LOMMEL (Flanders, Belgium), 3rd August 2025 – After a weekend of changeable weather before Grand Prix Sunday, the sun shone on the brutal beauty of Lommel today as the massed banks of fans enjoyed a stunning day of racing around one of the very toughest circuits in the world, and as usual the MXGP of Flanders delivered some epic confrontations and impeccable performances for the 15th round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships!
Despite the differing conditions, the overall GP winners were the same as in Saturday’s Qualifying Races, but it was nowhere near as straightforward for Lucas Coenen, who rebounded from defeat in a first race showdown with Romain Febvre to claim overall victory at Lommel for the first time in his GP career, taking his fifth Grand Prix win in the Premier class for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing!
Febvre was able to match the young Belgian for points today, however, with a 1-2 scorecard keeping the Championship leader’s red plate on the front of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP machine for the next round. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider Calvin Vlaanderen scored his second podium of the season in a fine display of sand riding.
The MX2 class saw complete domination from Kay de Wolf, as the reigning Champ led nearly every lap for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing to complete a perfect 1-1-1 weekend and lift himself up to second in the World Championship.
Camden McLellan was again supremely strong in the sand as he posted 2-3 finishes for second overall, his second podium of the year for Monster Energy Triumph Racing, while Sacha Coenen was the top man for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with an amazingly hard-fought third overall, his seventh podium appearance of the year.
The twists and turns of the GP were just as much of a rollercoaster as the gruelling Lommel circuit itself, and the huge crowd of hardcore Motocross enthusiasts from the nation with more World Champions than any other gave the 2025 MXGP of Flanders a fantastic atmosphere to match the epic racing!
On his comeback ride for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, four-time Lommel winner Jeffrey Herlings took fastest time in the morning Warm-up, with Vlaanderen second ahead of the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP duo of Brian Bogers and Andrea Bonacorsi. Title contenders Febvre and Coenen were obviously saving themselves for the afternoon to come with fifth and seventh!
Just as he did in Saturday’s Qualifying Race, Isak Gifting shot out of the gate rapidly on his special Anniversary-liveried JK Racing Yamaha, but he was just out-dragged to the Fox Holeshot Award line by Febvre after the Frenchman pulled a perfect first corner pass. Herlings was right there in third, ahead of the JM Racing Honda of Brent van Doninck and home hero Jago Geerts, the best-starting Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider. There was bad luck for Bonacorsi, however, as he was on the ground in the first corner and having to fight from the back, just behind Bogers and Honda HRC man Ruben Fernandez who had been pushed off-track!
Coenen fought past Van Doninck and Geerts in the first few corners to get into fourth, and Herlings was quickly past Gifting to chase after Febvre. At the end of the first full lap, Coenen flew high and long from the Pit Lane wall jump to pass Gifting for third, a move he would make use of many times through the day!
The home favourite did the same thing the very next lap on Herlings, whose was clearly not going to send it off that jump with his recently-healed collarbone, and the stage was set for the two title contenders to fight it out at the top.
Battle was joined behind them between Yamaha men Gifting and Vlaanderen, but they both moved up a position on lap seven as Herlings fell in the wooded section, dropping the Dutchman to eighth behind countryman Glenn Coldenhoff on the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP machine. Geerts was pursuing Van Doninck for fifth, but he suffered a massive get-off over the triple jump after the Finish Line, being hit by the bike and, although he walked away, he was out of action for the rest of the day. We all wish him the best in his recovery.
While Coenen was stalking Febvre, Norwegian Hakon Fredriksen, on his private YRC Performance Yamaha, was working his way into the top ten, not far ahead of a recovering Bonacorsi, who had passed Herlings for ninth on lap ten. Maxime Renaux, still on the path back from injury, took tenth in the race for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, as Herlings mischievously pinched eighth back from Bonacorsi on the last lap. Fredriksen got past Van Doninck for an amazing sixth place, only two seconds back from Coldenhoff who took fifth.
Up ahead though, all Belgian eyes were on Coenen as he marched up to Febvre’s back wheel, and used his signature wall jump move to fly into the lead at the end of lap 12! The experience of Febvre paid benefits, however, as he knew that he had to strike back instantly on his young rival, and carved to the inside of the KTM after just four corners with enough authority to force the Belgian off the track!
On the same lap, Vlaanderen was able to dance past Gifting for third, and that’s where the Yamaha men would finish. Coenen made one last charge to get back onto terms with Febvre, but had a massive moment on the exit of the “Lommelwood” section that forced him to throw in the towel. Febvre was able to cruise over the line and enjoy his 55th career GP race victory, and extend the Championship lead to 12 points.
Coenen promised MXGP-TV Presenter Lisa Leyland a good show before race two, and we certainly got one! There was a rare sight at the start, as Jeffrey Herlings claimed his first Fox Holeshot Award since October 2021 in France with a sweeping move around Gifting, who again held second, until Febvre cut to the inside of him at the third corner. Simultaneously, Vlaanderen grabbed fifth from Coenen and the race seemed to be going the way of the Kawasaki man once more.
