RIOLA SARDO, Sardegna (Italy) 7 April 2024 – The season’s first taste of sandy terrain greeted the stars of the MXGPWorld Motocross Championships as round three was hosted by the Crossodromo Communale, known locally as “Le Dune” or “Riola Sand”. As well as a tough, ever-shifting surface that carved up throughout the weekend, the physical challenge was amplified by temperatures close to 30 degress Centigrade, testing even the most highly-trained athletes to the maximum.
As in 2023, reigning MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado had takena dominant win for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing in Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race, as did his fellow red plate holder Kay de Wolf in the MX2 class for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. Both of the Championship leaders continued their perfect winning records with their third overall victory in a row, although some classic challengers were on hand to give notice that they are ready to catch them if they slip up.
The crowd were treated to a stunning morning of racing in both the WMX Women’s World Motocross Championships, won by Lotte van Drunen of the De Baets Yamaha MX-Team, and the EMX125 European Championships Presented by FMF, won by Hungarian Noel Zanocz for Fantic Factory Racing EMX125. Then the main course of MX2 and MXGP was served, piping hot, in a gruelling test of both man and machine.
As in Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race, JorgePrado was beaten to the Fox Holeshot Award of race one by Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer, but a quick inside move into the second corner saw the reigning World Champion back in his usual leading position. Team HRC’s Tim Gajser made a quick move past the Swiss rider in turn four and Pauls Jonass took his Standing Construct Honda through into third at the same time!
The two Honda men set after chasing the Red Plate Holder, while last year’s winner, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, had started outside the top five and had to haul his way through the pack. This he did to great effect, reaching third place by lap six, but at that point the leading pair were far off into the distance.
Seewer fell dramatically after five minutes, but would recover to finish 11th, while his teammate Romain Febvre, consigned to the far outside of the start gate after being unable to finish Saturday’s race, worked his way up to 6th place with a series of passes. Jonass slipped to 5th behind the Fantic Factory Racing pilot Glenn Coldenhoff in the closing laps.
At this time it looked like Gajser was closing in on Prado, getting to within two seconds of the Spaniard, but was never allowed to get closer as the champ took yet another race win.
Race two again saw Seewer fast out of the gate, but Prado was right there immediately to just edge ahead over the Fox Holeshot Award line. Herlings railed around the Kawasaki man in turn two and now it was “The Bullet” who had the task of challenging Prado. Behind him, JM Racing Honda stand-in Tim Edberg was briefly up into 4th, before Jonass and Gajser pushed past early on. Febvre had to charge once more, nearly crashing in a dramatic moment where he nearly collided with JK Racing Yamaha’s Isak Gifting on the take-off of one of the biggest jumps on the track.
After 16 minutes, Herlings had got to within striking distance of Prado and was hoping to uncork some of his old magic, but the Dutchman just pushed the front end too hard into a left-hand corner and was suddenly on the ground! Gajser accepted the gift of 2nd place, which kept the Championship damage to a minimum, but the leader was off the hook and cruised to his fourth straight GP race win.
The Slovenian fell on the final lap, but he had enough time to pick himself up and still claim 2nd ahead of Herlings, Jonass, Febvre, and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen. Calvin’s guest teammate for the weekend, FIM World Sand Races Champion Todd Kellett, ran as high as 13th before a small crash put him back to 16th at the flag for his first Grand Prix points since 2021.
Prado’s 41st career Grand Prix win now puts him 17 points clear of Gajser, and Herlings’ first podium of the season has moved him up to third in the standings. Will the strong fan support that Gajser always gets at the MXGP of Trentino spur him on to challenge the Champion next weekend? He certainly needs to start clawing the points back, as does anyone else with eyes on his title!
Jorge Prado: “I’m in a good moment right now, I’m feeling very good on the bike and we do a great work with the team. I’m so happy to be winning here in the sand again as it’s been a long time since I got an overall in the sand. I was very close last year few times but I guess now you can call me the ‘Sand Man’ again!”
Tim Gajser: “I mean it was a consistent weekend so I have to be happy with that. We take quite good points for the championship. I didn’t feel that good the whole weekend as I was struggling a bit with the bike set up but anyway, I’m happy to finish on the podium. Now sand is done and we go to Arco (Trentino) and I’m looking forward to be there with so many fans. I want to say a huge thank you to all my team as everybody is working super hard and I thank everybody around me and all the fans!”
Jeffrey Herlings: “It’s good as every GPs it’s getting better. From Argentina to Sardegna I improved every time. Especially after the crash of yesterday in the warm-up and my sore ribs but i make no excuses, third was all I had for today but I feel like we’re getting better and better so let’s keep on going.”
Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s red plate holder Kay de Wolf, and his teammate Lucas Coenen, had dominated the timesheets leading up to the racing, although the Dutchman had extended his Championship lead with victory in the RAM Qualifying Race. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Sacha Coenen took his third Fox Holeshot Award of the season in race one on Sunday, and looked intent on keeping the lead for longer than before, but he couldn’t resist the unstoppable force of De Wolf who launched his machine off the finish line jump further than Sacha to lead at the start of lap three!
It was starting to look ominous for the rest, until Lucas made a swift pass on his brother during lap four, and proceeded to reel in his teammate!
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo battled with the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing team leader Simon Laengenfelder, as Sacha Coenen fell from 3rd on lap nine. The position was gratefully taken by Camden McLellan, having his best weekend yet for Monster Energy Triumph Racing.
Twenty minutes into the race saw some mistakes creeping into the leader’s riding as his teammate drew near, and on lap thirteen De Wolf ran slightly high on the Pit Lane corner, giving Lucas the half-chance he needed to fire past without a second invitation! He then set some blazing lap times to score his first GP race win of the season. McLellan stayed in third, holding off the charge from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider Thibault Benistant. The Frenchman dropped the bike on the last lap, however, and would finish 10th, as Adamo and Laengenfelder inherited 4th & 5th.
De Wolf looked a little more concerned on the start line of race one, but while Sacha Coenen again grabbed the Fox Holeshot Award ahead of Adamo and Laengenfelder, Kay pulled a stunning move around turn two to catapult himself past all of them and into the lead! Mikkel Haarup was having no such fun, however, picking up his Triumph in the first corner, just as he did in race one. The Dane would recover well to an eventual 9th.
Lucas Coenen saw his teammate start to disappear, and swiftly dispatched both his brother and Laengenfelder to move into 2nd by the start of the first full lap, although the German did resist by briefly moving back ahead. Sacha dropped the bike from 4th at the ten minute mark, promoting Adamo, who chased after Laengenfelder again!
Incredibly, Lucas got close to Kay, but finally pushed just a little too hard and hit the floor in a banked right-hand corner! Laengenfelder was promoted briefly, but again got passed by the Belgian before the finish. He would also lose 3rd to the charging Adamo, but the Italian made a mistake on the corner before Pit Lane, and blasted down the back of the mechanics’ area to maintain his position. The rules state that a rider must come to a stop at some point in Pit Lane, so this move led to a disqualification for the reigning World Champion, costing him an overall podium position.
This left Laengenfelder third in the race ahead of Adamo’s teammate Liam Everts and McLellan, whose fifth place was enough for third overall, making it the second podium for the Triumph team in their first three rounds!
De Wolf took the chequered flag 11 seconds clear of his teammate, which gave him the overall victory once more. Lucas Coenen had to be satisfied with his first overall podium of the season, and a move up to third in the standings. Laengenfelder’s 4th overall leaves him 29 points behind De Wolf and the closest chaser in the Championship. He will welcome a return to harder surfaces in the GPs to come, and this MX2 season is only just beginning to develop!
Kay De Wolf: ”Lucas was doing also an amazing job in the second race. He really kept me . Three in a row is amazing and hopefully we can keep this momentuk going into next week and we just keep aiming for a podium that’s the main goal. I l;ook forward for Trentinoand I can’t thank the team enough for this one!”
Lucas Coenen ”First race was perfect as I managed to get Kay in the end. In the second race I had a bad start but managed to get back in his wheel but I made a stupid tipover, I wanted to follow him like I did in race one but this mistake put me to where I am now. The win is coming though and the first podium of the season is not bad.”
Camden McLellan: “I’m not feeling very great right now but I’m very happy and I can’t thanks Monster Energy Triumph Racing crew enough. They took a chance on me and it’s paying off as I’m getting better every weekend. I want to thank also Vinc (Bereni), my two mechanics. It was a long long weekend and long second race and I’m feeling it but I’m happy
Main Photo: Kay de Wolf
Bottom Photos: 1. Lucas Coenen; 2. Camden McLellan
MX2 - Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 35:19.551; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:29.973; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:44.818; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:57.193; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +1:02.153; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:30.780; 7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +1:44.715; 8. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +2:08.283; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +2:43.473; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s)
MX2 – Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:29.714; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:11.684; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:34.815; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:35.604; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:46.165; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:51.182; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:56.417; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:08.803; 9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +1:15.472; 10. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GASGAS), +1:26.480
MX2 Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 47 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 47 p.; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 36 p.; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 34 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 28 p.; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GAS), 21 p.; 11. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 20 p.; 12. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 18 p.; 13. Kay Karssemakers (NED, FAN), 13 p.; 14. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM)
MX2 World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 170 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 141 p.; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 124 p.; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 106 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 100 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 96 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 95 p.; 8. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GAS), 80 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 78 p.; 10. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 77 p.
