MXGP

The leading pair in the MXGP World Championship began today’s duel as early as Free Practice, with Lucas Coenen snatching the top time from Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre on his final lap of the session. The Frenchman took the advantage back, however, with a late push in Time Practice to grab the first gate pick for the Qualifying Race, while Glenn Coldenhoff took a solid second for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP, edging Coenen down to third.  Calvin Vlaanderen, in the special 70^th Anniversary colours being run this weekend for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, took fourth despite a crash that ruined a lap that looked faster, and Andrea Bonacorsi put a second Fantic into the top five!

Coenen, who has proven to be the most consistently fast starter in MXGP this year, rocketed into the lead through the first corner of the Qualifying Race and immediately started to pull away, while Coldenhoff veered into the path of Febvre and held up the red plate holder through turn one! This left Bonacorsi in second, with Jago Geerts initially third for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, although he had to yield immediately to Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez.  However, both factory men were surprised by a brilliant few corners from British rider Adam Sterry, who fired his Chambers KTM Racing machine past them both to take third by the fifth corner on the track!

The action came thick and fast on the opening lap, as Coldenhoff tried an outside line to make a pass on Geerts, who had slipped down to sixth behind Vlaanderen.  Glenn left the door open to a desperate passing attempt by Febvre, and the two veterans were suddenly in a pile on the floor!

Remounting just inside the top twenty, Febvre set about salvaging as many points as he could to protect his Championship lead, while Fernandez and Vlaanderen squeezed past Sterry by the end of the first full lap.  Outside of the top six, Brian Bogers was the second-highest Fantic but involved in a tussle with the MRT Racing Team Beta of Ben Watson, Jeremy Seewer for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team, and the JM Racing Honda of Brent Van Doninck!

Geerts was unable to get past Sterry in the early laps, although Fernandez ran off track on lap three to briefly drop behind the Welshman. Vlaanderen set after Bonacorsi, and did the classic livery proud with a fantastic pass around the outside of the Italian on lap six to take second place!

By this time, Febvre had worked up into the top ten with a strong pass on former teammate Seewer, before Watson fired around the outside of Bogers into the second corner to take away seventh from the Dutchman! By lap eight, Febvre was up to seventh, while Bogers slipped down the order to an eventual 15^th as Seewer rounded out the top ten at the finish. 

Van Doninck passed Watson with four laps to go as the pair claimed eighth and ninth, but above them there were more changes!  Geerts took until lap ten to find a way past Sterry at the very top of the track, and Febvre also took the Chambers KTM man for sixth a lap later. 

Seventh was still a career best MXGP Qualifying Race result for the British rider, while fifth for Geerts ahead of Febvre was the Yamaha man’s best result apart from his win at Lugo in May.

Fernandez took fourth on Saturday for the fourth GP in a row, Bonacorsi celebrated his best Saturday race yet in third, and Vlaanderen equalled his second place from the muddy race in Portugal.  However, Coenen cruised to a nine-second win, his fifth Qualifying Race win of the year, and took five points off the Championship lead, putting him just 27 behind Febvre heading into tomorrow’s GP races!

Lucas Coenen: “I was feeling good today, warm weather, fast track, the holeshot and then I just rode each lap, had fun and enjoyed it. Time Practice was tough because I didn’t get any flow, but the Quali race was better. I kept the bike neutral, found my rhythm, and that’s the goal tomorrow: holeshots and then stay in front.”

The leading riders in the practice sessions showed that it was clearly a track for the sand lovers, as Kay de Wolf finished top in the morning session ahead of Sacha Coenen, although the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider reversed those positions to take the first gate pick for the Qualifying Race, while Liam Everts was third behind his Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate. Cas Valk was third and then fourth for Van Venrooy KTM Racing, while his former EMX250 rival Mathis Valin was also in the top five for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2. Red plate holder Simon Längenfelder could only manage seventh, just ahead of fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and main championship chaser Andrea Adamo.

