KEGUMS (Latvia) 8 June 2025 – The tough, sandy, Zelta Zirgs Motocenter near the town of Kegums served up another classic day of MXGP racing for the eleventh round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships, the MXGP of Latvia!
Morning rain gave way to sunny skies for the afternoon’s Grand Prix action, with a little shower between the blocks of racing, but the moisture made its impact as the soft terrain got particularly heavy during the thirty-plus minute races, testing stamina and skill to the maximum!
In MXGP, the undisputed King of Kegums, Jeffrey Herlings, took his ninth overall victory at this venue, making it three years in a row that he has left here with the winner’s silverware! It completed a perfect weekend for the Dutchman, although he was chased all the way by his fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing contender Lucas Coenen. The Belgian made progress in his pursuit of Romain Febvre, although the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Championship leader salvaged the day with yet another podium in third overall.
The MX2 class was once more wildly unpredictable, but at last in 2025 the speed of Sacha Coenen paid off to take his first Grand Prix victory of the season for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, although a last lap crash for his teammate Simon Längenfelder cost the German the overall win. Simon still retook the red plate in Latvia with second overall ahead of Kay de Wolf, who won the second race for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing.
As always, the Latvian sand saw its fair share of thrills and spills, and the tough circuit brought some truly hardcore Motocross action to keep the purists happy!
Saturday’s Qualifying Race winner Herlings continued his dominance straight from the morning warm-up, seven-tenths of a second faster than Febvre, while Glenn Coldenhoff was third quickest for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP.
The battle was on immediately for the lead between the factory KTM big guns, and it was Coenen who scored his eighth Fox Holeshot Award of the season by squeezing Herlings into the first turn. This briefly allowed Febvre into second, but “The Bullet” blasted through some deep sand to somehow go back around the Frenchman in the third corner, before Coenen made a small mistake outside of the next turn, losing traction and enabling the Dutch master to double-jump past the Belgian youngster. It was a vital move, as was an almost simultaneous pass from Brian Bogers, firing his Fantic Factory Racing MXGP machine to the inside of Febvre to grab third position before the start of the first full lap!
Herlings tried to break away at the front, and the chase was on! Febvre, however, was simply unable to make a move on Bogers, and the Dutchman’s countryman and teammate Glenn Coldenhoff, after starting fifth, got close to the battle as the series leader’s efforts were constantly thwarted!
Behind the leading five, Ruben Fernandez was holding sixth for Honda HRC, while MRT Racing Team Beta’s Ben Watson made his best start of the year to run solid in seventh! The third Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider Andrea Bonacorsi started eighth ahead of KTM Kosak Racing’s Roan van de Moosdijk and Calvin Vlaanderen on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP machine.
Try as he might, Febvre could not get past Bogers, who was riding as a true sand specialist should, and ultimately the Frenchman dropped his machine in the second corner after the finish line, dropping him to seventh behind Watson on lap eleven! Two laps later, the two top Fantic riders encountered the stricken TEM JP253 KTM Racing rider Jan Pancar in the track after the finish line jump, and as Bogers went to the outside, the chasing Coldenhoff went to the inside, taking third from his teammate in the process!
Further round the lap, Febvre got back past Watson, and Bonacorsi also nipped past the Beta rider to claim seventh at the flag. Fernandez then pulled a stunning pass by jumping long in front of the fans to get the better of Bogers. This left the Dutchman in front of Febvre again, and to his eternal frustration, the Kawasaki man still could not pass him, and he had to settle for sixth.
Behind Bonacorsi and Watson, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider Jago Geerts made a charge in the closing laps to pass Vlaanderen, then Van de Moosdijk to claim ninth at the finish.
Coenen, who had set the fastest lap of the race on lap two in pursuit of Herlings, got to within a second of “The Bullet”, and nearly took the lead when the Dutchman missed an inside rut on a deep left-hander! Ultimately Herlings held on for a 1.3 second margin of victory over Coenen, with Coldenhoff third but 56 seconds behind them! Fernandez and Bogers rounded out the top five. Herlings’ 16th race victory at Kegums lifted him up to ninth in the Championship ahead of Jeremy Seewer, who finished 16th for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team.
Despite a small rain shower at the end of the first race, the sun had come out to dry the track and make it considerably faster in the second race. Once again, Coenen got the jump into turn one over Herlings, but this time “The Bullet” worked his magic immediately, carving across the front of his younger stablemate to lead into the second corner and immediately make the break away from the front.
Coenen managed to hold Febvre at bay, who in turn had to fight off the attentions of Bonacorsi, with Fernandez and Geerts completing the top six at the end of the first full lap.
Maxime Renaux had taken a much better start than race one, when he had to battle for just a 13th place finish for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, and he had Coldenhoff and his teammate Vlaanderen behind him, while the crowd made some noise for Mairis Pumpurs, who repeated his Qualifying Race start to run in the top ten again for the Motosports Racing Team!
