Jeffrey Herlings and Sacha Coenen Take Victory in the Heat of MXGP of China

After a storm of biblical proportions hit on Saturday evening, the Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China bounced back on Sunday with bright sunshine and punishing heat at the Shanghai International Off-Road Circuit.

Round 19 of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship became a test of stamina and strategy, with both red plate holders strengthening their positions ahead of the final round.

The MXGP class was owned by Jeffrey Herlings with strong starts and the stamina to withstand relentless pressure from Tim Gajser, who pushed him to the flag in both motos and secured second overall. Ruben Fernandez claimed third overall after a determined second race, ensuring a double Honda presence on the podium.

In MX2, it was Sacha Coenen who upset the title contenders with his second GP win of the season. His teammate Andrea Adamo took second after claiming the race two victory, while Championship leader Simon Längenfelder finished third overall, extending his series lead to 16 points with one round remaining.

The heat and humidity made Shanghai one of the toughest stops of the year, but the racing across both classes was fierce, with momentum swings, late passes, and crucial points shifts before the championship heads to Australia.

MXGP

Herlings set the tone early, carrying momentum from his Qualifying Race win into morning warm-up, where he topped the timesheets ahead of Gajser and Calvin Vlaanderen.

When racing began, Maxime Renaux grabbed his first Holeshot of the year, chased by Herlings and Kawasaki teammates Pauls Jonass and Romain Febvre. Gajser wasted no time moving forward, climbing to third by the end of the opening lap, while championship contender Lucas Coenen had to fight through traffic after a poor start left him outside the top ten.

The opening laps delivered frantic exchanges as Fernandez settled into fifth and the Fantic pair of Glenn Coldenhoff and Andrea Bonacorsi hovered near the top ten. Febvre recovered from a small mistake to overhaul Fernandez for fifth, while Coenen’s charge stalled as he hit a physical wall mid-race and slipped back to ninth.

At the front, Renaux looked smooth, but Herlings applied pressure lap after lap. With just two laps remaining, Herlings launched past the Frenchman to snatch victory. Gajser followed through for second, with Febvre fourth and Fernandez fifth. Coenen’s ninth-place finish meant Febvre stretched his points lead in the championship battle.

Race two began with Gajser taking the Holeshot, but Herlings struck immediately, diving inside to seize the lead. Coenen’s hopes unravelled when he crashed in the second corner, forcing him to restart from the back. Renaux was also tangled in the incident, though he fought back through the field.

Herlings controlled the pace, but Gajser latched onto his rear wheel and kept him honest all the way to the chequered flag. Fernandez delivered a strong ride, muscling past Febvre to secure third in the moto and third overall, while Renaux’s recovery ride brought him to sixth. Coenen salvaged 14th after his fall, finishing the weekend well down on his title rival Febvre.

That left the championship picture clearer: Febvre stretched his advantage over Coenen to 47 points, while Coldenhoff locked up third in the series standings with consistent finishes. For Gajser, the runner-up result marked his first podium since returning from injury, and Fernandez was relieved to rediscover his speed and form.

On the podium, Herlings admitted just how tough the Chinese heat had been. “I did it, but honestly, right now I feel like a chicken that’s been on the barbecue for an hour. The heat was so tough. Coming from Holland, I’m not used to these conditions; back home it was 12–13 degrees, and then here it’s just shocking. Carrying the speed was okay, but the heat really got to me. Tim [Gajser] pressured me the whole weekend, every race, and it wasn’t easy at all. Maybe it looked simple, but this was one of the hardest ones for me to win. To make it three GP wins in a row after only six weeks back on the bike, I’m really happy with that. It just shows how stacked the field is. Even with fewer riders on the gate, the quality is still really high.”

Gajser was encouraged by his progress. “It was a good weekend. Not easy, especially with the hot weather, but I feel like I’m slowly coming back to my old self again after the injury. In the beginning of the season, I was struggling, but step by step it’s been getting better. Today the first race was really hot, the second was a bit nicer as the sun was going down, but Jeffrey [Herlings] and I kept pushing each other all the way. The battles were really nice. I even tried on the last lap to make a move, but he was riding perfectly, covering all the insides and not making mistakes. I just came up a little short, but I’m still happy to be back on the podium. Now I want to finish the season strong and carry good motivation into next year.”