It’s never a surprise to see Sacha Coenen take a Holeshot, although the teenage Belgian hadn’t taken one on a Saturday since Riola Sardo back in April, but he remedied this with a clear lead over Everts and Honda HRC’s Valerio Lata, although the Italian was moved down the order quickly, still sore from his big crash at Matterley Basin.

MX2

Just as in MXGP, the first few corners of the Finnish circuit saw major changes in the leading five, and it was Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Guillem Farres who made a move inside Längenfelder and the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 machine of Thibault Benistant to take third! Längenfelder slipped further back behind not just Benistant, but also De Wolf and Valin, to finish the first full lap in seventh place! His main consolation was that Adamo was still two positions behind him in ninth!

Halfway around that first full lap, Coenen had made a mistake on landing from a tabletop, and Everts took advantage to grab the lead from his compatriot. With the sort of smooth riding that has become his trademark, Liam started to pull away from the pack on the roughening surface.

De Wolf had got up to fourth and chased Farres down, catching him at the end of lap three and pulling a sharp overtake on the Spaniard into the second corner, chopping across the Triumph’s front wheel! On the same section, he nearly did the same to Coenen two laps later, but this time was able to edge past on the exit of the turn to claim second behind his teammate!

Everts, who had taken points in every Qualifying Race of the year up until today, lost that perfect run with a heavy fall through the uphill wave section.  The early diagnosis is a fracture of a bone at the bottom of his back, so he is on his way home to seek medical attention. Everyone in the Paddock wishes him a speedy recovery.

De Wolf inherited the lead, and Längenfelder had started to recover from his early issues as he passed Valin on lap eight, for fifth, which turned into fourth a few corners later as Benistant crashed down the order.

The Frenchman would come home in eighth, just ahead of Valk, who had passed the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider Karlis Reisulis for ninth on the final lap.  The second Triumph of Camden McLellan had to move forward from a poor start to claim seventh behind Adamo.  Valin’s fifth place matched his best Saturday finish yet in MX2, while Längenfelder’s fourth was good enough to gain two further points on Adamo, leaving him now 54 ahead of the Italian.  Farres’ third place was his best in MX2 by some margin, while Coenen took second for the fifth time this year, still chasing that elusive Saturday win!  De Wolf, however, took only his second Qualifying Race win of the year to reduce his deficit to Adamo down to just 13 points for second in the series. 

It marks a welcome return to form for the defending World Champion, and while there is some rain expected during the night, the forecast for tomorrow is also for a dry day, which should lead to more great racing around the frantic KymiRing circuit!  Don’t miss the action tomorrow from Finland!

Kay de Wolf: “I felt really good today. I was worried when I saw that crash with Liam, my mind went straight to him and I really hope he is okay, but after that, I reset and focused on the race. Getting the Qualifying win feels great, and now I’m excited for tomorrow."

Moto Report

Lucas Coenen (MXGP) and de Wolf (MX2) Win at MXGP of Finland

IITTI-KYMIRING (Finland) – Today’s MXGP of Finland, the first international event to be held at the new KymiRing facility near the city of Kuovola, delivered a tough day of racing for the 13th round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships, as the northernmost stop of the series brought bright sunshine for the whole weekend on the physically demanding new circuit.

After an overnight thunderstorm put some moisture into the circuit for the morning sessions, the sunny weather continued for Sunday to keep the soft surface in a fast but rough condition for the Grand Prix races themselves, and with temperatures running high for the area, the physical challenge for the riders was not to be under-estimated!

After five consecutive trophies for second-place finishes, Lucas Coenen finally took his third MXGP win of the season for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing to complete a perfect 1-1-1 weekend, and nudged himself closer to the lead of the series, although red plate holder Romain Febvre fought tirelessly from average starts to still take second on the day for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP. Third overall, in classic 70th Anniversary colours for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, was a thoroughly-deserved first podium of the season for Calvin Vlaanderen.

