023 MXGP of Spain | Evans P12

MXGP 2023

Round Six – MXGP of Spain

The FIM Motocross World Championship arrived at the MXGP of Spain over the weekend, marking round six of the 2023 season. Jeffrey Herlings continued his winning ways for his 102th GP victory. Mattia Guadagnini and Ruben Fernandez completing the round podium in the premier MXGP class.

Aussie Mitch Evans persevered as he recovers endurance after an early-season thumb injury had interrupted his training. An outside gate-pick from Qualifying left him with little chance of a good start but decisive opening laps saw him fifteenth during the early stages of each race; he battled to an eventual 13th place finish each time to be classified twelfth overall.

Mitch Evans – P12

“We’re not where we want to be but this weekend was definitely a step in the right direction. Our goal going into the weekend was top-fifteen and we managed that, now I’m looking forward to more in France after two more weeks training. My starts weren’t good all weekend. I feel I’m over-thinking at the gate; I just need to get back to basics and be more aggressive when the gate drops.”

In MX2, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder took the overall with a 1-1 result, to get his first podium and win of the season in front of Jago Geerts and Andrea Adamo.

Highlights of the 2023 MXGP of Spain

MXGP Race 1

MXGP Race 1 saw Monster Energy Yamaha factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer take the FOX Holeshot and keep the lead for five laps.

Mattia Guadagnini then found his rhythm and overtook the Swede on lap six, only to give up the lead on lap 12 to Jeffrey Herlings, who was on a mission to break Stefan Everts’ ultimate GP win record.

Herlings battled Jorge Prado in the earlier laps in front of ecstatic Spanish fans. Herlings got the last word and charged on for the win.

Prado looked determined, first overtaking Seewer on lap 9 for third and then teammate Guadagnini with two laps to go, to claim second.

Guadagnini settled for third place, Seewer seeming to lose energy as the race progressed, then being overtaken several times to drop to eighth.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff saw things starts to align, moving into fifth early on only to stay consistent and overtake teammate Seewer on lap nine to finish fourth.

RelatedPosts

Gajser wins MXGP 2023 finale in Great Britain

September 25, 2023

Seewer & Geerts win MXGP of Italy as Champions crowned

September 18, 2023

Ruben Fernandez couldn’t find a way past Coldenhoff but capitalised on Seewer’s fade for fifth .

Another consistent performance was from SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato riding in seventh, only to pass Seewer for sixth. It was a really similar feat for Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen who shadowed the Italian to finish seventh.

Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod raced to ninth, passing MRT Racing Team Beta’s Alessandro Lupino who had to settle for tenth.

MXGP Race 2

Seewer took his second FOX Holeshot of the day in Race 2, although Fernandez quickly took the lead , ahead of Guadagnini.

It was Herlings’ day however, even if it took him took six laps to finally pass Seewer for third. Herlings simply kept rolling on the pace from there, setting a couple of fastest laps along the way to inch closer to Guadagnini in second.

As Guadagnini held off Herlings, both riders caught up with leader Fernandez on lap 9, Herlings then overtaking both and disappearing off into the distance, for a 1-1 overall and to break the 101 GP victory tally.

Fernandez held on to second, Italian Guadagnini third and claiming the first MXGP podium of his career.

Seewer, who battled Prado most of the race, came home in fourth, Prado settling for fifth but managing to retain the red plate regardless.

Coldenhoff had another strong race finishing sixth after passing Paturel.

Forato was seventh, ahead of Vlaanderen, Paturel and Lupino. Aussie Mitch Evans 13th.

Prado maintains a narrow standings lead of just six-points over Herlings (294 to 288), with Ruben Fernandez a more distant third on 224-points, with Romain Febvre nipping at his heels on 214-points.

Jeffrey Herlings – P1

“I’m super-happy to improve my moto wins total and take the GP win record outright. The rest of the guys have really stepped it up this season – Jorge is riding awesome – and they are really pushing, so I did not expect this would come so soon. It is still anyone’s game on any particular Sunday. To have won three from six until now is something I wouldn’t have imagined. My starts got a bit better, not great though, and top five positions were enough today. In the second moto I could always see a leader in front of me, so I could rely on that, even though it was tough to pass here because there was only really one fast line. In the end I could control the moto. I enjoyed the fans here; they were amazing for their home heroes. I hope I can win a couple more world titles in my career and then I’ll lay on the beach knowing I’ve done enough!”

Mattia Guadagnini – P2

“What a weekend! I have been wanting this podium for a while because I could see that my speed was getting better and better. I need to thank the team for their support and sticking behind me. Both motos were really good today, with great starts, so I want to keep this up.”