Fernandez, too, was relieved to rediscover form. “I’m really happy to step back onto the podium again. The last few races have been tough for me, I struggled in the sand and also wasn’t feeling like myself. Together with the team we tried to figure things out with the bike and get me as comfortable as possible. I wanted to finish the season stronger, and this podium definitely helps. In the second race I felt that fire again. I knew I couldn’t waste time, so I made a strong move on Romain [Febvre] and went through because I didn’t want to repeat the first race where I got stuck behind him all race. I also knew it was for the podium, from fourth to third, so that gave me extra motivation. My speed was good, and in the end I just managed my pace and brought it home.”

Herlings’ overall win was the 112th GP victory of his career and moved him past Vlaanderen into fifth in the championship, only 17 points behind Fernandez. The Dutchman may not enjoy the heat, but his late-season form has been undeniable.

MX2

The MX2 championship picture also took a dramatic turn in China. Längenfelder topped warm-up ahead of Mathis Valin and Adamo, setting the tone for a tense showdown.

In race one, Coenen stormed to his 16th Holeshot Award of the season, while Valin tangled early and dropped to the back. Kay de Wolf and Liam Everts applied early pressure to Längenfelder, with De Wolf slipping through into second. The championship contenders settled into the top three, but Coenen was already building a sizeable lead.

Despite a late crash on the final lap, Coenen held on for victory, while De Wolf cut into Längenfelder’s points lead with second. Adamo worked his way into fourth, followed by Valerio Lata and Everts.

Race two was another story. This time it was Längenfelder who launched out of the gate for his seventh holeshot of the year, only to face heavy pressure from Coenen, Adamo, and De Wolf. The battle was intense until Adamo found a way past both Coenen and Längenfelder, securing the moto win. Coenen’s late crash and goggle issues left him riding the final 15 minutes without clear vision, but he still salvaged enough to secure the overall GP win.

“It was a really difficult weekend for everybody with the conditions, but I still managed to win two races out of three,” Coenen explained. “In the last one things got a bit crazy, I made a stupid mistake trying to pass Andrea [Adamo], crashed, and had to come back. On top of that I had to throw away my goggles because they were full of water, so I rode 15 minutes without them, which was really hard. But overall I’m happy to win here. Even in the first race I had a small crash on the last lap when I lost the front, but I could still win it, so that was good. Of course, I’m never completely satisfied because I want to win all three races, but it’s part of learning. When you win, it’s good, but you can always take something from it.”

Adamo was pleased to return to winning form. “It feels really good to be back on the box. In the first race my bad start basically ruined the race—it’s so difficult to come through when you don’t start well, even if the speed is there. Toward the end I had good lap times, maybe even the fastest on track, so that gave me confidence. In the second race I started around fourth, passed straight away, and then was behind Sacha and Simon. I made my move on Sacha when he made a small mistake, and then I really pushed to close on Simon. I tried to set a strong pace, and I could see he was getting more tired than me in the end, so I managed to pass and win the race. The heat was tough, of course, but it looked like the others were suffering more, and I think I was one of the best at recovering between the races. That gave me confidence to keep pushing.”

Längenfelder, who extended his championship lead, kept things in perspective. “Overall it was a good weekend. I was especially happy with my starts—they were really strong here, and in the second race I even got the holeshot again, which was nice. That allowed me to stay out of trouble and ride my own lines. On the track I felt good, especially in the second race, even though Andrea passed me in the end. It was still a positive result, and very important for the championship. I don’t know the exact points, but I’ve built up a nice gap heading into the last round in Australia. That makes me feel good, but I also know anything can happen, so I’ll just try to be ready for everything. The heat will be a factor again, but I heard it’s less humid there, which is nicer. Here you never stop sweating and it’s hard to recover between races, so hopefully it will be a bit better next week. I’m looking forward to it.”