The MX2 class saw a return to form for reigning Champion Kay de Wolf, who took his first Grand Prix win for over two months for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. In a similar recovery from a bad run of form, Andrea Adamo took a fine second overall to help his Championship campaign, with fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing flyer Sacha Coenen taking third overall for the fourth time this year! This allowed the Belgian to move past the injured Liam Everts into fourth in the Championship.

There was action all over the track at the new Finnish venue, which was well received by both fans and riders alike, with many stories to tell throughout the pack!

Before the action started on Sunday, a solemnel moment happened where the FIM delegation joined David Luongo, CEO of Infront Moto Racing for a minute of silence in the memory of former FIM President Francesco Zerbi which took place in front of the starting gates.

MXGP

The Sunday morning Warm-up saw great pace from the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP squad, as Andrea Bonacorsi and Glenn Coldenhoff took first and second in the session ahead of Febvre, but Jago Geerts crashed on his second lap and would line up in the races for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP with bruising to his shoulder.

Even with a gate pick from outside the top ten, it was Coldenhoff who fired the Fantic from the middle of the gate into the lead to claim his third Fox Holeshot Award of the season, although Lucas Coenen was quickly onto his back wheel as the battles raged behind them!

Mattia Guadagnini had got a great jump for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team, but was passed in the next few corners by Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez, although Bonacorsi carved through into third place by turn five with some decisive riding! Febvre had suffered a poor start and had to fight from outside the top ten.

Coenen, the chief chaser in the title race, scorched down the Pit Lane straight on the inside of Coldenhoff to take the lead before the start of the first full lap, and proceeded to get the hammer down.  Behind the two Fantics were Fernandez in fourth, Vlaanderen in fifth, then Guadagnini ahead of the third Fantic Factory Racing MXGP machine of Brian Bogers.

Febvre was swiftly on the move, passing Bogers at the start of lap two, although he had to cope with a retaliatory move from the Dutchman before sealing the deal, but then took just two further corners to get past Guadagnini.

In the meantime, Coenen set a blistering pace, shocking observers with a lap time nearly five seconds faster than anyone else! The speed was almost too much as he survived a massive near-crash through the uphill wave section, and wisely backed it down from there.

Fighting in to the top ten was the Team Motoblouz Honda SR Motul rider Alberto Forato, who moved past both Guadagnini and Bogers to take seventh at the close, ahead of the Fantic-riding Dutchman, while Brent Van Doninck took ninth for JM Racing Honda, and Forato’s teammate Kevin Horgmo took tenth by the finish.

Febvre took until lap eight of 19 to catch and pass Vlaanderen, but then made a mistake to drop behind him again, allowing the South African-born Dutchman to close in on Fernandez and pass him for fourth in the closing stages.  Febvre also made his way past the Spaniard, but Coenen took a commanding 13-second victory, as Fantic Factory Racing MXGP enjoyed 2-3 finishes for Coldenhoff and Bonacorsi. 

The day looked like it was going to get even better for Fantic as Coldenhoff took his second Fox Holeshot Award of the day in race two, although Coenen was instantly leading into the second corner and started to pull away again.  His gap at the front was widened by a collision between Fernandez and Coldenhoff as they disputed second place into turn five!  Both hit the ground hard, and Fernandez was forced to retire with machine damage by the end of lap eight.  Coldenhoff was left to fight through the pack, and teammate Bonacorsi also got held up as he hit Glenn’s bike on the floor!

Just as in the Qualifying Race, Adam Sterry was up into third for Chambers Racing KTM, but this time he was unable to hold back the factory riders as Geerts, Seewer, and Febvre soon got past.  Vlaanderen held second at the end of the first full lap from Geerts and a charging Febvre, who needed to limit the points damage to Coenen. 

