Cycle News Staff | July 29, 2024
Round 14 of the FIM Motocross World Championship took to the iconic deep sands of Lommel, Belgium, for the MXGP of Flanders, July 28. With the series well past the halfway mark, it’s all about points in both divisions. Jeffrey Herlings and Kay de Wolf, two Dutch sand specialists, came away with their respective overall wins at one of the toughest tracks on the circuit.
MXGP
Jorge Prado seemed to be the man to beat early on in both races. The reigning MXGP Champion is looking to gain crucial points on series leader Tim Gajser and the GasGas rider grabbed both holeshots on the day. Prado checked out early in race one and held a 16-second lead at the halfway mark.
Prado led early on in both races. Photo: GasGas
But KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings had other plans. After tangling with a lapper near the halfway point of the race, the Dutchman sprinted his way to the back of Prado and passed for the lead with only three laps left in the moto. He made the move for first and held off Prado to take the checkers. Prado crossed second, with Yamaha’s Calvin Vlaanderen third.
Herlings had other plans and ran down a 16 second lead in race one. Photo: KTM
Race two looked more of the same, as Prado again crossed the holeshot line first, with both Herlings and Gajser outside the top three. The number one of Prado ran up front for the first few laps and extended his gap to eight seconds over the next rider.
Herlings again claimed the win in moto two. Photo: KTM
After Romain Febvre fell from second, Herlings had the same mission as race one. A series of mistakes from Prado once again allowed Herlings to close in and make the move at the halfway point. From there it was smooth sailing for “The Bullet” as he held the lead to the finish and swept the day with 1-1 results, taking his third overall win of the season. Prado stayed close and took second overall, going 2-2 on the day. Febvre and Gajser duked it out for the final spot on the box with the Frenchman gaining the advantage with a third in race two. Gajser claimed fourth overall but still leads the championship by 24 points over Prado.
Febvre held on for third overall.
“First moto I was trying to overtake the same guy a couple of times and ended up hitting him [lapper] and banging my knee,” Herlings said. “That meant I had to warm it up and take it a bit easy at the start of the second moto. Jorge has been really strong at the start of races, so I had to make a rhythm and try not to blow up. I passed him and made a little gap and then managed it. Every point counts, and I fought for every one today. It’s a fun track, and obviously, I’m strong in the sand. I was beaten in Sardinia, but I’ve been getting better and better and riding more like my old self.”
MXGP Podium.
MX2
The MX2 division showcased two up-and-down motos, which were anything but predictable. The first moto saw the two Belgian brothers, Sacha and Lucas Coenen, leading their home race. On the opening lap, championship leader Kay de Wolf started back in sixth but moved his way to second with a series of passes.
Sacha Coenen proved again he’s a holeshot specialist. Photo: KTM
He moved around the brothers and found himself leading by lap two. However, de Wolf crashed out of the lead, putting Sacha back up front before he also crashed. De Wolf found himself leading once again, as he managed to stay upright and take the race win over Rick Elzinga and Camden Mc Lellan.
De Wolf put on multiple charges to take the win. Photo: Husqvarna
Sacha claimed another holeshot in race two with de Wolf back in fifth. The Husqvarna rider, de Wolf, again made quick passes on the opening lap and found himself stalking the leaders. By lap five, de Wolf passed for the lead but crashed shortly after with a big swap-out, which dropped him to second. He’d remount another charge to the front but suffered yet another crash, which set him back to fifth place.
Laengenfelder found his way to the front after multiple lead changes. Photo: GasGas
Rick Elzinga found himself leading the race momentarily with Liam Everts and Simon Laengenfelder hot on his heels. Laengenfelder moved around Everts and passed for the top spot, which he held to the finish, taking the race win and third overall. After two crashes, de Wolf worked his way back to second on the final lap.
Rick Elzinga landed on the podium with 4-2 finishes.
He earned the overall win with 1-2 finishes and now leads the championship by 65 points over Lucas Coenen and another 12 points over Laengenfelder. Elzinga crossed the line fourth but took the final podium spot with 2-4 results.
De Wolf’s 1-2 earned him the overall. Photo: Husqvarna
“Each weekend we are trying to get as many points as possible and preserve our position at the top of the championship,” said de Wolf. “Sometimes that doesn’t mean winning every single moto. I have to be critical also because the second moto wasn’t good enough—I made too many mistakes, which shouldn’t have happened—so I will for sure be working on that. I’m happy to finally win Lommel.” CN
MX2 Podium
MXGP
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 1-1
- Jorge Prado (GG) 2-2
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 4-3
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 5-4
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Fan) 6-6
MX2
- Kay De Wolf (Hus) 1-2
- Rick Elzinga (Yam) 2-4
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 8-1
- Liam Everts (KTM) 6-3
- Mikkel Haarup (Tri) 4-7