Ruben Fernandez – P3

“It is great to get up on the podium at my home GP. I knew I had to ride really well after the fifth in race one, and that’s what I did. I got out front early and led for a good amount of time, eventually finishing in second which was good enough for third on the podium. All the support I received really helped and I heard it all around the track when I was riding so that gave me that little bit of extra boost that I needed. After two fourth place finishes in a row, I really wanted to make the podium happen and it was just an amazing feeling standing there with all the fans cheering my name. It is something I’ll never forget. A big thanks to all the team for helping me and I’m really looking forward to the next round in France.”

Jorge Prado – P4

“It was an okay weekend. My starts were not that good today, but I kept charging. I had really good pace in the first moto. My start was even worse in the second moto and it was hard to make passes – the track was very challenging. It was still a very special weekend, with the spectators, and I have the red plate heading into the next round, which is important.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P5

“It was tough. The first race, I had a pretty good start, in p.2, but I had to brake really hard in the second corner and got pushed back to p.6. I came back to fourth, which was not so bad. The riding was really good, and I felt like I had something left for Race Two, but I missed the start and had to fight through the pack. I was quite a bit faster than the guys in front of me but struggled to pass. Overall, my pace was good, the riding was good, I am happy with the bike. It’s just the result on paper that is missing, and I find this quite disappointing, especially on days that I know it should be possible.”

Jeremy Seewer – P6

“Today, I tried to dig really deep. When I woke up sick this morning, I just hoped it would get better during the day, but it actually got worse and worse. I had no energy. In the first race, I just had to do some damage control. I had to save some energy in that race because I didn’t want to go all out and completely ruin race two. This strategy worked out. Looking at the positives, I took two holeshots and rode as hard as I could for the first 10 minutes. I knew it would be tough, but I managed to find some good lines and good flow, even though my body felt like 300 kilos. I dug as deep as I could and got P.4 with Jorge Prado pushing hard in the last few laps. I was happy with that. I know I am back in the game now. I just need to be healthy, and I will be there.”

Romain Febvre – DNS (Injured)

“I feel bad; I feel sad. I had quite a big impact in the crash yesterday with a small concussion and I landed on my shoulder. I feel a little pain in my shoulder today but nothing serious and nothing is broken. I thought it would be more painful in the neck and the head this morning but I feel pretty good so it’s just the shoulder and nothing is broken, mainly just bruising to the muscles. I would have liked to race today but the medical protocol meant that I could not ride here in Spain; I will be good for France in two weeks’s time. I couldn’t see the crash in Qualifying coming; I had a good start with Prado but he moved over a little to prepare to turn and I was close so I also had to move a little. I didn’t see the guys coming from the outside flat-out; first we touched elbows then my front wheel. It’s bad for the championship because I was not far from the two guys in front and I had started to gain some points again with a good GP in Portugal but now I lose a lot this weekend. Of course everything will be possible but I don’t wish bad luck to anyone so it will be tough for the championship.”

2023 MXGP of Spain Round Overall

MXGP Standings after Spain (Top 20)

MX2 Race 1

MX2 kicked off with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant clinching the FOX Holeshot and moving into the lead in front of Simon Längenfelder.

Längenfelder’s blistering pace was too much for Benistant though, falling out of the lead on lap two and leaving Längenfelder to zoom off to victory, over 8s clear.

Behind, the battle for second was tight between Benistant, Kay de Wolf and Jago Geerts. De Wolf managing to pass Benistant and force him wide on lap five to move into second.

Lap six saw Geerts executed the perfect pass on teammate Benistant for third. On the same lap Geerts powered through to pass de Wolf too, before running off track and leaving the door open for Benistant to pass and finish third, de Wolf fourth.

Andrea Adamo and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen kicked off the race down in eighth and ninth, but showed impressive speed to move up into fifth and sixth respectively.

Both overtook Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts, regulating the rider to seventh.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo fought his way from 15th up to eighth, passing Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga in the process.

Coenen would hold onto ninth, but Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk was on the charge and claimed the final placing within the top 10, from back in 17th.

MX2 Race 2

Längenfelder took the Race 2 FOX Holeshot and never looked back, claiming an even more dominant win, this time by over 15s, for 50-points for the round

Geerts was the best of the rest with a solid second place held throughout whole race, Adamo settling for third.

De Wolf put pressure on Benistant over the first three laps to finally forcing a move and muscled his way past Benistant for fourth on lap four, positions the two would hold for the remainder of the race.