The result leaves Längenfelder with a 16-point lead over De Wolf heading into the MXGP of Australia. Coenen’s victory, Adamo’s return to winning ways, and De Wolf’s determination ensure the championship will go down to the wire at the new Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex in Darwin.

MXGP – Moto 1 – Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	KTM	+0:00.000
2nd	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	Honda	+0:02.502
3rd	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	Yamaha	+0:05.815
4th	3	Romain Febvre	FRA	Kawasaki	+0:33.205
5th	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	Honda	+0:34.804
6th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	Kawasaki	+0:37.896
7th	259	Glenn Coldenhoff	NED	Fantic	+0:38.977
8th	132	Andrea Bonacorsi	ITA	Fantic	+0:41.285
9th	96	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	+0:56.713
10th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	Yamaha	+1:01.210
11th	91	Jeremy Seewer	SUI	Ducati	+1:06.013
12th	517	Isak Gifting	SWE	Yamaha	+1:10.858
13th	101	Mattia Guadagnini	ITA	Ducati	+1:19.380
14th	189	Brian Bogers	NED	Fantic	+1:22.317
15th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	Yamaha	+1:23.389
16th	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	+1:41.546
17th	87	Kevin Brumann	SUI	Husqvarna	+1:52.800
18th	226	Tom Koch	GER	Beta	+2:08.899
19th	319	Quentin Marc Prugnieres	FRA	Honda	+1 lap
20th	919	Ben Watson	GBR	Beta	+1 lap
21st	599	Yuzhang Li	CHN	Yamaha	+4 laps
22nd	61	Wu Riga	CHN	Yamaha	+4 laps
23rd	34	Levi Rogers	AUS	Yamaha	+12 laps
24th	48	Zac Watson	AUS	Triumph	+17 laps

MXGP – Moto 2 – Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	KTM	+0:00.000
2nd	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	Honda	+0:00.605
3rd	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	Honda	+0:28.530
4th	3	Romain Febvre	FRA	Kawasaki	+0:39.495
5th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	Yamaha	+0:42.100
6th	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	Yamaha	+0:48.197
7th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	Yamaha	+0:54.961
8th	132	Andrea Bonacorsi	ITA	Fantic	+1:01.411
9th	259	Glenn Coldenhoff	NED	Fantic	+1:03.499
10th	101	Mattia Guadagnini	ITA	Ducati	+1:05.885
11th	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	+1:09.901
12th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	Kawasaki	+1:21.619
13th	919	Ben Watson	GBR	Beta	+1:33.756
14th	96	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	+1:44.940
15th	189	Brian Bogers	NED	Fantic	+2:06.591
16th	87	Kevin Brumann	SUI	Husqvarna	+1 lap
17th	226	Tom Koch	GER	Beta	+1 lap
18th	48	Zac Watson	AUS	Triumph	+1 lap
19th	319	Quentin Marc Prugnieres	FRA	Honda	+1 lap
20th	599	Yuzhang Li	CHN	Yamaha	+4 laps
21st	61	Wu Riga	CHN	Yamaha	+5 laps
22nd	34	Levi Rogers	AUS	Yamaha	+9 laps
23rd	517	Isak Gifting	SWE	Yamaha	+17 laps
24th	91	Jeremy Seewer	SUI	Ducati	+17 laps

MXGP Overall Round Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Race 1	Race 2	Total
1st	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	KTM	25	25	50 Points
2nd	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	HON	22	22	44 Points
3rd	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	HON	16	20	36 Points
4th	3	Romain Febvre	FRA	KAW	18	18	36 Points
5th	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	YAM	20	15	35 Points
6th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	YAM	11	16	27 Points
7th	132	Andrea Bonacorsi	ITA	FAN	13	13	26 Points
8th	259	Glenn Coldenhoff	NED	FAN	14	12	26 Points
9th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	KAW	15	9	24 Points
10th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	YAM	6	14	20 Points
11th	101	Mattia Guadagnini	ITA	DUC	8	11	19 Points
12th	96	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	12	7	19 Points
13th	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	5	10	15 Points
14th	189	Brian Bogers	NED	FAN	7	6	13 Points
15th	91	Jeremy Seewer	SUI	DUC	10	0	10 Points
16th	919	Ben Watson	GBR	BET	1	8	9 Points
17th	87	Kevin Brumann	SUI	HUS	4	5	9 Points
18th	517	Isak Gifting	SWE	YAM	9	0	9 Points
19th	226	Tom Koch	GER	BET	3	4	7 Points
20th	319	Quentin Marc Prugnieres	FRA	HON	2	2	4 Points
21st	48	Zac Watson	AUS	TRI	0	3	3 Points
22nd	599	Yuzhang Li	CHN	YAM	0	1	1 Point
23rd	61	Wu Riga	CHN	YAM	0	0	0 Points
24th	34	Levi Rogers	AUS	YAM	0	0	0 Points