Van Doninck, enjoying the soft surface, held a solid fifth place ahead of the remarkable Bonacorsi, who had charged past several riders including Seewer to hold sixth place after his early hold-up! Forato, Sterry, and the MRT Racing Team Beta of Tom Koch completed the early top ten.

Suddenly on lap five, Coenen’s lead shrunk as he fell awkwardly in a right-hander that he admitted to struggling with all day, but remounted just in front of Vlaanderen and Febvre, who had blasted past Geerts into turn two on lap three.  The factory KTM man then made a further mistake on the corner before Pit Lane, going over a berm and handing the lead to Vlaanderen! The retro colours had deservedly got to the front!

It didn’t last long, however, as Coenen regrouped to hold off Febvre and jump past Vlaanderen on a downhill “staircase” section to re-take the lead on lap seven.  On the same lap, Van Doninck got past a sore Geerts to take fourth, and Coldenhoff sneaked past both Koch and the other MRT Racing Team Beta of Ben Watson to climb up to ninth.

Febvre took just two more laps to get back past Vlaanderen, but couldn’t run down the flying Coenen.  The top three, as well as Van Doninck in fourth, would finish the race in that order, but Coldenhoff’s valiant charge up to fifth place left him in a three-way tie with Febvre and Vlaanderen for second in the GP! Unfortunately for the Dutchman, the last race tie-breaker put him in fourth overall, just ahead of Bonacorsi, who had got up to fifth in the race before slipping down to eighth.

Van Doninck’s great second race was enough to put him in sixth overall, his best of the season by a distance!  Forato also put in his personal best since August last year with two seventh places putting him in that position overall ahead of Bogers, with Geerts salvaging ninth overall thanks to a fine sixth in race two.  Jeremy Seewer soldiered away to reach tenth overall with 11-10 finishes for Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team.

While some sportsmen fear the number 13, Lucas Coenen might consider it his friend as he won round 13, on the 13th of July, which was his 13th career Grand Prix victory! His perfect weekend was enough to slash Febvre’s points lead from 32 points to just 15 as the series moves to the Czech Republic, where the Frenchman is a three-time winner, in just two weeks’ time!  This season’s duel for the MXGP crown continues to be a fascinating one!

Lucas Coenen: “That second race wasn’t easy, but I’m pumped with how it turned out. I got out front early and just took off. Saturday was a bit of a struggle, but today we made some good changes, and it all came together. Super happy with the 1-1 and how I rode, let’s keep this momentum going!”

Romain Febvre: “This weekend I had to work really hard, probably the most all season. I crashed in Saturday’s qualifying and again in Race 1, so I was constantly fighting back. In Race 2, I didn’t get the best start either, but I gave everything. I saw a chance when Lucas (Coenen) made a mistake, but I was just missing that last bit of energy. We know where we need to improve, starting up front makes all the difference. That’s the goal for the next ones.”

Calvin Vlaanderen: “This podium means so much. It’s been weeks and months of hard work, not just from me, but the whole team. We’ve been struggling this year, so to finally get this result, especially during Yamaha’s 70th anniversary celebration, is special. I’m really proud to give something back to everyone who’s supported me, my team, my family, my girlfriend and her family. Thank you all.”

MX2

Saturday’s Qualifying Race winner Kay de Wolf set the fastest time in morning Warm-up, and again Cas Valk showed his speed with second for Van Venrooy Racing KTM.  Mathis Valin also continued his good weekend with third in the session for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2.

After his struggles in Saturday’s Qualifying Race, 2023 World Champion Andrea Adamo knew he had to try and battle back into contention to avoid losing more points in the Championship to red plate holder Simon Längenfelder, and got the first point of order correct with his fifth Fox Holeshot Award of the season, using his advantage to take a line through the fourth corner that his fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ace was also hunting for, and the German ran off-track from a promising third position!  His teammate Sacha Coenen also had issues, tipping off in the very next corner, leaving Thibault Benistant in a clear second place for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 ahead of Czech rider Julius Mikula on the TM Moto CRD Motosport machine!