RIOLA SARDO (Sardegna) 6 April 2024 – The temperatures soared into the high twenties at the Crossodromo Communale in the heart of the Mediterranean, but it was the red plate holders Jorge Prado and Kay De Wolf who made their competition hot under the collar with more dominant displays to take the RAM Qualifying Race wins in their respective classes!
Race one of the WMX Women’s World Motocross Championship was a thriller, decided by a last lap pass by De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Lotte van Drunen over Daniela Guillen of the RFME GASGAS MX Junior Team! The first race in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Championship was similarly dramatic with Dutchman Gyan Doensen completing a comeback of his own to claim his first win for Racestore KTM Factory Rookies.
After a collision with another rider caused a crash in Free Practice for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s red plate holder Jorge Prado, he came back to top the table in Time Practice to grab first gate pick for the RAM Qualifying Race, but only by seven hundredths of a second from Jeffrey Herlings, who was showing his pace for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in second.
For once, Prado was beaten to the first corner, this time by Kawasaki Racing Team pilot Jeremy Seewer, who bolted into the lead ahead of the reigning champ as Tim Gajser slotted his Team HRC Honda into third. Seewer’s teammate Romain Febvre was less fortunate and crashed in turn one, then suffered a technical issue as he fought back, coming to a halt after eight minutes of the race. He stays third in the Championship, but is now 32 points back from the lead.
Seewer made a small mistake halfway round the first lap, allowing Prado to pounce just as Gajser was starting to threaten him. Tim got past the Swiss rider on the following circulation and tried to prevent Prado from pulling away. Calvin Vlaanderen started to challenge Herlings for 4th but spun sideways by the Pit Lane , allowing the Standing Construct Honda of Pauls Jonass through into a 5th place which he kept to the flag. At half distance, Herlings got onto Seewer’s back wheel and the Kawasaki man jumped too far into a long-left hander, giving “The Bullet” his chance to move into third.
Prado was able to stretch his lead to over 8 seconds from Gajser at one point, and despite a late tangle with a lapped rider he kept it all under control to win yet again on Saturday and stretch his lead over Gajser in the standings to 11 points. Herlings closes to just 7 behind Febvre in 4th.
Jorge Prado: “I got a good jump out of the gate even if Seewer was faster than me on this one. I could pass him real quick as he made a little mistake. I tried already in the third corner to attack but he defended well but then few corners later he made another mistake and I was right there to make the pass. I’m riding good laps, nothing crazy, I was trying to not lose too much energy for tomorrow. As I hurt my foot a bit but it got better along the way. Let’s have a rest now and hopefully another win tomorrow”
The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates, Lucas Coenen and series leader Kay de Wolf, were over a second clear of everybody in both Practice sessions, with the Belgian holding the edge over the red plate holder. However, as his brother Sacha Coenen grabbed the holeshot for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Lucas hit the floor in turn one alongside reigning Champion and Sacha’s teammate Andrea Adamo.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pairing of Rick Elzinga and Thibault Benistant pushed past Sacha in the second corner, with De Wolf following them through into 3rd. Elzinga held off his more experienced teammate and was enjoying the sand, as was De Wolf who passed Benistant on his second attempt to run second at the end of the first full lap.
It took Kay just one more lap to dive inside the line of his countryman in a slick move, from which he instantly powered away from the opposition. Meanwhile, Camden McLellan had a great start for Monster Energy Triumph Racing and moved past Sacha Coenen into 4th at half-distance. At one point the South African ran up the banking of the final corner in an attempt to pass Elzinga, who had just been overtaken by Benistant, but stayed in 4th to the finish for his best result of the year so far.
Benistant did all he could to keep De Wolf honest, and the gap was 3.3 seconds at the close. Elzinga also had his best finish yet in a great 3rd from McLellan and a charging Simon Laengenfelder, as the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing man took 5th place ahead of Liam Everts. This leaves the German still second in the points chase, now 15 points behind De Wolf. Lucas Coenen charged back to take 9th place and 2 points, but there was no such success for Adamo who could only get back to 12th. Despite this, the Italian is still third in the standings but just a single point ahead of Benistant.
With temperatures not likely to drop in tomorrow’s races with the earlier start times, it will be a gruelling battle in both classes just to get to the finish, meaning that anything could happen in the full Grand Prix on Sunday!
