Seewer & Geerts win MXGP of Italy as Champions crowned

2023 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round 18 – MXGP of Italy

The eighteenth round of the season in Maggiora for the MXGP of Italy saw the coronation of a new MXGP World Champion – Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, as well as the crowning of our new MX2 World Champion – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo.

Thanks to his race win in Race 1 of the MXGP of Italy and the retirement from Romain Febvre, Prado manage to win the Championship on the first race of the day against all odds. The Spanish thus won his third Motocross World Championship.

The MXGP of Italy saw Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer win his third Grand Prix of the season in front of Prado, third going to Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández

In MX2, Andrea Adamo’s third overall was enough to wrap up the MX2 title with a round yet to run, while Jago Geerts and Simon Laegenfelder tied on 47-points, with Geerts the victor.

2023 MXGP of Italy Highlights

MXGP Race One

In Race 1 Jorge Prado who took the FOX Holeshot and the lead, leaving nothing to chance. Jeremy Seewer was under pressure early on from Romain Febvre, who knew he had to get past Prado to keep his hopes of winning the Championship alive.

Febvre pushed hard and passed Seewer for a brief moment before losing balance and leaving the Swiss off the hook.

The heart-breaking moment for Febvre happened on lap six,  pick himself in fifth, only for the Frenchman to continue charging forward, only to find himself a lap later hitting the bank of the track.

With a bike starting to lose power, Febvre wouldn’t manage to get the bike going again, leaving the path free for Prado to win the Championship.

Prado needed only fourth place and above to win the Championship, but clearly didn’t realise that and kept riding to win the race, only to discover the whole team and his family waiting for him after the checkered flag.

Seewer rode to an excellent second after battling Febvre early on in the race. Forato confirmed his form to start well in fourth on the opening lap. Forato benefitted from Febvre’s nightmare to get an incredible third place, his best race finish of the season.

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Behind them, things settled quickly with Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen, Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández and Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Pauls Jonass all consistent. Vlaanderen finished fourth, Fernandez fifth and Jonass sixth.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff put pressure on De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Benoit Paturel who found himself eighth and then seventh for nearly the full race, but was unable to hold off Coldenhoff, who finished seventh, while Paturel settled for eighth.

The most incredible performance of the race was from Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who fell in the first corners to pick himself up in the last position, only to eventually finish ninth, ahead of Valentin Guillod.

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two

Freshly crowned MXGP World Champion Prado clinched another FOX Holeshot and the lead in race two. However this time, Febvre managed to make a great move to pass the Gold Plate on lap 8 of 18.

Gajser followed the French rider and passed Prado too, moving into second where he would finish.

Prado was riding his own race in 3rd until lap 17 when he crashed and dropped down to sixth position. This mistake denied him the perfect win which would have been the cherry on the cake.

This mistake benefitted two riders immensely. First, Fernandez who was solidly riding in fourth from the opening lap and finished third.

Second, Seewer who battled hard with Forato for fifth place. Seewer in the end managed to make a beautiful move and went elbow to elbow with Forato over a couple of corners, and got the better of him.

Unfortunately, Forato had to settle for fifth, but this was his best finish of the season.

Jonass rode another strong race from seventh from start to finish, Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod eighth, Coldenhoff settling for ninth.

Seewer took the round overall on 40-points, tied with Prado, Ruben Fernandez third on 36-points, tied with Alberto Forato. Tim Gajser rounded out the top five.

Jorge Prado – MXGP World Champion (P2)

“Oh what a day! It was a pity that I made a mistake otherwise I would have gotten the overall but hey I’m the new World Champion and it’s just amazing you know. I would never imagine at the beginning of the season to be up here with this Gold Plate. It was such hard work the whole season and many people didn’t believe that it was possible but I believe in myself and I knew I could make it happened and here I am, the best of the year.I cannot ask for anything better, I enjoy and I am World Champion, I dreamed about that moment all my life.”

Jeremy Seewer – P1

“This one was special. I didn’t even know I won the GP. Things fell in my favour for once, which was nice. I feel like it was my turn to have some luck after so many stints of bad luck this season. I was super happy with my riding today, which was actually nothing special because the track did not have too many lines. But, when you win the GP, you can’t say much about the track; you’ll happily take that bonus. The top-three positions in the championship are decided now, so I can enjoy the last round in Matterley Basin and then do something cool at ‘The Nations’.”

