EMX250

Uddevalla (Sweden) 7 August 2024 – After a week’s break, the FIM Motocross World Championship fires into the first of its last three-week run, the MXGP of Sweden for round 15 at the Glimminge Motorstadion venue near Uddevalla on the south-western coast of the country.

Sweden was one of the original powerhouse nations of World Motocross, claiming eight of the first nine World Championships ever to be held, and only Belgium and France can boast more World Champions than the Nordic nation.

The Uddevalla circuit has one of the longest histories of any in the 2024 calendar, with the first World Championship Grand Prix being held there in 1958, won by home hero and future double World Champion Sten Lundin on a Swedish Monark machine! There have been 25 GPs at the venue over the years, with the record of 6 GP wins here being held jointly by the legends Stefan Everts and Antonio Cairoli.

From the current field of today’s riders, it’s Kawasaki Racing Team pilot Jeremy Seewer who has won the most here with three victories in total, including the last two events in MXGP, plus an MX2 win in 2017!

The MXGP class will see a continuation of the stellar three-way scrap for the title, as red plate holder Tim Gajser holds a 24-point advantage for Team HRC over Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, while Jeffrey Herlings is only 14 points further back for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after an incredible win at Lommel!

The MX2 class is getting more spaced out in the standings, with Kay de Wolf holding a 65-point lead over his Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Lucas Coenen, but the racing is still tough to predict, especially as last year’s winner Simon Laengenfelder is coming off a race win at Lommel for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing and is hungry for his first overall GP victory of 2024!

The EMX250 European Championships will again be in action in Sweden, and Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin still leads by 13 points ahead of Gabriel SS24 KTM teamster Cas Valk, with Valerio Lata just five points further back for Beddini GASGAS Factory Juniors! Sweden’s best hopes of success lie with August Frisk, who has been in the top ten several times this season.

The EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing European Championship series returns from a near two-month break for the first of a three-week run, With Fantic Factory Racing EMX125 star Noel Zanocz leading the Championship by 14 points over Gyan Doensen for Racestore KTM Factory Rookies. Freddie Bartlett and Sandro Sols will fly the flag for Sweden after several top ten results this year!

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None of the big three who are fighting for the world title in 2024 have got particularly good records around the Uddevalla circuit.  Jeremy Seewer has taken the overall victory in each of the last two seasons, and would dearly love to continue that winning streak! Before that, it was current Fantic Factory Racing star Glenn Coldenhoff who won overall in 2019, although Gajser did take the second race win that day.

Current red plate holder Gajser took the overall back in 2017 in MXGP, as well as in his MX2 title year of 2015, while Herlings has to look back to his dominant MX2 years for victories in 2013 and 2014. A broken chain here in 2017 put paid to his world title hopes in his first MXGP season, and he hasn’t raced here since!

This is one of the few circuits on the calendar where Jorge Prado hasn’t won a GP, although he did win individual races in 2017 and ’19 in MX2 and last season’s first outing.  Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre took a double victory in 2015, plus a race win in 2017, as well as finishing second overall last year.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen is still fourth in the series, and he took an MX2 race win here in 2019, so he has good history here and is in good form despite a crash-ruined second race in Lommel. Sadly, his teammate Jago Geerts, MX2 winner here in 2022, will not be here after his return in Flanders did not go to plan.

JK Racing Yamaha rider Isak Gifting will be fit and is looking forward to his home GP after a frustrating sequence of races since Indonesia, while Alvin Ostlund will be looking for more points after scoring one at Lommel. The two Swedes are 17th and 19th in the Championship.

The lack of a clear form guide makes it difficult to guess who will come out on top in 2024, but with another big sand GP to come the week after, you can bet that Gajser will be particularly eager to get a result this weekend before they return to Herlings and Prado’s playground!

MXGP - World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 705 Points;   2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 681 Points; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 667 Pts; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 507 Pts; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 479 Pts; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 419 Pts; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 405 Points; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 317 Pts; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 Pts; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 Pts.

Main Photo: MXGP Start Uddevalla 2023

Bottom Photos: 1. Jeremy Seewer; 2. Isak Gifting

The MX2 World Championship saw a huge momentum swing towards Kay de Wolf at the MXGP of Flanders, but as always this season, the result is never a foregone conclusion and his teammate Lucas Coenen will be going all-out to make sure that the fight is not over!

Neither of them have particularly fond memories of Uddevalla, although Lucas did win an EMX250 race here in 2022. Last year, he crashed spectacularly in qualifying, while De Wolf was out injured. Kay had a so-so 7-7 scorecard here in 2022.