Everts made a good start going from ninth on lap 1 to sixth by race’s end, overtaking Elzinga, Van De Moosdijk and benefitting from L.Coenen’s crash on lap seven.

L.Coenen was okay but couldn’t get his bike started and had to retire from sixth. Kevin Horgmo was seventh, well clear of eighth placed Van De Moosdijk, while Jan Pancar and Rick Elzinga rounded out the top ten.

Simon Längenfelder – P1

“I enjoyed this track from the first moment. I think I showed everyone that I made some upgrades, it took a lot but I now finally made it. I knew I could do that again after the MXGP of Great Britain in 2022. I am so happy to have shown everyone that I was the fastest today, the training is paying off. We did an amazing job, thanks to all the team my family, and my sponsors. A Grand Prix win is always so special! My first podium of 2022 was via 1-1 scores and the same has happened this year. That is always really nice! I am happy with my starts and that I stayed on top for the whole of both motos. Being the fastest is always nice.”

Jago Geerts – P2

“The weekend was quite good. In the first race, I didn’t have the best start but still fought back to second, so I would say that it was quite a good race. In the second heat, I was second in the start, but I didn’t feel comfortable on the track, so I didn’t take any risks, but still finished second. I still extended the points lead, so overall I am quite happy.”

Andrea Adamo – P3

“I was happy to find my way to pass riders to reach 5th in the first moto because my start was not good enough. It was not easy to overtake. You had to wait for some mistakes by the others. The second moto start was better and I made it to 3rd in the first laps but after that, well, Simon was just faster today and made a big gap for the win. We go home with P3, which is a solid result but we need to try and start at the front and see how it can be better. Across a season you need to be fast, smart and consistent. It is not about being fast for a couple of motos. You need to always be ‘there’ and that’s what I am trying to do.”

Kay de Wolf – P4

“It was another solid Grand Prix for us, but you always want more and the podium was not far away at all. There are still a lot of positives that can be taken from this event though – we will put those to good use in the future. Thanks to the team for all of their work and constant support!”

Thibault Benistant – P5

“It was not easy today. I feel like I have been struggling on the hardpack recently, with no feeling with the front end of the bike. This makes it quite tough for me to turn without ruts or on the small bumps. It’s quite frustrating because normally, I am a hard-pack rider; I have been riding on these sorts of tracks my entire life. But we are working on this together with the team, and I am confident we will find a solution soon.”

Liam Everts – P6

“It was a weekend of catching-up because I missed my starts at this GP. I was being too gentle and cautious on the first laps with the other riders and that cost me a better result. The speed was good, especially in the second part of the second moto. I liked the track: deep lines and very technical. It suited me and it was good fun out there but I’m a bit disappointed not to have finished higher.”

Kevin Horgmo – P7

“The bike was working perfect today and I got two really good starts but I fell trying to make a pass in race one and had to come back from behind; it was pretty difficult to make quick passes but I came to eighth at the finish. In the second moto I got another good start but touched someone’s rear wheel in the corner and dropped many positions. I felt strong at the end as I came back to seventh; now I just need to continue building. The bike is good and the riding is getting better and better; I want to thank the entire team for their great efforts and we can look forward confidently to France.”

Roan van de Moosdijk – P8

“It was a tricky round for us, especially with where we started in each moto. I need to work on that. I was happy with my progress in moto one and saw more potential in moto two, so we will take those positives into the upcoming rounds.”

Sacha Coenen – P9

“I was feeling better on the track and the bike today. My first start was not great but I worked my way up to 9th and that was OK for the short time I have been back and I’m working for top ten results at the moment. The second race was really good and I was up to 3rd but after twenty minutes I made a few mistakes. I had to re-group and finished 11th. Not amazing but my speed is getting better and I’m finding more flow on the bike. We’ll keep on working and see how it goes in France.”

Rick Elzinga – P10

“This weekend was okay, I would say. I am still working on my mental strength, and on top of that, I had some stomach cramps and a loss of energy today. This made it difficult. I had a good start in Race One and followed the top five for a bit before the cramps started again. In the second moto, I had another good start and dropped a few positions, but once I was in p.10, I could manage it to the flag, which was a small improvement.”

Lucas Coenen – P14

“It is frustrating to end a Grand Prix weekend like this, especially when I feel like we could have achieved so much. The first moto was solid and set us up for a good overall result, but there was just nothing that I could do in moto two. I am keen to put two motos together in France!”

2023 MXGP of Spain – MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings after Spain