The eleventh round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship closed the Indonesian double-header on the beautiful island of Lombok for the MNC MXGP of Lombok – Indonesia.
The dirt of the Selaparang Circuit made it hard to control the bike and made the riders employ all their skill to keep pushing while getting good lines during the whole weekend.
In MXGP it was Romain Febvre who came out victorious with an excellent back-to-back win in front of Red Plate holder Jorge Prado who keeps his race-winning streak and Glenn Coldenhoff who continues on his great consistent form.
In MX2, Jago Geerts returned to the top step of the podium with a sweep going 1-1-1 and winning his first Grand Prix since his injury. Red Plate holder Andrea Adamo showed incredible speed and finished second in front of Simon Laengenfelder who got his second podium of the season and his first since his injury.
In MXGP race 1 it was Valentin Guillod who clinched his first FOX Holeshot of the season although Romain Febvre took the lead after the first corners. Febvre kept riding well at the front with a good speed in front of Rubén Fernández and Jorge Prado. Fernandez was keeping pace with Febvre and looked comfortable but made a mistake and went down, seeing Prado and Glenn Coldenhoff overtake him. Prado kept charging forward and edged closer to Febvre when he finally pounced on the penultimate lap. Prado took an aggressive line and both riders nearly collided but nonetheless, Prado took the lead and won the race. Febvre settled for second place in the end.
Behind them, Coldenhoff managed to pass Jeremy Seewer on lap four before capitalising on Fernandez’s fall and kept the third place until the end. Fernandez battled with Seewer for fourth over few laps in a remake the RAM Qualifying Race. Each rider gave everything to get in front, made mistakes and got wheel to wheel but in the end, Seewer got the last word on lap 10 and finish the race in fourth while Fernandez finished fifth.
Following his FOX Holeshot, Guillod got to eighth on the turn of lap one but showed class and speed moving up the ranks with his pass on Calvin Vlaanderen on lap two for seventh. Quickly after, the Swiss managed to overtake the great performer Benoit Paturel for sicth on lap three. Guillod kept sixth until the end. Paturel had to concede some positions but still got a good ninth place. Vlaanderen settled for seventh.
Alberto Forato seemingly not at 100% still managed to get into the top ten and even fought until the end to pass Paturel. This was a great race for Alvin Östlund who consistently rode around the tenth place and found the way to pass Australian Mitch Evans to finish tenth in the end. Evans made a mistake early and struggled to regroup dropping down from ninth to finish twelfth.
In race 2 it was Coldenhoff who got the FOX Holeshot while Prado took the lead. Febvre found himself 3rd but was determined to pass Fernandez for second after several corners. Febvre kept charging and even went off track while doing so but kept going which speaks volumes about his determination. After a few laps, Febvre eventually got the inside of Prado to briefly take the lead but Prado responded straight back with a great line to take the lead back. The fight was intense as Prado tried to second-guess every move from Febvre. Riders were riding at the limit and Febvre eventually made the pass stick to take the lead and edge away. Prado never caught him up again and Febvre flew to victory to win the Grand Prix with a 2-1.
With back-to-back wins in Indonesia Febvre showed that we can count on him to fight until the end of the season. Prado got closer to Febvre near the end of the race but knew it was not enough and cruised until the checkered flag finished second, getting him two-second places in both Indonesian rounds.
Fernandez and Seewer went wheel to wheel for a third act that was as intense as the first one. The battle was tough and physical as both riders gave everything to fight for fourth. In the end, Seewer got the last word again for the day and moved up to fourth on lap thirteen. Seewer knew that he had to pass Coldenhoff for third to get on the podium and edged closer to his teammate.
Racing got tense until the very last corners for Coldenhoff. He showed great speed as he went thirf on lap four passing Fernandez but the last couple of laps were very intense as Seewer looked like having the momentum to pass Coldenhoff when he lost control of his front wheel, losing precious seconds. Coldenhoff then kept his composure as he has done throughout the whole weekend to get an excellent 3-3 and get on another podium. Seewer settled for fourth going 4-4 for fourth overall. Fernandez went 5-5 in the end for fifth overall.
Mitch Evans bounced back from his twelfth place in race one to finish ninth in the end and get tenth overall while Paturel had a good consistent race as he finished tenth going 9-10 to get another top ten with ninth overall.
“It was tough with these hot weather and tough conditions,” Febvre said. “But hey you know, the guys behind are young and they are pushing so I showed I can still win and I am very happy. I want to thanks my team, all the sponsors as it has been 1-1 in Indonesia and I am happy to go back home to see my daughter and my wife, I love them!”
Jorge Prado extended his championship lead with another good weekend, “Overall I need to say it was a good weekend, I’m getting out of here with the most points in the standings which is the most important,” Prado said. “It is just a pity in that second race because I was struggling with the goggles since lap one and could not see very well so I couldn’t ride as smooth as before. But I really thought I could win that second one but I extend my lead in the Championship ad now let’s get back to Europe.”
MX2
In MX2 Race 1, it was Rick Elzinga who took his first FOX Holeshot of the season while Jago Geerts picked up where he left off on Saturday as he took the lead on the second turn and kept riding his race at the front. Andrea Adamo who quickly overtook Roan Van De Moosijkon on lap two to move up to second, managed to reduce the gap with Geerts for a while but Geerts picked up his pace to make sure to win confidently. Adamo settled for second in the end and managed the rest of the race easily. On his side, Elzinga, unfortunately, made a few mistakes to finish the race in thirteenth position.
