With the weather looking unpredictable for the Grand Prix races, the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS could have a lot more surprises in store tomorrow! 

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MXGP

New red plate holder Lucas Coenen was fired up to show his dominance in the premier class, and set the fastest time in both Free and Time Practice sessions.  In Free Practice Jeffrey Herlings was only five thousandths of a second behind, but could not replicate that in the afternoon session, finishing in seventh. Instead it was Romain Febvre who got the closest for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, six tenths down from last year’s GP winner Coenen. Kay de Wolf showed good pace with third position for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing.

From the ninth gate pick, however, came Andrea Adamo, taking a comfortable Holeshot for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ahead of Herlings and Tim Gajser, with the second Honda HRC Petronas rider Tom Vialle keeping the home hero Jeremy Seewer out of the top four on his Red Bull Ducati Factory MX Team machine! Coenen had work to do but made quick work of moving forward, passing Vialle down the long back straight with an inside line that proved potent throughout the race!

Gajser was hassling Herlings, but nearly came unstuck with a wild moment through the corner after the finish line, while Febvre passed Vialle for fifth on lap two as Seewer was shuffled back to ninth, eventually finishing a disappointed 12th in front of his home fans. Febvre looked close to passing Coenen, but the teenager blocked his best moves. On lap four it was Herlings’ turn to make a move, a beautiful one around the outside of the corner at the end of Pit Lane to take the lead from Adamo!

Sensing that Herlings was escaping, Gajser took his shot and dived underneath the Italian on the same corner a lap later, with Coenen using his magic line down the back straight to gain speed and demote the 2023 MX2 World Champion to fourth.  Attacked by Febvre, Adamo wasn’t going to lose any further positions though, and the Frenchman made a mistake to slip down to seventh at the end of lap 10.

Just before this, Vialle appeared to get his boot stuck in his rear wheel, went down and dropped to tenth.  Not appearing to have his former speed, the Frenchman collided with his Honda HRC Petronas teammate Ruben Fernandez and hit the ground again! He finished a frustrated 18th at the flag.

Meanwhile, Coenen again used his fast back straight line to pass Gajser up the inside, and zoomed in on Herlings! Maxime Renaux rode well to finish fifth, behind Adamo, for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, with De Wolf claiming sixth ahead of an angry Febvre.

Pauls Jonass took eighth for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, and Alberto Forato took a solid ninth for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP, ahead of Fernandez.

Coenen did his best to attack Herlings through the driving rain, but on a slick circuit the Dutchman was able to hold on to win by two seconds, and reduce the Belgian’s Championship advantage to seven points!

It promises to be a battle royale on the Swiss grasslands tomorrow, and the weather is likely to be a factor!  You dare not miss what should be a tense and closely-fought battle for MXGP supremacy!

Jeffrey Herlings: “I tried to make a clean pass on my good buddy Andrea [Adamo] as much as I could as he’s a long-time friend. I had a lot of pressure from behind, so I knew I had to make a move quick to take the lead, and it wasn’t easy as he held a strong pace. Sunday is a long day, especially with these conditions. It’s quite cold, but hopefully tomorrow the weather improves and we can have a good one. This track is never easy for me, so to start with a win on Saturday feels really good.

Lucas Coenen: “The first lap was hectic, with riders going everywhere, but I managed to gain some positions. Then I had some issues and it became tricky to the end. I knew I needed to make quick passes, otherwise it would be difficult, but at the same time I didn’t want to take too many risks because the mud is really sticky. No excuses though, tomorrow is race day. We’re doing quite well, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Tim Gajser: “It was a good race. The start helped a lot because the track was getting greasy and slippery after all the rain. I think I rode smart and stayed close to the front guys, which is what we need. I felt comfortable on the bike, so overall I’m happy with today. Tomorrow the conditions could be even tougher, so the start will be key again, but hopefully we can improve and have a strong race.”

MX2

In a familiar pattern this season, Sacha Coenen was the fastest in Free Practice, ahead of the Triumph Factory Racing Team duo of Guillem Farres and Camden McLellan.  However, it was the 2024 EMX250 winner here, Valerio Lata, who took the first gate pick for the Qualifying Race, nearly seven tenths ahead of McLellan, with Coenen in third.

Despite finishing just outside the top five in Time Practice, Mathis Valin burst into the lead on his Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 machine, with Coenen, Lata, and McLellan giving chase.  Through the second corner, however, Valin made a mistake and laid the bike down, quickly remounting near the back of the pack!  Coenen gratefully accepted the lead, while Farres leapt past his teammate through the same corner!

Simon Längenfelder was fifth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with Cas Valk enjoying a good start for CRD Motosport TM Moto.  Liam Everts got past the Dutchman with a nice outside-to-inside move at the end of lap three, putting him fifth for Nestaan Husqvarana Factory Racing, and looking more comfortable on the progressively more slippery surface than most of his rivals.

In the meantime, Farres had crashed on the face of a jump, a very awkward spot, to give Coenen breathing room at the front. The Spaniard was to recover to seventh place, passing the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider, recently-turned 18-year-old Janis Reisulis with four laps to go.

Valin was making incredible progress through the pack after his early fall, with a determined pass on Janis Reisulis as well as on Everts, who had suffered a fall to dent his confidence.  The French flyer got all the way back to fifth place, ahead of the Belgian, but just falling short of passing Längenfelder for fourth.  The Kawasaki man could well be a factor tomorrow!

Rounding out the points scorers were Julius Mikula, scoring another good Saturday result in ninth for Osička KTM, with Karlis Reisulis tenth for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2.

Up front, McLellan had taken his time to get past Lata for second, and did so with a sweet move around the outside next to the Pit Lane on lap nine.  He got to within striking distance of Coenen with three laps to go, but was unable to pull the trigger despite some ragged moments for the Belgian! While Lata held on for a season-best third, McLellan had to settle for second, while Coenen kept his perfect Saturday record for the season intact with his third straight Qualifying Race win!

McLellan doubled his Championship lead over Längenfelder to four points, while Sacha has passed Farres for third in the standings.

With the weather tough to predict, tomorrow’s races could blow both World Championships wide open on Grand Prix Sunday!  Be sure to join us at the Schollenholz circuit, or on MXGP-TV for what could be a crazy day of MXGP action!  See you there!

Sacha Coenen: “There was a lot of pressure in the last laps and the track was really sketchy. I made a good choice with the goggles, which was important. My pace was good though, and towards the end I just focused on riding my own lines and creating a gap. I felt good on the bike. Hopefully the conditions are a bit better tomorrow, but we’ll see, I’m looking forward to it.”