MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 26 July 2023 - The FIM Motocross World Championship embarks for Vantaa in Finland for the third Grand Prix in three weeks. The fourteenth round of the season will continue on sand track following Lommel for the MXGP of Finland.

The venue is not new to MXGP as it hosted the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship last year at the renowned track of Lavanko in the city of Vantaa. Vantaa is a historical place and first hosted the FIM Motocross World Championship in 1963 which was won by Torsten Hallman, 4-time World Champion. 30 years later in 1993 it was the legend Stefan Everts who clinched the victory in 250cc. The track saw a complete renovation in 2020 to get a fine sand track and softer surface. The circuit of Vantaa has been branded the ‘Finnish Lommel’. The 2023 MXGP of Finland will also mark the 70th anniversary of the Moto Club Vantaa and the 60th anniversary of the first GP in Vantaa.

The 2022 MXGP of Finland was held in Hyvinkää and marked the 16th round of the season where a full Monster Energy Yamaha podium happened as it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff who clinched the victory in front of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Maxime Renaux. 

Still comfortable leader of the Championship Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado comes to Vantaa with a race win in Lommel and a 2nd place on the podium. Prado is doing everything right to keep this big points cushion at the lead after performing week in week out to consistently get podiums. The Spanish rider makes it difficult for his pursuers to catch him and he knows that he doesn’t need to win every GPs to get sacred World Champion at the end of the season.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre is simply unstoppable at the moment with an outstanding 4th Grand Prix win in a row in Lommel. Febvre showed an immense determination during race 2 in Lommel with a mountain to climb after finding himself 20th after the first few corners. Febvre managed the incredible feat to finish 2nd on one of the toughest tracks in the world to clinch his 4th Grand Prix. In that state of mind and form, Febvre showed that he can turn any bad situation into something quite impressive.

Jeremy Seewer is third in the Championship after another solid weekend finishing 4th overall. Seewer has not finished lower than 4th over the last 4 Grand Prix which proved that he found what he was looking for in the beginning of the season. Going to Finland, Seewer will want to make sure to increase the gap again with riders behind him in the Championship

Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández who is 4th in the Championship had to fight against himself on the tough sand track of Lommel as the Spaniard crashed a couple of times to get an 8th overall. Although Fernandez wants to fight for podiums, he is pretty consistent and is always one of the top riders on the track. Vantaa could be the perfect chance for him to get back on top and put pressure on Seewer in front of him in the Standings.

Glenn Coldenhoff arrives in Finland with another podium and will also get the opportunity to ride on sand again which will give him an advantage on this surface that he loves. As he mentioned, he found the click he needed to fight consistently at the front and is now eager to win a Grand Prix this season. Coldenhoff also won the MXGP of Finland last year. It could be the perfect timing for the Dutch rider to come to Vantaa, with his recent form and positive riding, to get what he wants the most, a Grand Prix win.

Unsurprisingly, 6th in the Championship Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderenperformed again very well at Lommel and managed to get 5th overall. Vlaanderen is really one rider who knows what consistent performances are but still chases after that first podium that has bizarrely escaped him so far this season. Vlaanderen will want to pull two good races on Sunday on a surface where he can express himself to finally jump on the podium. 

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is still waiting to be able to come back on track although the season will be a missed one in the end for the five-time Motocross World Champion.

8th in the Championship, SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato came back to great performances with a 6th overall. That will boost his confidence as he will come to Finland to get even better results. Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod got injured in training leading to Lommel which puts a small stop into his good results this season. Guillod is set to miss out on Finland to come back stronger in Sweden.

Team HRC's Tim Gajser had a complicated round in Flanders going 15-13 but as he mentioned, the five-time Motocross World Champion is treating the rest of the season like a training for next season, to get back to the top. 

Main Photo: MXGP Start Finland 2022

Bottom Photos: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff 2023; 2. Romain Febvre 2023

Championship Standings

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 665 points;
2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 566 p.;
3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 506 p.;
4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 481 p.;
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 480 p.;
6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 444 p.;
7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 p.;
8. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 331 p.;
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 276 p.;
10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 p.;

2022 MXGP of Finland - MXGP Top 3:
 

1. Glenn Coldenhoff 
2. Jeremy Seewer
3. Maxime Renaux

Last year, the MXGP of Finland was won by Tom Vialle in front of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts

Coming to the last third of the 2023 season, the MX2 Championship Title is really open with several riders still in the chase.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo leads the Championship by thirteen points and has shown in Lommel a huge improvement on sand which will be vital in Vantaa. Adamo also has been one of the most consistent riders this season and always showed that no matter what happens in a race he will fight his way up to the front of the pack. This is all down to his quality, skills and determination  which put him at the top of the Championship.