Herlings started to streak away from the pack, setting the Acerbis Fastest Lap of the day, the only one under two minutes, to get as far ahead as eight seconds away from Febvre at the beginning! Gifting fell halfway round the opening lap, leaving Coenen free to attack Vlaanderen. The pair fought a thrilling back-and-forth duel for fourth which Coenen won, before passing Bonacorsi over, where else, the wall jump, at the end of lap two for third. Fernandez got a better start this time, and was sixth ahead of Coldenhoff, Renaux, and the TEM JP253 KTM Racing rider Jan Pancar, who had struggled to 16th in race one. Vlaanderen slipped off to drop from fifth to seventh on lap four, and his overall podium chances looked under threat!
Suddenly, Herlings took a nasty-looking tumble through a waves section, and looked to be complaining of twisted steering as he passed the Pit Lane. He had got back up in third as Febvre and Coenen took up arms again at the front!
This time the Belgian sprung a surprise as he passed the Frenchman through “Lommelwood”, and gave his rival no chance of repeating the fightback from race one, bolting away with a series of qualifying-style laps to the cheers of his adoring fans. The war was won!
Sadly, Herlings was to crash twice more and he dropped back to eighth again at the finish, just ahead of a recovering Gifting and the MRT Racing Team Beta of Ben Watson. The Brit claimed tenth overall behind Van Doninck and Herlings.
Seventh overall, after another stellar ride in race two to take seventh behind fellow privateer hero Pancar, was an incredible career best for Fredriksen that nobody saw coming! Pancar’s sixth was by far his best performance to date in deep sand, but Gifting took sixth overall on the day. It was a good day for the three non-factory riders!
The two factory Fantics of Bonacorsi and Coldenhoff rode brilliantly to take third and fourth in race two, a real return to form for the Italian. They finished in the reverse order overall, with Glenn fourth and Andrea fifth. Vlaanderen recovered to a brilliant fifth after his early fall, enough to take his second podium in three GPs.
At the top of the tree, Coenen’s fifth GP win of the season is now the highest of anyone for the year, and it puts the gap back to just nine points between himself and Febvre. It was the first GP win for a Belgian on home ground since Kevin Strijbos in 2016, and the first time that a rider has won three GPs in a row in his debut season in MXGP, since Tim Gajser that same year!
The young Belgian and the veteran Frenchman are giving us a fantastic Championship battle in 2025, and they head to the hardpack of Sweden to duke it out once again!
Lucas Coenen: " I didn’t want to waste any time in the second race. I came from the back and just pushed all the way to the front. Winning in front of the home crowd and my family is the best feeling ever. Romain (Febvre) has the red plate, but we’re still closing the gap, and I’m enjoying every part of the way. I wanted to win in Lommel, and we did it, so I’m super happy. Let’s keep the ball rolling."
Romain Febvre: " To just lose one point here is really good. I thought I could win and that’s what I did in the first race, but in the second one Lucas (Coenen) had better lines and passed me. I couldn’t stay really close behind him and he pulled away, so congrats to him. Winning in Lommel is always special, so I was close. Just one point lost, in the end that’s fine."
Calvin Vlaanderen: "Overall, such a good weekend. Even from yesterday I felt good on the track, had a strong qualifying race in P3, and I knew it was going to be tough today because Lommel is no joke, it really separates the men from the boys. I had a small tip-over in the second race which cost me some energy, and I knew if Glenn (Coldenhoff) got Andrea (Bonacorsi), I’d be off the box, so I kept the pressure on him but just couldn’t make the pass. Overall, super happy to get it done, to put Yamaha on the box, and to do it with my family here. Super cool feeling.. let’s keep the momentum going."
Main Photo: Lucas Coenen
Top Photo: MXGP Start Lommel
Bottom Photos: 1. Romain Febvre; 2 Calvin Vlaanderen
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 36:05.332; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:17.718; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:44.854; 4. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:47.004; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:51.803; 6. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +0:53.946; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +1:14.724; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:19.310; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +1:19.358; 10. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:25.935
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 36:28.928; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.007; 3. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:37.638; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:41.082; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:56.500; 6. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:59.450; 7. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +1:00.643; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:11.177; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:12.078; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:13.166;
MXGP Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 p.; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 34 p.; 5. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 32 p.; 6. Isak Gifting (SWE, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 26 p.; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HON), 24 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 21 p.;
MXGP - World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 734 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 725 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 534 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 467 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 436 p.; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 405 p.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 387 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 353 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 331 p.; 10. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.
MXGP - Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 758 points; 2. Kawasaki, 740 p.; 3. Honda, 661 p.; 4. Yamaha, 619 p.; 5. Fantic, 591 p.; 6. Ducati, 401 p.; 7. Beta, 271 p.; 8. Husqvarna, 74 p.; 9. GASGAS, 7 p.; 10. Triumph, 5 p.;
Qualifying Race winner Kay de Wolf flexed his muscles in morning Warm-up with a time over two seconds faster than anyone else, while Sacha Coenen and Camden McLellan also giving us a preview of their top three speed.
Coenen put in another rocket start for his tenth Fox Holeshot Award of the campaign ahead of De Wolf, while McLellan put the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pair of Andrea Adamo and Simon Längenfelder behind him as they ran from third to fifth.
