Romain Febvre and Liam Everts Grab Qualifying Wins at MXGP of Trentino

The Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino got underway with spectacular sunshine and packed slopes at the Il Ciclamino circuit, with fans from Slovenia, Switzerland and beyond creating a buzzing atmosphere for the Qualifying Races.

In MXGP, Romain Febvre bounced back from a rough qualifying outing in Sardinia last weekend to dominate the day, topping both Free and Time Practice before controlling the Qualifying Race from the front. Despite a rocket holeshot from Italian privateer Nicholas Lapucci, Febvre took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back, pulling a 5.774-second gap over Tim Gajser, who limited the damage to his series lead with a solid second. “It’s definitely a bit of redemption after last Saturday. I carried the momentum from Sunday into this weekend,” Febvre said. “Pulling away from Gajser like that feels great—he’s the guy to beat—so it’s a strong Saturday.”

Behind them, Jeremy Seewer continued to find his rhythm on the Aruba.it Ducati, capitalising on a post-race penalty to Ruben Fernandez to secure third place on the Italian team’s home turf. Fernandez had passed Lapucci after re-entering the track in a controversial move and was bumped from third to fifth. Maxime Renaux and Calvin Vlaanderen showed speed but couldn’t quite get the starts they needed, finishing fourth and sixth respectively, with Glenn Coldenhoff slotting into seventh.

Elsewhere, fill in Ducati rider Antonio Cairoli was forced out early with damage to his rear wheel, while Jeffrey Herlings had to settle for 22nd after a lacklustre race as he struggles with returning from injury and race fitness. Lucas Coenen went down in the first corner and clawed back to 11th, just outside the points, as Ben Watson impressed with his best result yet in eighth.

Semi-retired Australian Mitch Evans made an appearance, finishing a credible 19th

MXGP leader Gajser now holds a 33-point advantage over Febvre, with Coldenhoff a further 31 points adrift in third. With the potential for overnight rain, Sunday’s motos could get a lot more unpredictable.

MX2

In MX2, Liam Everts stepped up with a perfectly timed charge to take his first Qualifying Race win of the season at a venue he knows well—he won here overall in 2024. After a solid start, Everts picked off Camden McLellan and Simon Laengenfelder, then waited patiently behind early leader Thibault Benistant before pouncing. “Thibault was riding really well—consistent and fast without mistakes. I knew I had to be patient, and when he finally made one, I was there to take advantage,” Everts explained.

Benistant held strong for second, continuing his consistent Qualifying form. Laengenfelder finished third for Red Bull KTM and is now tied on 185 points with Everts in the Championship chase, just six behind the leader Kay de Wolf.

De Wolf had a poor start and could only climb to fifth, behind McLellan, who’s clearly carrying momentum from Sardinia. Andrea Adamo crashed early and had to settle for 14th, while Sacha Coenen and Ferruccio Zanchi also endured difficult races—Coenen fought to 11th, and Zanchi retired on lap nine.

It was a race of comebacks for the former EMX250 crowd, with Cas Valk and Valerio Lata recovering to sixth and seventh respectively. They’ll be hoping for better launches come Sunday. Rick Elzinga and Karlis Reisulis rounded out the top ten.

WMX Championship leader Lotte Van Drunen finished 27th.

With the MX2 title fight tightening and a hungry pack of Italians aiming to bounce back on home soil, Sunday’s main races at Trentino promise fireworks.

Racing continues tomorrow.