Ruben Fernandez – P3

“It was good to come into this weekend feeling healthy and I think that showed in my riding. The first moto was difficult and I wasn’t at my best, but I was still able to finish fifth and rode a consistent moto. Then in race two, I got a good start and although I had a lot of pressure from the riders behind, I kept my fourth place and knew I was close to the podium. But then a mistake from another rider moved me into third place in the moto and third overall. It feels great to be back up on the podium, and it shows that when I’m fit and healthy, I can challenge the best. I’m really looking forward to the final round now!”

Tim Gajser – P5

“My riding was good all weekend, but one small mistake cost me the chance of a spot on the podium. After that mistake in the second bend, when I was in third, I picked the bike up in dead last and I rode well to come through the field. I got as high as possible, which was ninth, but I knew that it would be very tough to get on the podium from there. I got another good start in race two, and was third for a while, before moving into second and I tried as hard as I could to win the moto but it wasn’t easy to make passes against the top guys and I had to settle for second, and fifth overall, just a couple of points away from third. Next weekend is Matterley Basin and I like that track and I’ll try my best to be on the podium at the final round.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P8

“Physically, I am feeling good. I can finish the moto’s strong, pushing all the way to the end. Today, I was riding well, I just missed good starts and then I had to come through the pack. I made some good passes in both races. Riding wise, I am happy, but my starts are terrible at the moment, and with that part, I am disappointed.”

Romain Febvre – P9

“I was happy with my riding and my feeling for the track in the second moto and I finally found a spot to pass Prado to take the lead. Gajser was pushing and I knew that he had some better lines than me as he was closing the gap at one stage but I eventually saw where he was faster so I could change my lines and make a small gap again to win this moto. I think that I could also have found solutions to pass Seewer and Prado in the first race but I made a mistake and crashed while I was chasing Seewer and later I had a problem with the bike. The next GP is in the UK and I like this track as there’s always good grip, deep ruts, and racing there with a 450 is truly a pleasure.”

Maxime Renaux – P16

“Starting from behind, I had to push really hard to pass riders, and I struggled with that today. I cannot say that it was not possible to pass, and perhaps my mind was not clear enough to find the best lines, but I really struggled to find places to make up time. Starting from last did not help, but I also did not feel the best on the track today as well. So, back to work.”

MXGP Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Italy, Round Overall

MXGP Standings – Top 20

MX2 Race One

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder clinched the FOX Holeshot and pulled away quickly in front of Jago Geerts and Red Plate Andrea Adamo in MX2 race one.

Laengenfelder was in a league of his own during that race as he controlled it from start to finish to win his second race of the weekend, if you count the RAM Qualifying Race.

Adamo found himself third after a good start tried to close in on Geerts and even managed to show a wheel a couple of times. However Geerts showed amazing composure and answered Adamo’s attacks by picking up his pace to stay in front.

Adamo then had a scare when he landed on the side of the track hitting his chest off the handle bar. Geerts was off the hook and finished second as a result.

For Adamo things remained tense with his closest rival Liam Everts closing in to try to deny Adamo the mighty win on home soil. Adamo managed to keep a cool head to bring it home in third while Everts settled for fourth.

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen disrupted the status quo in front him as the rookie found himself in 10th place on the opening lap and made his way forward from there.

L.Coenen was sixth on lap 12 behind the consistent F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo who was fighting earlier with Everts and Adamo for third.

The young Belgian didn’t settle and managed to pass Horgmo with two corners to go, to finish fifth while Horgmo finished sixth.

The other great comeback was from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant who was second after the start but went off track and lost positions to fifth on the opening lap.

The Frenchman crashed again a lap later to move down to 11th but made a terrific comeback to finish seventh in the end, overtooking teammate, Rick Elzinga. Elzinga finished eighth, in front of Kay de Wolf who made a couple of mistakes during the race.

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two

Laengenfelder clinched his 10th FOX Holeshot in Race 2, but didn’t lead for long as Geerts made a move stick and took the lead. Geerts would never let the lead go as he fought and won the intense battle with Laengenfelder, his first GP win since Flanders.

Laengenfelder missed out on the perfect weekend and settled for second. For Adamo, things looked simple on paper, he had to gain four points on Everts to be crowned Champion.

Adamo got a better start than his teammate in fifth position with Everts being eighth on the opening lap.