Just halfway around the opening lap, Coenen landed slightly off-track and gave De Wolf the half-chance he needed to take the lead. On lap three Coenen hit the ground hard but amazingly still got back on in seventh! McLellan and Adamo would stay second and third for the rest of the race, while Coenen, despite a further tumble in the closing laps, fought back to fourth past his teammate Längenfelder at half-distance. He was, however, penalised five points for not respecting waved yellow flags.
In the battle of last year’s EMX250 race winners here, Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 man Mathis Valin fought off the Van Venrooy KTM Racing machine of Cas Valk for fifth, giving the Dutchman his best result in three months! An awkward crash for Längenfelder put him back into seventh by the flag, losing 11 points to De Wolf in the process. Jens Walvoort took eighth for BTS Racing KTM, ahead of impressive wildcard Nicolaj Skovbjerg on his Wozniak Racing Team Yamaha! Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pilot Karlis Reisulis moved forward from a first lap crash to salvage tenth.
De Wolf won by 28.7 seconds from McLellan, and was just a point behind Adamo as they lined up for race two!
It was almost a carbon copy of race one at the front as Coenen again took the Fox Holeshot ahead of De Wolf, but Valerio Lata was third early for Honda HRC, and the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 bike of Rick Elzinga was fourth ahead of Längenfelder initially, although the German would pass the Dutchman on his comeback ride from injury, as would Rick’s teammate Thibault Benistant and Valin.
Lata dropped down the order to ultimately finish 11th, with Guillem Farres nudging into the top ten for Monster Energy Triumph Racing with two laps to go, enough to give the Spaniard ninth overall, ahead of Lata in tenth.
Skovbjerg was to take a great eighth overall as he took 12th in race two, and Walvoort also backed up his good first race to take seventh with an 8-9 card!
McLellan had to charge through from outside the top ten, but advanced with Valin past Benistant by lap five. Benistant was to finish sixth in the race ahead of Elzinga. The South African, meanwhile, passed Längenfelder for third on lap 12, which put the German fifth overall ahead of Valin’s 5-5 results.
The major charge in race two came from Adamo, after he collided with Valk in turn one! Valk had to retire, but Adamo pressed forward, looking exhausted as he climbed all the way to eighth at the flag, sealing fourth overall. Coenen, meanwhile, stayed on throughout the race after being passed on lap two by the flying De Wolf. It was a nice overall podium result for Coenen after several crashes across the weekend, but second overall for McLellan matched his career best result and lifted him up to sixth in the Championship ahead of the injured Liam Everts.
De Wolf was not to be denied though, and claimed his second 1-1-1 weekend in three GPs, raising his points total to the number of the beast! He is now 11 points ahead of Adamo in second place, but still has a 38-point gap to Längenfelder at the top of the table.
In two weeks’ time, the series heads north again to Sweden, to hardpack and the possibility of a further swing in the momentum in both classes! The final quarter of the World Motocross Championships is about to begin, and the battles for both world titles still have plenty of possible outcomes! Don’t miss them when we return for the MXGP of Sweden!
Kay de Wolf: "I definitely needed these points. That was our goal coming into the weekend, get the points, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Really happy with my riding and everything I worked on during the week paid off. Thanks to the whole Nestaan Husqvarna team and all the Dutch fans who came out to support me. Hopefully in three weeks they’ll all be in Arnhem for our home GP. I can’t wait for that one."
Camden McLellan: “This was a long time coming, longer than it should have been, so it feels good and hopefully we can keep it up. The whole team at Monster Energy Triumph Racing deserves this, they’ve put in the work and so have I, so I’m really happy. Shame about my start in the second race, it was a bit poor but it is what it is. I came through past some big hitters, so hopefully we keep this momentum and maybe get a race win next time, like Arco. We’ll see."
Sacha Coenen: “Let’s say I wasn’t too happy because in front of the home crowd you want to win, not be third, but it is what it is. We’ll take the podium. Thanks to all the fans, it was amazing to race here again, and having them behind me is always special, so thanks to everyone."
Top Photo: Kay de Wolf
Bottom Photos: 1. Camden Mc Lellan ; 2. Sacha Coenen
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 36:25.125; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:28.751; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:44.137; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:55.301; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:03.792; 6. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +1:11.616; 7. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +1:19.094; 8. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:39.477; 9. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Yamaha), +1:42.278; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:46.968;
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 36:32.079; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:11.405; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:16.539; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:18.928; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:21.088; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:07.199; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:14.347; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:27.314; 9. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:33.069; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:39.189;
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 50 points; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 42 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 32 p.; 7. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, YAM), 21 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 18 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 18 p.;
MX2 - World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 704 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 666 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 655 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 559 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 513 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 467 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 348 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 324 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 314 p.;
MX2 - Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 823 points; 2. Husqvarna, 746 p.; 3. Yamaha, 559 p.; 4. Triumph, 527 p.; 5. Honda, 446 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 314 p.; 7. TM, 192 p.; 8. GASGAS, 12 p.;
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: 23°
Weather conditions: Sunny
Crowd Attendance: 37,700
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