Ater his surprise win in race two at Lommel, Simon Laengenfelder could have high hopes for a great result this weekend, after finishing on the podium in each of the last two years here, including last year’s overall victory. He has just 12 points between himself and Lucas Coenen for second in the series, and he is the only rider in MX2 this year to have won a GP in Sweden.

 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s reigning World Champion Andrea Adamo won race two last year to claim third overall, with his teammate Liam Everts taking second overall with 2-3 finishes. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pilot Rick Elzinga scored his best race finish of the whole year with third in race one, and is on form after his best GP result yet at Lommel. 

The top Swede in the series, Leopold Ambjörnson, had one of his best GPs yet at Lommel for Team Leoparden Racing, so will be keen to show his form on home ground, as will Young Motion Powered by Resa pilot Arvid Lüning, who scored top 15 in each race at Lommel for the first time this season.

MX2 - World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 683 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 618 Pts;  3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 606 Points;  4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 556 Pts; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 465 Pts; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 457 Pts;  7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 429 Pts; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 391 Pts; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 255 Pts; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 254 Pts.

Main Photo: MXGP Start Uddevalla 2023

Bottom Photos: 1. SImon Laengenfelder; 2. Rick Elzinga

Don’t miss your chance to watch the MXGP of Sweden this weekend. Get your tickets HERE!

All the photos from the MXGP of Sweden will be available HERE.

You can find the complete results HERE.

TIMETABLE 

SATURDAY: 08:20 EMX125 Group 1 Free practice, 08:50 EMX125 Group 2 Free practice, 09:20 EMX250 Free practice, 09:50 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 12:20 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Practice, 13:00 EMX250 Qualifying practice, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 EMX125 Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race.

SUNDAY: 09:45 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

FIM Europe

Uddevalla

LOMMEL (Flanders, Belgium) 28 July 2024 - The tough sand of Lommel during the MXGP of Flanders saw the 7th round of EMX250. Riders had to keep their focus sharp at every give moment as the sand track is known to be one of the most challenging in the world.

The EMX250 Championship racing was intense, and riders couldn't afford to make any mistakes on the demanding Belgian track, making for an entertaining weekend. With the sun coming out on Sunday, everything was aligned to deliver an amazing round of motocross. The demanding conditions at Lommel tested the riders' skills and determination, setting the stage for a weekend of entertaining action and great racing. And this was Bedddini GASGAS Factory Juniors’s Valerio Lata with a solid 2-2 who came out on top to win in Belgium his 3rd overall win of the season.

In the first race on Saturday, it was Mathis Valin from Bud Racing Kawasaki who took the holeshot, but it didn’t take long for Bedddini GASGAS Factory Juniors’s Valerio Lata to seize control after a couple of corners. Ghidinelli Racing Team’s Saad Soulimani quickly moved into 2nd place with Francisco Garcia from RFME GASGAS MXJunior Team hot on his heels, capitalising on a poorly negotiated turn by Valin. Soulimani was relentless, staying right on Lata's back wheel.

The race took an early turn when VRT Yamaha Racing’s Gavin Towers crashed in the first corner and had to retire. Another championship contender, Cas Valk from Gabriel SS24 KTM faced an uphill battle after a tough start, completing the first lap in 17th position. Meanwhile, Valin had to regroup and managed to overtake Garcia.

On lap 2, Soulimani didn’t waste any time launching an attack on Lata and succeeded in taking the lead. Behind them, Valin’s Kawasaki was already smoking, likely due to heavy clutch use, but this didn’t deter the red plate holder. Valin found his rhythm and cleverly passed Lata for 2nd on lap 4 of 13. Garcia, showing impressive pace, put pressure on Lata and moved up to 3rd on the same lap.

Lata and Garcia engaged in a fierce battle on laps 4 and 5, exchanging positions several times. However, Garcia's challenge felled flat when he buried his front wheel on lap 6, dropping from 4th to eventually finish 7th. KTM Kosak Team’s Bradley Mesters and JM Honda Racing’s Max Werner took advantage of Garcia's mistake, moving up to 4th and 5th respectively. Valk, riding superbly, climbed up to 10th place.

After a few laps, Lata found his way and attacked Soulimani to reclaim 2nd place, which he held firmly till the end. However, he was too far from the leader Valin, who maintained a 6-second lead. Valin demonstrated excellent maturity and confidence, staying cool and meticulously working his way back to win the race. VRT Yamaha Racing’s Ivano Van Erp stayed consistent, finishing 6th, where he had been in the opening lap.

The performance of the race was undoubtedly from Valk, who never stopped believing in his potential for a top finish. His relentless determination paid off as he astonishingly finished 4th, giving himself a strong chance for an eventual podium. The other impressive run was Mesters who finished strongly in 3rd position.

