Jason Thomas Breaks Down MXGP of Sardegna

Sardinia, Italy MXGP of Sardegna (Italy)FIM Motocross World Championship

Monster Energy AMA Supercross may have had an off weekend, but there was still great racing in other parts of the world. Which means retired racer/NBC pit reporter/Racer X journalist Jason Thomas will not take any time off. He went to the MXGP in Italy to join Paul Malin on the broadcast, so we fired some questions off to him. Here is what he had to say.

Just expand on what MXGP riders do to go so fast on sand tracks like this.
Put simply, they are masters in the discipline. They spend nearly all of their riding time in the sands of Belgium and Holland. They ride it when it’s wet, dry, and near frozen. The skills they have developed took decades to acquire.

In a nutshell, they “see” the sand better than others. They are able to anticipate the lines forming and changing before it actually happens. They understand how momentum is best maintained through fast, rough corners. They stay lower in the berms to avoid “burying” the motorcycle in the deepest dirt. They remain a gear taller through the rough sections, allowing the suspension to work more efficiently. They also utilize settings that are hard-earned after hundreds of hours of sand testing. Put simply, sand riding is an art. Can those lacking elite art skills paint a picture? Sure. Would anyone pay money to see it in a museum? Unlikely. That’s how sand riding works. Can anyone do it? Yes. Is there a whole different realm for those that have it mastered? Absolutely.

Are there tracks in the U.S. that are similar to this or is European sand different from American sand? When you look at this track, does it remind you of places in Florida at all?
This particular track is a bit unique. Since it’s half a mile from the Mediterranean Sea, it is incredibly fine, yet also deep, beach sand. The “fine” aspect means that it doesn’t hold all that well and berms blow out very easily. The depth of the sand means that the tires dig in and want to spin instead of driving forward. Think about anytime you have ever driven on the beach or a very sandy environment. Your tires want to spin in the sand and take your vehicle lower instead of propelling it forward. This Riola Sardo sand is similar.

Florida sand can be similar but only at very specific tracks. Many Florida sand tracks feature dark sand and will pack in (Pax Trax, Bithlo, Cocoa Beach, Sunshine), creating less depth than Riola. When you want to compare the two, imagine racing on Daytona Beach instead of the black dirt and grass of the Daytona SX.

Kay de Wolf versus Lucas Coenen. De Wolf has won all the races this year and despite his high-flying style has been (obviously) very consistent. Lucas is fast though, can he mount a challenge to his teammate?
Lucas Coenen will have days where he is the best rider on the race track. He will win and everyone will say “wow, this kid is unbeatable!” There will be other moments where his youth and inexperience get the best of him. He still has a tendency to make critical mistakes at inopportune times. Those mistakes will be too much to overcome if they continue, but I believe over time, he will learn to minimize those, and maturity will smooth out the rough edges. For now, though, the boom/bust dynamic makes a championship tough when battling the likes of de Wolf. Kay is entering the phase of his career when he is seeing things clearly. He doesn’t have to win every race. He can simply take advantage of opportunities and employ elite speed when things are clicking. Solid starts, elite pace, and the experience of past mistakes are all emanating from de Wolf’s repertoire.

A lot to talk about in MX2, from Andrea Adamo’s DQ, Liam Evert’s return, Sacha Coenen’s holeshots and crashes…the list goes on. Anything stand out worth mentioning for you?
For Adamo, this is the yin to 2023’s yang. He was the rider that week in and week out would be racking up solid points. He avoided issues, penalties, and punishing days. That pendulum is swinging the other direction now and he is losing points by the bucket full. He will win races in 2024 but if he can’t stem the points tide, it may be simply that; race wins and a lost title chase. [Note: this weekend, Adamo, the defending MX2 Champion, went off the race track and then rode through the pit lane to re enter the track. He was disqualified from the race for doing so, as MXGP rules state riders must come to a complete stop at some point in the mechanics' area]

It's interesting to see the difference in the Coenen brothers. The talent is undeniable for both. Sasha looks to still be figuring things out physically where Lucas is working through the mental game. I like the upside for Lucas a bit more as he simply has unteachable talent. Both should make an impact in America for 2025, though. Being relevant at their age (17) bodes well for future placement. It’s hard to overestimate how much they will learn over the next few years.

We’ll break the next two questions down to "long season" talk. First, let’s talk Jeffrey Herlings. He didn’t win in the sand, but he was keeping some pressure on Jorge Prado for a while in moto two. Is this a Tomac “It’s too early” portion of the season or is there real concern he won’t win again?
He will win at times this season if healthy. The concern is what the championship looks like when he is at full capacity. He is already 49 points down after 3 rounds. It “feels” like that lead is likely to grow from here, too. Prado knows how to manage a championship after 2023’s dominant campaign. He is so lethal on Saturdays and now can back up every ounce of that for 70 minutes on Sundays. Will Herlings win? Yes, I think so. Will it matter for the championship? I am hard pressed to say anything but no.

Febvre was not at his usual level and finished fifth. Is this just the variance of sand and hard pack races?
It wasn’t a fair fight, really. His mechanical failure on Saturday doomed him to the last gate pick for both races on Sunday. Riola Sardo’s start is wildly unfair to the outside gates. He had virtually no chance of a good start. He could have skipped breakfast because his entire Sunday would be full of eating beach sand. I felt for him because this wasn’t his doing. He did a nice job of salvaging a bad situation but that had to be a very frustrating experience. Racing at that level is hard enough but to know you’ll be starting 15^th or worse each race had to be mentally draining. I thought he fought valiantly to get back to where he did.

Prado is absolutely on fire. Expanding beyond Herlings, and including the likes of Tim Gajser, Romain Febvre, etc, can anyone catch him?
He has every aspect of his game dialed in. He is one of the best starters to ever exist. Period. That puts him in positive situations every time the gate drops. His ability to put in his best laps at the beginning of the race feeds into that great start. He can build a 5+ second lead by lap two. With his confidence level being at all time highs, there is now a huge difficulty in reeling in any lead on the #1. He doesn’t fear any of the other multi-time champions (Febvre, Gajser, Herlings). He’s comfortable with them being a few seconds behind where that may have been a pressure-filled environment in 2023 or prior. I don’t think he’s going to win every single time out but if there is a gate drop at any point of the weekend, how can he not be the favorite to win? I am not sure there is a solid strategy for beating him at the moment. That sounds hyperbolic but I think everyone is scratching their heads about what to do.

The real question everyone wants to ask: Jorge Prado versus Jett Lawrence in AMA Pro Motocross next summer. What do you think?
It’s going to be absolute fireworks. For my money, they are the two best motocross riders on the planet. Can Jeffrey Herlings or Chase Sexton enter the chat? Yes, I’m just not sure if they can every single weekend. Jett and Jorge could also push each other to a ceiling no one else can approach. If both can stay healthy until then, we could be set for a level up scenario that we haven’t seen since Carmichael/Stewart in 2006. They are both entering their prime with nothing but physical and mental growth ahead. Buckle up, folks.

MXGP