Fernandez made a blistering pass around the outside of Bonacorsi for fourth on lap two, then Geerts also moved past the Italian through the same section two laps later. The Belgian, winner of three MX2 GPs around Kegums, was on a charge that took him past Fernandez for fourth on lap seven! Bonacorsi was able to get back past the Spaniard on lap 11, putting Geerts, Bonacorsi, and Fernandez in positions three to six until the flag, although Renaux looked to have got past the Honda man over a jump, but clipped his rear wheel instead and hit the ground, losing seventh to Coldenhoff. Vlaanderen came home in ninth, and Brent van Doninck crossed the line in tenth, only to lose five positions for a post-race noise test on his JM Racing Honda.
Bogers had a worse start this time and finished 13th to place ninth overall ahead of Vlaanderen, while Ben Watson, also with a poor second race start, fought to 11th before being promoted by Van Doninck’s penalty, and collected his best overall finish yet for Beta in eighth. Bonacorsi claimed seventh overall, Geerts sixth, and Fernandez fifth on the return from his early exit at the German GP.
Febvre got close to Coenen for second at around the halfway point, but the Belgian proved equal to the task of keeping his title rival behind him, and the red plate holder had to console himself with just pipping Coldenhoff for the podium by a single point! Lucas was second overall for the fourth GP in a row, putting him just 26 points behind Febvre in the Championship.
There was no catching the King of Kegums, however, as Jeffrey Herlings completed his perfect 1-1-1 weekend to take GP win #109, his ninth win at the Zelta Zirgs Motocenter, equalling his best record at any single circuit, as he has also won nine GPs at the Dutch venue of Valkenswaard. How many more can Herlings add to his tally this season? It’s going to make for some thrilling racing to find out!
Jeffrey Herlings: “Let’s repeat it nine more times, eh? If only it were that simple! I’m really thankful for the win. Lucas pushed hard in both races, so credit to him as well, those guys are riding really strong. I'm happy to come out on top and looking forward to the next race. We’ll try to keep the momentum going, but it won’t be easy because everyone’s improving. We just keep doing our best, thank you!”
Lucas Coenen: “It was a good weekend. Two solid races, 2-2 for second overall, and good championship points. In the second race, I had a decent start but Jeffrey got by me and I struggled to find my flow. The track was tricky and I made a few mistakes. Still, there are positives, we’ve got another podium, we know what to work on, and we’ll keep building from here.”
Romain Febvre: “Tough weekend. In the first race I was running fourth and fighting for third, but the track was tough. I got too close, clipped a rear wheel and went down. That cost me a lot. Second race was better, I was up front, battling with the lead group. I gave it everything but just couldn’t make the pass. We’ll regroup and come back stronger at the next one in the UK.”
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Main Photo: Jeffrey Herlings
Bottom Photos: 1. Lucas Coenen; 2. Romain Febvre
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:30.575; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:01.347; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:58.497; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:01.759; 5. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:05.021; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.698; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +1:13.979; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:15.743; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +1:18.049; 10. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), +1:23.439
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:55.202; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:02.542; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:13.464; 4. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:49.887; 5. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:58.684; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:01.361; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +1:03.627; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.864; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +1:21.903; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:35.561
MXGP Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 35 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 34 p.; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 33 p.; 6. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 30 p.; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 24 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 24 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 22 p
MXGP - World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 530 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 504 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 362 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 347 p.; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 338 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 300 p.; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 284 p.; 9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 279 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 253 p.
MXGP - Manufacturers Classification: 1. Kawasaki, 536 points; 2. KTM, 533 p.; 3. Honda, 504 p.; 4. Yamaha, 454 p.; 5. Fantic, 409 p.; 6. Ducati, 315 p.; 7. Beta, 197 p.; 8. Husqvarna, 51 p.; 9. Triumph, 5 p
As with every practice session here at Kegums, the mercurial Sacha Coenen was clearly the quickest in morning warm-up, lapping 1.8 seconds faster than Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Liam Everts and Honda HRC rookie Valerio Lata.
Without doubt Coenen is the most prolific starter in the class, and he extended his lead in the Fox Holeshot Award standings with his eighth of the year ahead of Längenfelder, as Everts and De Wolf disputed the top five positions with Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 ace Mathis Valin.
Oriol Oliver got in the mix for Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors, but after passing both De Wolf and Valin on the first full lap the Spaniard dropped the bike in a deep corner and had to fight up from eighth. De Wolf then also fell down the order, as the crowd erupted thanks to a committed pass from home hero Karlis Reisulis, who carved his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 bike underneath the WZ-Racing KTM of Quentin Prugnières to take over fifth place on lap two!
Coming to Latvia with the red plate, although he lost in on Saturday, was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s former World Champion Andrea Adamo, and he started poorly in race one, at the edge of the top ten with Reisulis’ teammate Thibault Benistant and the Monster Energy Triumph Racing machine of Camden McLellan rounding out the initial top ten.