De Wolf had moved forward quickly past Honda HRC’s Valerio Lata and BTS KTM Racing rider Jens Walvoort, and added Mikula to his list of victims with a great pass on the uphill wave section at the top of the circuit, a section that would become a key passing spot for him throughout the day.  Just as Benistant looked to be lining up Adamo for the lead, he made a mistake and fell into the clutches of De Wolf, who passed the Frenchman on lap two.

Both Mikula and Walvoort unfortunately crashed out of their good early positions, leaving Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Camden McLellan to give chase in fourth ahead of his teammate Guillem Farres and the second Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 machine of Karlis Reisulis, although Coenen’s recovery took him up to fifth by the end of lap five!

By that time, De Wolf had pulled a sweet pass on the exit of the second corner to wrestle the lead from Adamo, and from there the top three positions were set as the Dutchman managed an eventual gap of 3.7 seconds, with Benistant a further 6.4 seconds behind Adamo.  Coenen continued his charge to get past McLellan for fourth on lap 15 of 19, helped by a small tip-over for the South African.

Längenfelder had a quiet race after his early off-track excursion, and took sixth between the two Triumph teamsters. Valin took eighth ahead of Reisulis and the Latvian’s teammate Rick Elzinga.  

Sacha Coenen restored normal order with his ninth Fox Holeshot Award of the season in race two, as Benistant, Farres, De Wolf, and Reisulis gave chase in that order, while title contenders Adamo and Längenfelder held sixth and seventh from the opening few corners.

De Wolf railed around Farres to take third at the start of the first full lap, while Adamo ran off-track slightly in his attempts to get past Reisulis! Both factory KTM men got around the Latvian by lap six, as De Wolf attacked Benistant, using his favourite passing place on the uphill waves to take second from the Yamaha man!

Farres suffered a disastrous lap eight, crashing twice within the space of a few corners, and dropped back to an eventual 12th place, and tenth overall. Reisulis and Elzinga took eighth and ninth, ahead of a valiant Walvoort, to take those positions overall, while Valin claimed seventh behind McLellan, just as they did in the overall reckoning.

Längenfelder couldn’t advance from fifth, while Benistant got passed by a determined Adamo for second on lap 13 of 19, leaving the Frenchman in fourth overall.  Meanwhile, De Wolf had closed in relentlessly on Coenen and was to pass him - where else - on the uphill wave section! The Dutchman stretched out a comfortable 8.7 second margin of victory by the flag, and took his third GP victory of the year.  It brings his career tally to 12 in total, and despite Adamo’s fine second place on the day, pulls him to within five points of the Italian for second in the series. His gap to Längenfelder at the top was reduced from 70 points to 48, and means that with seven rounds to go, there is still all to play for between the top three contenders in the title chase!

After a weekend off, the series moves on to the classic Loket circuit for the MXGP of Czech Republic, where the hard-pack specialists in both classes will look to strike back in the points chase!  2025 is far from over in the Motocross World Championships!

Kay de Wolf: “We had a really good plan with the team and executed it perfectly, three races, three wins. I managed my rhythm well and stayed patient when I needed to. All the hard work paid off, and I’m super thankful to my team. This was a big one for the championship, and I’m already looking forward to the next round.”

Andrea Adamo: "It was a solid weekend, and that’s exactly what we needed, especially in the sand. It’s not easy to be consistent here, but I stayed close to the front and made a nice move on Benistant for third in Race 2. Going 2-3 is the best we could do today, and I’m happy with that.”

Sacha Coenen: "I’m really happy to be on the podium again, especially since I’ve been sick all weekend. I got the holeshot in Race 2 and tried to hold on, but just didn’t have the energy to stay in front. Still, this is my third podium in a row, so I’m happy with the consistency. Let’s keep it going.”