MXGP Championship Standings After Round 19
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Total
1st	3	Romain Febvre	FRA	KAW	929 Points
2nd	96	Lucas Coenen	BEL	KTM	882 Points
3rd	259	Glenn Coldenhoff	NED	FAN	665 Points
4th	70	Ruben Fernandez	ESP	HON	599 Points
5th	84	Jeffrey Herlings	NED	KTM	582 Points
6th	10	Calvin Vlaanderen	NED	YAM	560 Points
7th	959	Maxime Renaux	FRA	YAM	525 Points
8th	132	Andrea Bonacorsi	ITA	FAN	508 Points
9th	243	Tim Gajser	SLO	HON	464 Points
10th	91	Jeremy Seewer	SUI	DUC	368 Points
11th	253	Jan Pancar	SLO	KTM	314 Points
12th	93	Jago Geerts	BEL	YAM	297 Points
13th	189	Brian Bogers	NED	FAN	292 Points
14th	919	Ben Watson	GBR	BET	290 Points
15th	41	Pauls Jonass	LAT	KAW	262 Points
16th	517	Isak Gifting	SWE	YAM	251 Points
17th	24	Kevin Horgmo	NOR	HON	243 Points
18th	101	Mattia Guadagnini	ITA	DUC	225 Points
19th	32	Brent Van doninck	BEL	HON	191 Points
20th	39	Roan Van De Moosdijk	NED	KTM	168 Points
21st	811	Adam Sterry	GBR	KTM	104 Points
22nd	226	Tom Koch	GER	BET	103 Points
23rd	87	Kevin Brumann	SUI	HUS	87 Points
24th	92	Valentin Guillod	SUI	YAM	72 Points
25th	303	Alberto Forato	ITA	HON	72 Points
26th	71	M. Spies	GER	KTM	47 Points
27th	427	H. Fredriksen	NOR	YAM	41 Points
28th	319	Quentin Marc Prugnieres	FRA	HON	40 Points
29th	411	M. Stauffer	AUT	KTM	38 Points
30th	222	Antonio Cairoli	ITA	DUC	37 Points

MX2 – Moto 1 – Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	+0:00.000
2nd	1	Kay de Wolf	NED	Husqvarna	+0:07.865
3rd	27	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	+0:15.303
4th	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	+0:34.955
5th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	Honda	+0:43.950
6th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	Husqvarna	+0:49.201
7th	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	Triumph	+0:59.168
8th	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	Triumph	+1:02.290
9th	4	Rick Elzinga	NED	Yamaha	+1:21.332
10th	47	Karlis Alberts Reisulis	LAT	Yamaha	+1:23.452
11th	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	Kawasaki	+1 lap
12th	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	Kawasaki	+1 lap
13th	489	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	+1 lap
14th	366	Adria Monne	ESP	GASGAS	+1 lap
15th	767	Haoyu Li	CHN	Kawasaki	+3 laps
16th	434	Jinyu Yang	CHN	KTM	+3 laps
17th	841	Nellie Fransson	SWE	Yamaha	+4 laps
18th	265	Byron Dennis	AUS	KTM	+5 laps