With his excellent run of three GP wins in a row, it is obvious to say that Jago Geerts has the momentum with him as he comes in Finland with 13 points off the lead. The Belgian rider got what he wanted at his home GP, the maximum points possible over the weekend to put pressure on Adamo. Knowing that he could potentially get the Red Plate back in Vantaa will be the additional motivator for the on-form rider.

Kay de Wolf missed out on the Grand Prix of Flanders in the end as he retired from the GP on the first lap of race one. That meant that he has lost a place to Geerts and is now 3rd in the Championship and will miss the MXGP of Finland.

4th in the Championship, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts gained a place in the Championship thanks to his solid performance at his home GP last weekend with a 4th overall. Except for Czech Republic, Everts had performed to very high standards with no lower finish than 5th over the last 5 GPs. Everts responded to his dip in Loket from the best of manners with a solid weekend in Lommel on sand. Going to another sand track in Vantaa will be another opportunity for the Belgian to get closer to the 3rd place in the Championship.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant has been quite unlucky over the last weeks and that continued with Lommel where he picked up an injury following a fall in the RAM Qualifying Race and decided to miss out Sunday races to focus on recovery and his health. 

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder is getting back to his best as he achieved 3 podiums out of the last 3 Grand Prix. The German rider did the incredible feat to perform that well on one of the toughest sand tracks while he could only trained once on sand since coming back from injury. Laengenfelder is very fast and grows in strength every time he races. The 6th in the Championship will be one to watch in Finland as he has all the talent to top the podium as he has shown it in Spain this season.

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk is 7th in the Championship now as he has missed Lommel and will not take part in the MXGP of Finland after getting injured in Loket. 

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen is 8th in the Championship and finally made it back to the podium after his thunderous Grand Prix win in Sumbawa. The rookie L.Coenen took the opportunity to compete on his first MX2 home GP to get back to the front. He got 2nd overall and showed great speed on sand which will be needed in Vantaa.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo is 9th in the Championship and comes to Finland on the back of two top 5 and good confidence. Horgmo has found back his consistency and his speed which is going to be important to go to another sand track. TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team’s Jan Pancar who is 10th in Championship has been less incisive over the last two Grand Prix finishing out of the top 10s with some crashed in Lommel. The Slovenian will need to bounce back to stay in the top 10 because Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga behind him is starting to be consistent and got his season’s best finish in Lommel in 6th place.

The MXGP of Finland will be a home GP for Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Emil Weckmanwho will come back home on the back of a 13th overall in Lommel. The Finnish is 14th in the Championship and will be giving his all to get into the top 10 this weekend. He will be able to count on the amazing support from the home fans who will add an extra boost for Weckman to ride his best in Vantaa.

Main Photo: MX2 Start Finland 2022

Bottom Photos: 1. Jago Geerts 2023; 2. Lucas Coenen 2023

Championship Standings

1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 564 points;
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 551 p.;
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 501 p.;
4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 487 p.;
5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 462 p.;
6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 438 p.;
7. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 433 p.;
8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 425 p.;
9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 361 p.;
10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 253 p.;

2022 MXGP of Finland – MX2 Top 3:
 

1. Tom Vialle
2. Kay de Wolf
3. Jago Geerts

TIMETABLE (Local Time / GMT +3)

SATURDAY: 10:35 MX2 Free Practice, 11:15 MXGP Free Practice, 13:20 MX2 Time Practice, 14:00 MXGP Time Practice, 15:25 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 16:10 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race

SUNDAY:  10:20 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 12:15 MX2 Race 1, 13:15 MXGP Race 1, 15:10 MX2 Race 2, 16:10 MXGP Race 2.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

Vantaa
 

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 26 July 2023 - The Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders was the perfect occasion to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the promotion of the FIM Motocross World Championship by Giuseppe Luongo, now Infront Moto Racing President.

What a better place to do the celebrations than one of the temples of motocross, Lommel. On Saturday evening, an aperitif was set up at the VIP Skybox Restaurant to welcome all the guests from the MXGP paddock collective with a magnificent view of the mythical Belgian sand track. The whole family of motocross and more was present to celebrate this incredible achievement and landmark year for Giuseppe Luongo who promoted and propelled the Motocross World Championship to what it is now, the most popular off-road motorsport in the world. 

