THE BELGIANS IN LOMMEL

For the first time in a long time, a bunch of Belgian riders will descend on the Lommel circuit this weekend with three of the youngsters hunting for yet another MX2 Grand Prix victory in 2023. Of course, led by the more experience Jago Geerts, names like Liam Everts, Lucas and Sacha Coenen will want to impress in front of their home supporters.

Last weekend at the Loket circuit in the Czech Republic, Geerts claimed his 21^st GP of his career and is the defending MX2 winner at Lommel. Having won there in 2022, he is the big favourite to win this coming weekend and after last weekends success, it is hard to argue that point.

“Overall,” Geerts said. “It was a good weekend. I didn’t feel great on the track, but I still managed to win the first heat. The second race was a bit more of a struggle, but I still managed to get to third and win the overall, which I have to be happy with. Now I am really looking forward to the next two GP’s back in the sand!”

16-year-old Sacha Coenen is slowly getting to where many expected him to be and last weekend in Loket he raced up front and gained a lot of confidence as he heads to Lommel this weekend.

“Definitely a good weekend,” Coenen said. “Even though I always want to be riding at the front! 7th was not too bad, but we were close to the podium places. I was running 2nd for quite a long time in the second race but lost some ground when Andrea (Adamo) past me and I came up short on a jump. I’m happy but importantly we are getting closer to the top three. My home GP next weekend and I’m excited. All the fans will be there, and it will be a nice GP.”

Twin brother Lucas Coenen had been in brilliant form, nearly winning a Grand Prix in Germany a month ago and then locking up his first GP victory at the Sumbawa circuit in Indonesia. Coming into Lommel, the Husqvarna factory rider is excited to race at home.

"This was not the day that I was hoping to have of course,” Coenen said about Loket. “but we collected some solid points. I am already excited to get back on track at Lommel. I am so excited to race at home and I hope to be back on the podium."

As for Everts, he suffered some major bad luck in the Czech Republic and expect a lot of attention for the third-generation rider as thousands of Belgians will be willing to see him victorious. Despite an up and down Loket, he is excited for this next GP.

“A strong qualifying race,” Everts said about Loket. “I was happy with 3rd place, but someone lost the rear in front of me at the start of the first moto and took away my front wheel. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It was just a shame, and I hit the ground pretty hard, so it took a while to get up. I managed to get a few points even though my front brake was missing. I started well in the second race and after a mistake on the first lap I worked my way up to 6th and that’s where I stayed. A bit of a shame as I felt there was a lot more to take from this weekend but I’m looking forward to Lommel now. It is always nice to race at home, but it will be a busy one!”

So, keep an eye on these four as they battle for that MX2 victory, with Jeremy Van Horebeek also looking for as many points as possible in the MXGP class. With these riders all pushing to success, expect a huge crowd to arrive at the most popular sand circuit in the World.

Photo Credit: Yamaha