MX2 – Moto 2 – Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1st	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	+0:00.000
2nd	27	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	+0:03.294
3rd	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	+0:24.322
4th	1	Kay de Wolf	NED	Husqvarna	+0:29.759
5th	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	Triumph	+0:31.284
6th	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	Triumph	+0:50.788
7th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	Husqvarna	+0:58.789
8th	4	Rick Elzinga	NED	Yamaha	+1:05.116
9th	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	Kawasaki	+1:28.396
10th	47	Karlis Alberts Reisulis	LAT	Yamaha	+1:32.029
11th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	Honda	+2:03.125
12th	489	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	+1 lap
13th	366	Adria Monne	ESP	GASGAS	+1 lap
14th	265	Byron Dennis	AUS	KTM	+1 lap
15th	767	Haoyu Li	CHN	Kawasaki	+2 laps
16th	434	Jinyu Yang	CHN	KTM	+3 laps
17th	841	Nellie Fransson	SWE	Yamaha	+3 laps
18th	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	Kawasaki	+17 laps

MX2 Overall Round Results – MXGP of China
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Race 1	Race 2	Total
1st	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	25	20	45 Points
2nd	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	18	25	43 Points
3rd	27	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	20	22	42 Points
4th	1	Kay de Wolf	NED	HUS	22	18	40 Points
5th	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	TRI	14	16	30 Points
6th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	HUS	15	14	29 Points
7th	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	TRI	13	15	28 Points
8th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	HON	16	10	26 Points
9th	4	Rick Elzinga	NED	YAM	12	13	25 Points
10th	47	Karlis Alberts Reisulis	LAT	YAM	11	11	22 Points
11th	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	KAW	9	12	21 Points
12th	489	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	8	9	17 Points
13th	366	Adria Monne	ESP	GAS	7	8	15 Points
14th	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	KAW	10	3	13 Points
15th	767	Haoyu Li	CHN	KAW	6	6	12 Points
16th	265	Byron Dennis	AUS	KTM	3	7	10 Points
17th	434	Jinyu Yang	CHN	KTM	5	5	10 Points
18th	841	Nellie Fransson	SWE	YAM	4	4	8 Points
19th	139	Shaohui Zou	CHN	HON	0	0	0 Points

MX2 Championship Standings After Round 19
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Total
1st	27	Simon Längenfelder	GER	KTM	884 Points
2nd	1	Kay de Wolf	NED	HUS	868 Points
3rd	80	Andrea Adamo	ITA	KTM	817 Points
4th	19	Sacha Coenen	BEL	KTM	756 Points
5th	8	Camden Mc Lellan	RSA	TRI	612 Points
6th	26	Liam Everts	BEL	HUS	606 Points
7th	9	Thibault Benistant	FRA	YAM	603 Points
8th	99	Guillem Farres	ESP	TRI	461 Points
9th	18	Valerio Lata	ITA	HON	447 Points
10th	317	Mathis Valin	FRA	KAW	434 Points
11th	172	Cas Valk	NED	KTM	355 Points
12th	47	Karlis Reisulis	LAT	YAM	325 Points
13th	4	Rick Elzinga	NED	YAM	302 Points
14th	51	Oriol Oliver	ESP	KTM	290 Points
15th	73	Ferruccio Zanchi	ITA	HON	220 Points
16th	319	Quentin Marc Prugnieres	FRA	KTM	215 Points
17th	20	Julius Mikula	CZE	TM	205 Points
18th	22	David Braceras	ESP	HON	190 Points
19th	83	Maxime Grau	FRA	KTM	124 Points
20th	489	Jens Walvoort	NED	KTM	120 Points
21st	33	Kay Karssemakers	NED	KAW	93 Points
22nd	256	Magnus Smith	DEN	KTM	70 Points
23rd	408	S. Smulders	NED	TRI	50 Points
24th	114	Nicolas Vennekens	BEL	KTM	36 Points
25th	276	Nicolai Skovbjerg	DEN	YAM	35 Points
26th	696	Mike Gwerder	SUI	KTM	32 Points
27th	744	S. Soulimani	MAR	TM	19 Points
28th	36	N. Greutmann	SUI	HUS	17 Points
29th	338	Filip Olsson	SWE	KTM	17 Points
30th	366	Adria Monne	ESP	GAS	15 Points