Although the new red plate holder got close to the teenage Belgian on occasions, the entire top five of Coenen, Längenfelder, Everts, Valin, and Reisulis held their positions until the very last lap, when a charging McLellan broke Latvian hearts with a pass on Reisulis in front of the packed banks of fans! A couple of further mistakes cost De Wolf seventh position to Benistant, also on the final lap, while the other Monster Energy Triumph of Guillem Farres worked up to ninth ahead of Prugnières.
After a small rain shower but a lot of extensive work on the circuit before race two, the Fox Holeshot Award was narrowly won by Längenfelder, by maybe a tyre’s depth from Coenen! As the German sprinted away out in front, Benistant, Farres, De Wolf, and Everts fought over the next few positions through the opening set of corners, with the Frenchman taking third from the Spaniard. Oliver held seventh from Reisulis, McLellan, and the JM Racing Honda of David Braceras. Lata, a non-scorer with crash damage in race one, was out early again on an unfortunate zero-score weekend for the Italian rookie.
De Wolf made good early progress this time, railing around the outside of Farres as the Triumph rider nearly fell on the double jump alongside the start straight. Three laps later and the Champ was past Benistant for third, and he stalked Coenen until he was able to make an inside move to take second on lap 14, with just two minutes left on the clock!
Benistant would hold on to fourth to claim fifth overall, behind Everts who took fourth overall with a last lap pass on Farres. That would have been for a podium spot if it weren’t for events elsewhere!
McLellan passed Oliver for seventh at half distance, and they both stayed there until the flag. Adamo and Valin fought back from mid-pack starts to round out the top ten, with the Italian finishing tenth overall behind Reisulis. Farres was eighth overall behind Valin, and McLellan took sixth on his 21st birthday weekend!
There was late drama at the front, however, as Längenfelder got cross-rutted on his final trip through the waves, swerving off-track and crashing into the grass! Although he was able to get going just as Coenen went past, it left Kay de Wolf to pick up his first race win since Lugo nearly a month ago, taking the podium from his teammate Everts in the process! Längenfelder would have to console himself with second overall and a bolstered Championship lead of 27 points over Adamo, with De Wolf ten further back.
For the second year running, however, victory in Latvia belonged to Sacha Coenen, which was just reward for his astonishing pace throughout the weekend. You really could tell when he was going past just from the exhaust note alone! His third career GP win lifted him back above Benistant into fifth in the points standings, 30 behind Everts and 89 behind De Wolf.
The series has a weekend off from here before reconvening in the United Kingdom for the MXGP of Great Britain at the fabled Matterley Basin venue in England. A completely different challenge to Kegums for the riders brings more excitement and unpredictability! See you out there!
Sacha Coenen: “It feels really good to be back on the top step of the podium. It was a solid weekend. Just in qualifying I had a little collision with my teammate, but that’s racing. We got through the races with good starts and strong riding, and we’re happy to leave here with the overall win. Looking forward to keeping this momentum going for the rest of the season.”
Simon Längenfelder: “It was good... until it wasn’t. I’ll definitely try to never make that mistake again. I had good starts, good speed, everything was there just one mistake too many in that final race. Still, second overall and I leave with the red plate and extend the gap, so that’s a positive. But yeah, it could have been much better.”
Kay de Wolf: “I was still struggling with a lot of pain from last week and the recovery just wasn’t fast enough. I kept crashing and hitting the same shoulder, which made it a really tough weekend. But in the second race, I dug deep and gave it everything. We’re not out of this fight and we’ll keep pushing to the end. Big thanks to the team for standing behind me and doing all they can.”
Main Photo: Sacha Coenen
Bottom Photos: 1. Simon Laengenfelder; 2. Kay de Wolf
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34:20.890; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:03.203; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:20.244; 4. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:50.899; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:58.856; 6. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:02.159; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.213; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +1:23.510; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:26.641; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +1:33.019
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:34.662; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:03.320; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:07.953; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.161; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:18.191; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:19.284; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:20.252; 8. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:24.837; 9. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:51.733; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:55.352
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 47 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 36 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 30 p.; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 29 p.; 8. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 27 p.; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 25 p.; 10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 22 p.
MX2 - World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 515 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 488 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 478 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 419 p.; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 389 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 378 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 324 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 265 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 253 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 220 p
MX2 - Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 602 points; 2. Husqvarna, 540 p.; 3. Yamaha, 412 p.; 4. Triumph, 365 p.; 5. Honda, 352 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 165 p.; 7. TM, 142 p.; 8. GASGAS, 7 p
All the photos from the MXGP of Latvia will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MXGP OF LATVIA QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1800m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 20°
Weather conditions: Cloudy / Sunny
Crowd Attendance: 22,000
LINKS
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