Everts showed great fighting spirit as he moved behind Adamo on lap six, at which point Adamo decided to push and take his destiny into his own hands.

Adamo quickly passed Benistant and WZ Racing Team’s Oriol Oliver over the course of two laps. Adamo kept pushing to hold onto third, while Everts needed to overtake a couple of riders to deny the Italian.

On lap 15 Everts crashed and retired from the race, having been disqualified for accepting outside assistance.

The Championship was decided as Adamo crossed the line in third place, to see his team and family there to greet and celebrate with the 2023 MX2 World Championship.

Benistant settled in the end for fifth, Oliver 11th after crashing out of fourth place. De Wolf rode solidly to fourth from ninth place on the opening lap.

Horgmo stayed consistent to finish sixth. L.Coenen made an impressive comeback from 22nd, to eventually finish seventh. F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s David Braceras was eighth.

The overall went to Geerts, Laegenfelder runner-up and Adamo third.

Kay de Wolf, Thibault Benistant, Kevin Horgmo and Lucan Coenen were fourth through seventh, all tied on 30-points.

David Braceras, Camden McLellal and Valerio Lata rounded out the top 10.

Andrea Adamo – MX2 Champion (P3)

“What an emotion, I didn’t plan to win here in Italy because I was expecting to win it in Materley but today I did two good races. I’m sure that with a better start I could have fight with Simon (Laengenfelder) and Jago (Geerts), but today I just enjoyed the races and got two 3-3 that was enough to bring me the championship. What a moment it weas to win in front of the home fans too.”

Jago Geerts – P2

“I’m really proud of what I achieved today. To win the GP here in Italy today after two injuries this year, it feels good, and I’m proud to bounce back like this. I am happy with how the whole day went. Simon (Laengenfelder) didn’t make it easy for me, but I managed to get it done, and it’s a good sign I am back in good shape.”

Simon Laengenfelder – P3

“It was almost a perfect weekend! I won the qualification race and had two holeshots today. I won the first race with a nice gap! I had a hard fight in the second moto – it went all the way to the end! I ended up going 1-2 for second. It was still a great weekend! I am looking forward to the finale.”

Kay de Wolf – P4

“It feels great to be back with the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team! Fourth overall is a solid way to return to racing at the highest level, so we will build from here. We have two more races, including the Motocross of Nations, so we will keep building.”

Thibault Benistant – P5

“I showed some good things this weekend. I had really good starts, even though I didn’t practice any this week, and I was happy with that. I made two mistakes in the race and had to return from that. I came back quite good with good speed. In Race Two, I had another good start, but I was feeling some pressure from behind and tightened up. I missed a little bit of ‘flow’ on the track today, but it will get better for the next one.”

Kevin Horgmo – P6

“I got two good starts in the top six/seven but it was difficult to make time on such a high-speed track. I felt good in the first race but it was not easy to pass; I was fifth on the last lap but a lapper got in my rut and I wasn’t sure which side to go so Coenen got me. They flattened the track for the second moto so it was really fast and I didn’t feel quite as comfortable. I made a small crash in a corner and lost three places when I was sixth but I came back again. I was looking for more as far as results are concerned but I again showed I have the speed so I just need to give it my all at Matterley and the Nations to end the season on a high.”

Lucas Coenen – P7

“Today could have been better, had I been able to start closer to the front, but I am happy with the progress that was made in each moto. We will go to the final round now and try to end with a bang. To secure fifth in the championship would be a nice way to finish my rookie season too!”

David Braceras – P8

“Today was a completely different track compared to yesterday. In the first moto I made a stupid mistake and crashed when I was eleventh. I started well in race two and had a nice battle with Kevin for most of the race; I was P7 until I made one wrong decision on the last lap and that cost me one position. It was a solid day after yesterday but I know I can do better and aim to end the season with good results at Matterley and the Nations.”

Rick Elzinga – P11

“I had a sinus infection coming into this. That didn’t help. I didn’t have a great start in the first race but had a good first lap and fought back to sixth. After 20 minutes, I was shaking because I had no energy, but still finished eighth, which was decent. In the second race, I was wiped out by another rider in the first corner and had to come back from last. But the track was so fast that it was hard to make a difference and I only got back to 14th, but overall, I am happy with my performance.”

MX2 Race Two Results

2023 MXGP of Italy, MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings –  Top 20