The atmosphere was celebratory and warm with everyone here to enjoy this special moment. The guests attending were as impressive as Luongo’s contribution to the sport with the likes of Stefan Everts, Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gajser, Joel Smets, Harry Everts, Jorge Prado, Michele Rinaldi, Romain Febvre, Jacky Vimond, Corrado Maddii, and more. 

Guests were ushered inside to watch a video recounting Luongo’s history along with messages of people including SAS Prince Albert II, Former FIM President Francesco Zerbi, Former FIM CMS Director Wofgang Srb, Former FIM CEO Tony Skillington, FIM President Jorge Viegas, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, Infront President & CEO Philippe Blatter, and many of the leading lights of the sport from the last 50 years, including Dave Thorpe, Roger De Coster and Pit Beirer telling their amazing shared memories of the last 40 years and congratulating him for all the achievements reached. 

An emotional and grateful Giuseppe Luongo, then took the opportunity to welcome and thanks everyone:

“It was a wonderful evening full of emotions together with all the Champions, the manufacturers, teams, the sponsors, the media but above all with all the friends with who we have worked together for the last 40 years to bring Motocross to where it is now, the most popular off-road sport in the world. I was deeply touched by the warmth and love I received and this will give us more strength to continue into the future.”

This emotional moment did not stop there as FIM Europe President Michal Sikora gifted Giuseppe Luongo with a plate on behalf of the FIM Europe and FIM President Jorge Viegas who could not be present at the dinner but who sent a nice message to Giuseppe Luongo in the celebrating video. Adding to the symbolism, the legends Stefan Everts and Antonio Cairoli gifted Luongo with a replica of the MXGP trophy on stage.

This eventful introduction of the evening concluded with a family photo of Giuseppe Luongo and all the legends of the sports, from the past to today. 44 Motocross World Championship victories between them. The mutual respect between these legends of the sport and Giuseppe Luongo, who propelled motocross to this current and impressive level, was palpable and a beautiful image for motocross.

Following this intense and emotional introduction of the evening, the dinner could start in a pleased and joyful atmosphere. People also enjoyed the photo booth as they were thrilled to mark this event and wrote messages in a book dedicated to Giuseppe Luongo where everyone could add their own shared memories with him. Every guest then was gifted with a special bottle of red wine customised with a special label including each companies’ logos from these 40 years of Motocross World Championship Promotion. 

The event perfectly immortalised these astonishing 40 years of devotion to motocross and its promotion by Giuseppe Luongo who started in 1983 by organising and promoting international events. The first international event was in Ponte a Egola in August 1983, the event was a huge success with more than 20000 spectators, after that Luongo created his own company GLO (Giuseppe Luongo Organization) and organized two of the most popular series of that era, the ‘Masters of Motocross’ and ‘SuperMotocross’. After taking charge of all Italian International Motocross events, Mr Luongo reached a turning point in his career when he promoted the successful 1986 Motocross of Nations, which took place in Maggiora, Italy. In the years that followed history has been made with the foundation of Action Group first and the signature of the agreement with the FIM first to manage the television rights of the FIM Motocross World Championship, then to manage the full promotion of the Supercross and Motocross World Championships. The actions taken during these 40 years saw the rise of the FIM Motocross World Championship to high standards level that no one could have imagined at the time. 

The story carries on as 2002 marked the creation of Youthstream, now called Infront Moto Racing with David Luongo becoming Infront Moto Racing CEO to continue the work of his father and keep growing the beautiful sport of Motocross to new heights.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM
 

MONACO (Principailty of Monaco) 25 July 2023 – The 14th round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championshipis embarks to Vantaa for the MXGP of Finland.

Checkout the Timetable and Entry Lists for the MXGP of Finland below:

TIMETABLE

MXGP ENTRY LIST

MX2 ENTRY LIST

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 25 July 2023 – Infront Moto Racing is pleased to announce the brand new partnership with NACON for the licence of the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) which will start on 1 January 2024. This will cover the development and publishing of official MXGP games and gives NACON exclusivity over five seasons, from 2024 to 2028 inclusive.

NACON and its KT Racing studio are already working on the development of an MXGP game that will offer all two-wheel fans 100% official content. Players will be able to live the thrills and spills of the most iconic motocross championship in the world by having access to content that is as close to reality as possible: calendar, riders, teams, bikes and sponsors will be available in the game.

Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo: “Infront Moto Racing is delighted to start this new collaboration with Nacon for the development of the MXGP video game. The digital world is very important for us as promotor, and covering 360° of the needs of our fans as well. The video game will give the possibility to everybody to engage on the official tracks of the FIM Motocross World Championship with the official riders and compete to becoming a World Champion. We cannot wait to see the first input and result of the development of the new game and I am sure that the realism will be breathtaking. I would like to thank Nacon to partner with us and to give the most popular Off Road Championship in the World such a great platform of gaming”

“We are very excited to be able to offer fans the official game of this popular international competition in the near future. We have of course entrusted this new project to the KT Racing teams who have already proven themselves in motorcycle games. They will undoubtedly be able to transcribe into a video game all the complexity of this spectacular discipline which combines reflexes, speed and anticipation” explains Alain Falc, CEO of NACON.

About NACON

NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game market. By bringing together its 16 development studios, the publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 30 years of expertise at the service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens NACON's position in the market and enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages. https://corporate.nacongaming.com/

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

NACON

It’s time for Acerbis Best Lap! The Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders took place in the sand of Lommel for the thirteenth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship. In one of the toughest tracks of the season, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff who finished on the third step of the podium set the fastest lap in MXGP on the first Lap of Race 1. Coldenhoff set the best lap for the second time this season. Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing's Jorge Prado still leads the competition with five fastest lap for the season in front of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who has four.

In MX2 it was the perfect winner in Flanders, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts who also set the fastest lap on Lap 1 of race 1. Geerts set his 5th best lap of the season and leads the competition in front of Red Bull KTM Factiory Racing Andrea Adamo with 3 and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant with 2.

With both fastest laps set in the first lap of race 1, we comprehend the hard task that the new layout of Lommel represented for all the riders this weekend.

Here below you have the details of Lommel:

MXGP: Glenn Coldenhoff on Race 1 Lap 4 with 2:06.600

MX2: Jago Geerts on Race 2 Lap 7 with 2:07.440
 

In order to remind fans of what the competition consists of; at the end of each event, the fastest rider in MXGP and MX2 will obtain a point. The rider with the most points in each class at the conclusion of the Championship will receive a prize from ACERBIS, which will be awarded at the MXGP Awards.

Scroll Down the main page at MXGP.com to see Acerbis Best Lap leader board situated directly underneath the FOX Holeshot results grid.

The Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena continued with the thirteenth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship in Lommel for the Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders.

Votes are counted at the end of every Grand Prix, with the ‘Best Rider of the GP’ being chosen during each event of 2023. The rider who is voted the most times by our MXGP fans as the best rider, will ultimately receive the final prize and become the ‘Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena’ at the end of the year!

Following the Grand Prix of Flanders, the hero of the day Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre got voted best rider of the Grand Prix as he incredibly sealed his 4^th GP win in a row. The French rider collected 63% of the vote ahead of Red Plate and also second on the podium Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing's Jorge Prado with 30% of the votes.

How to vote:

Every Grand Prix Sunday a dedicated post is shared on MXGP’s official Instagram page under which fans can comment who their favourite rider of the weekend is. This competition is only for MXGP riders and the voting closes at 8pm on Sunday.

The comments are then counted and the rider with the most votes is chosen as the best rider of that GP. 

The Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena competition will conclude at the MXGP of Great Britain where we will officially crown the champions of 2023!

MXGP is delighted to continue the running of the FOX Holeshot competition through the thirteenth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship season together with MXGP Partner FOX.

The Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders took place at the mythical sand track of Lommel which was completely revamped for the occasion. In race 1 it was Monster Energy Yamaha factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer who clinched his ninth FOX Holeshot of the season to catch up with Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado. In race 2, it was Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández who took his first FOX Holeshot of the season. 

It is now Jeremy Seewer and Jorge Prado who both lead the competition with nine just well in front of of the third in the competition, Kawasaki Racing Team’ Romain Febvre who has 3. 

In MX2, it was once again the Grand Prix winner, Monster Energy Yamaha factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts who clinched the FOX Holeshot in race one while it was Hakon Osterhagen who took his first FOX Holeshot of the season. 

Jago Geerts extends his lead in the competition with 6 FOX Holeshots  in front of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder with 4 FOX Holeshots and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen who has 3.

The way it works is that 1 point is awarded per MXGP and MX2 Championship race. The first rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be given a point. At the end of the season the 2 riders - one per category - with the most FOX Holeshot points will win a mega prize. 
 

Scroll Down the main page at MXGP.com to Check the FOX Holeshot results grid.