The start in race 2 was controlled by Lata who made blistering run off the gate. He led the pack ahead of Joel Rizzi. Meanwhile Valin was behind in 3rd but pressured by Valk right from the start and lost the 3rd place as Valk dived in to pass Valin and Rizzi for 2nd.

Still in the opening lap Van Erp started well and found himself 5th in front of Werner. Van Erp showed a confident style as he launched a couple of passes on Valin and Rizzi to move up to 3rd while Valk was pulling away with the lead already in lap 2.  Valin started to get back to the rhythm we saw in the first race and passed Rizzi on a long jump on the outside to go 4th.

The gaps between the front 4 were getting around 4 seconds each in lap 4. At that time Lata was winning the overall by 1 point in front of Valk and Valin.

While the front 4 never changed again, Valk was immaculate as he pulled away and never seemed to be looking back and winning the race by 14 seconds on Lata and more than 20 seconds on Van Erp 3rd. Lata had a couple of scares towards the end which reminded him that this track can be merciless if you’re not always 100% focused.

Meanwhile Mesters showed up again with an excellent 6th place to go 5th overall and his best finish of the season. Rizzi who started great faded during the race and had to finish 7th seeing Mertens and another good performer, Nicolai Skobjerg from Wozniak MX Racing Team passing him. Skovbjerg finished 5th and Mertens 6th in the end.

This was a solid round for the Van Erp who finished 4th overall with an excellent second race where he battled at the top. In the end the podium was filled by the front three riders in the championship, although in different order. However, with Valk finishing 2nd overall and Lata winning the round, they both reduced the gap with red plate Valin who ended on the 3rd step of the podium.

With now four rounds to go, the EMX250 is getting more and more exciting as the top 3 riders in the championship are getting closer but the advantage still remains with Mathis Valin at the moment with 13 points ahead of Cas Valk and 18 points on Valerio Lata.

Valerio Lata: “To be honest I didn’t feel like it was my best weekend. Yesterday I felt good on the track in the Qualifying with the pole position but yesterday not my best riding and today I tried to push for a while to get closer to Valk but he was faster. I finished 2-2 and win the GP so I’m happy about that and thanks to my team and mechanics and see you at the next race!”

EMX250 -  Race 1 - Top 10 Classification:  1. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), 30:09.226; 2. Valerio Lata (ITA, GASGAS), +0:07.617; 3. Bradley Mesters (NED, KTM), +0:18.441; 4. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:23.064; 5. Saad Soulimani (MAR, Yamaha), +0:28.542; 6. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:33.569; 7. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GASGAS), +0:35.205; 8. August Frisk (SWE, KTM), +0:42.514; 9. Maximilian Werner (GER, Honda), +0:47.845; 10. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Yamaha), +0:50.248

EMX250 – Race 2 - Top 10 Classification:  1. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 29:54.674; 2. Valerio Lata (ITA, GASGAS), +0:19.525; 3. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:26.725; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:43.328; 5. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Yamaha), +0:50.022; 6. Bradley Mesters (NED, KTM), +0:51.642; 7. Joel Rizzi (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:54.913; 8. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GASGAS), +1:22.590; 9. Saad Soulimani (MAR, Yamaha), +1:42.318; 10. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, Husqvarna), +1:46.383

EMX250 Overall - Top 10: 1. Valerio Lata (ITA, GAS), 44 points; 2. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 43 p.; 4. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 35 p.; 5. Bradley Mesters (NED, KTM), 35 p.; 6. Saad Soulimani (MAR, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, YAM), 27 p.; 8. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GAS), 27 p.; 9. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, HUS), 21 p

EMX250 Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 287 points; 2. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 274 p.; 3. Valerio Lata (ITA, GAS), 269 p.; 4. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 205 p.; 5. Saad Soulimani (MAR, YAM), 171 p.; 6. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GAS), 150 p.; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 149 p.; 8. Maxime Grau (FRA, KTM), 144 p.; 9. Nico Greutmann (SUI, HUS), 125 p.; 10. Maximilian Werner (GER, HON), 104 p

EMX250 Manufacturers - Top 10 Classification: 1. KTM, 302 points; 2. GASGAS, 292 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 287 p.; 4. Yamaha, 272 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 161 p.; 6. Honda, 104 p.; 7. Fantic, 87 p

Main Photo: Valerio Lata

Bottom Photos: 1. EMX250 Podium; 2. EMX250 Start

All the photos from the MXGP of Flanders will be available HERE.

You can find the complete results HERE.

MXGP OF FLANDERS QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1850m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 21˚/24°

Weather conditions: Cloudy/Sunny

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM Europe

Lommel