Behind the front two riders, Van de Moosdijk and his teammate Kay de Wolf rode pretty much the whole race together although Van De Moosdijk was second until lap two when he got overtaken by Adamo and Simon Längenfelder to drop to fourth in front of de Wolf. Both riders kept riding strongly and capitalised on Längenfelder’s loss of focus as the two Dutch riders overtook the German over two corners to move up to third for Van De Moosdijk and fourth for de Wolf where they finished in the end. Längenfelder settled in the end for fifth.
It was less eventful for Liam Everts who after getting passed by de Wolf on lap two, continued to ride sixth until the end, similar to Lucas Coenen who consistently rode in seventh position until the end.
Thibault Benistant was trying to salvage the most points possible after not being 100% during the weekend. He managed to gain a place early on lap three to go eighth where he controlled this position until the end. It was a fight for Kevin Horgmo who found himself fifteenth over the turn of the lap pne. Horgmo showed that he is resourceful and confident about his skill as the Norwegian made an amazing comeback to finish ninth in the end.
In race 2, Geerts took the best start and clinched his fourth FOX Holeshot of the season. Geerts kept riding at a fast pace as he showed speed and skills to control the race from start to finish and go for the sweep with a 1-1-1 that propels him back into the title hunt.
Längenfelder started well in fourth on lap one and capitalised on Adamo’s fall to go third. He then kept riding his race lap after lap when he capitalised on Van De Moosdijk’s crash on lap six to move up to second. At that moment it was race on for the German who had a shot to get on the podium. He did brilliantly as he kept his cool to finish second in the end for an excellent 5-2 for third overall, synonymous with his second podium of the season.
Adamo was one of the fastest riders in the field but made a few mistakes and had to employ all his talent to get back up. Crashing on lap two Adamo dropped down to sixth but the Red Plate knows his worth and battled his way forward to pass Lucas Coenen, Van De Moosdijk and his teammate Everts to finish third. With a good 2-3, Adamo got the second overall but definitely had the speed this weekend to fight with Geerts at the lead which is encouraging for the next GPs.
Everts settled for fourth in the end going 6-4 for fifth overall. Lucas Coenen managed another good race and only got overtaken by Adamo in the end to finish fifth and sixth overall.
It didn’t go as planned for Van De Moosdijk who showed that he was having fun on this track and looked fast the whole weekend. He made a mistake unfortunately in race two on lap six while he was second and dropped down to fourth. He then couldn’t find his rhythm of the weekend and got passed a couple of times to finish sixth in the end. With a 3-6 and fourth overall, Van De Moosdijk missed a good chance of a podium.
De Wolf had some difficulty finding his flow in the second race and could not ride higher than eighth in the end. It is still a good performance as he finished sixth overall. Benistant kept the same mindset as the first race and finished ninth to go 8-9 for ninth overall but lost precious points for the Championship.
“It was a perfect weekend for me, three race wins I couldn’t ask for more,” Geerts said. “It was quite tough with the hot weather also because it was really humid but we made the best of it. I really enjoyed the track so I am very happy about the whole weekend.”
“The track was more slippery in the first laps of the second race so we had to be careful and I had not been careful enough and made a small mistake that cost me some places but I came back quite fast so I’m really happy with that,” Adamo said. “I was looking for a better result because I had the speed to fight for the win but 2-3 is not too bad so let’s keep going.”
Teams will now return to Europe for a weekend off before heading to Loket, Czech Republic, for the 12th round, which will take place on July 15th and 16th.
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 34:39.379
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:07.115
3 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:13.678
4 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:20.437
5 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:30.316
6 Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:36.563
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:46.240
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +1:06.686
9 Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.621
10 Alvin Östlund (SWE, Honda), +1:28.824
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:34.487
2 Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:01.808
3 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:02.731
4 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:03.178
5 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:34.227
6 Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:42.223
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:48.311
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +0:56.337
9 Mitchell Evans (AUS, Kawasaki), +1:10.090
10 Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:22.661
MXGP – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification:
1 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 Points
2 Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 47 Points
3 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 40 Points
4 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 36 Points
5 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 32 Points
6 Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 30 Points
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 28 Points
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 26 Points
9 Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 23 Points
10 Mitchell Evans (AUS, KAW), 21 Points
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 562 Points
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 459 Points
3 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 415 Points
4 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 414 Points
5 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 390 Points
6 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 Points
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 357 Points
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 285 Points
9 Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 265 Points
10 Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 Points
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 34:42.416
2 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:08.643
3 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:12.398
4 Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:13.846
5 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:29.775
6 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:40.297
7 Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:56.380
8 Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:03.827
9 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +1:11.350
10 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:23.483
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 35:54.310
2 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:07.180
3 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:13.825
4 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:15.658
5 Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:20.410
6 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:22.442
7 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:23.562
8 Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:34.259
9 Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:04.039
10 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +1:10.337
MX2 – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification :
1 Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 50 Points
2 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 42 Points
3 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 38 Points
4 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 35 Points
5 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 33 Points
6 Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 31 Points
7 Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 30 Points
8 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 25 Points
9 Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 25 Points
10 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 23 Points
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 488 Points
2 Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 462 Points
3 Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 452 Points
4 Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 441 Points
5 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 420 Points
6 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 417 Points
7 Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 346 Points
8 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 341 Points
9 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 291 Points
10 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 242 Points