Kay de Wolf:“The track is getting very tough but it’s shaping on nicely and I really enjoy it at the moment. I was struggling a little bit halfway in keeping my pace up and I tried to slow down a little bit but Thibault (Benistant) was still pushing me. It will be good tomorrow with an extra 10 minutes and another physical track hopefully!”
MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Top 10 Classification: Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 24:07.498; 2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:03.300; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:21.657; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:24.234; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:26.976; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:27.558; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:28.289; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:29.172; 9. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:29.983; 10. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:35.030;
MX2 - World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 123 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 107 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 82 p.; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 81 p.; 5. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 77 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 68 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 59 p.; 8. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, GAS), 59 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 54 p.; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 50 p
Main Photo: Kay de Wolf
Bottom Photos: 1.Thibault Benistant; 2. Rick Elzinga
RIOLA SARDO (Sardinia) 6 April 2024 – Sunny Riola Sardo is ready for its fourth consecutive MXGP of Sardegna this weekend. Friday, before the racing will be roaring the MXGP, MX2 and WMX riders posed for the annual family photo.
The riders assembled on the podium above the starting line-up, posing alongside Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo and FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela.
Main Photo: MXGP & MX2 Group Photo
Bottom Photo: WMX Group Photo
The races will be broadcasted LIVE on MXGP’s streaming service www.MXGP-TV.com, while results throughout the weekend will be available
All the photos from the MXGP of Sardegna will be available HERE.
RIOLA SARDO (Sardegna) 5 April 2024 - The sun is shining on the island of Sardegna in the Mediterranean Sea, and the opening press conference on Friday morning to launch the fourth MXGP of Sardegna in Riola Sardo.
Present for the Press Conference were Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela, Sardinian Regional Councilor Alessandro Sounas, Riola Sardo Mayor Lorenzo Pinna and President of the Motoclub of Riola Sardo Fulvio Maiorca.
David Luongo began by expressing his excitement about the event being held in Riola Sardo for the fourth consecutive year in a summer-like setting. He also mentioned the efforts of the organizers, the region, and the city to make this nice event a possibility. Mr Luongo also highlighted the significance of holding the race during the off-peak tourist season, bringing attention to the island and providing global visibility through television coverage, thereby promoting tourism. Mr. Luongo concluded by wishing everyone an amazing racing weekend on this technical but beautiful track.
It was followed by Antonio Alia Portela speaking on behalf of the FIM expressing satisfaction with the technical challenge posed by the sand track for the upcoming Grand Prix and the professionalism and efficiency of the organisers along with the support from the government. Mr. Portela anticipated a successful event with a full house of classes including the WMX and EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, thanked the good organisation and wished everyone involved much success this weekend.
The Sardinian officials took turn in speaking with Alessandro Sounas thankful for the invitation and praised the organisation and participants, emphasizing the importance of hosting events like this to promote Sardinia and affirming continued support for the future. Lorenzo Pinna highlighted that MXGP in Riola is a dream that becomes reality every year, thanking the longstanding belief in Riola's potential as Sardinia's motocross destination, facilitated by regional support and occurring during the off-peak season, marking a positive development for the entire province of Oristano and Sardinia as a whole.
Finally Fulvio Maiorca proudly explained that being a small club, and hosting events like this has contributed to bringing considerable visibility not only to Sardinia but also the all area.
Later in the day, the MXGP and MX2 riders have had their first taste of action with the Friday afternoon Start Practice. After the initial tension has been released by several blasts down the start straight, a few riders were invited to participate in a media event in the local town of Riola Sardo, just a short drive from the “Le Dune” circuit itself.
Welcomed by the Mayor of Riola Sardo, the riders, including Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen, MRT Factory Beta’s Ben Watson and Ivo Monticelli, Team Ship To Cycle Honda’s Valentin Guillod and Kevin Horgmo along with home WMX rider MXFONTARACING’s Kiara Fontanesi, RFME GASGAS MX Junior Team’s Daniela Guillen and De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Lotte Van Drunen were guided to the Centro Polifunzional to meet the local fans.
First of all, the riders were invited to watch a traditional Sardinian dancing as local performers demonstrated a typical routine of the region on the folkloric music. Riders were then invited on stage to take a family photo with the Sardinian performers and musician.
Following this show, the exchange of culture continued with a delightful local product tasting produced from this rich agricultural region, and for sure their taste buds were tempted by the treats on display! A signing session also took place at the same time where young local fans could get a dedicated poster form the riders.
The event only served to heighten the rich local Sardinian culture as well as fans’ excitement for what should be an enthralling MXGP of Sardegna weekend!
Main Photo: (left to right) Alessandro Sounas, Lorenzo Pinna, David Luongo, Fulvio Maiorca, Antonio Alia Portela
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