Cycle News Staff | June 27, 2023
The FIM Motocross World Championship took to the islands of Indonesia for round 10 of the season at the MXGP of Sumbawa-Indonesia. Two first-time winners (this season) emerged at the end of the weekend with Romain Febvre and Lucas Coenen taking their respective MXGP and MX2 overall victories.
MXGP
Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre continued his stride after a strong qualifying race. The Frenchman grabbed a big holeshot in race one over Jorge Prado and Jeremy Seewer. Febvre looked to be running away with the race win, but fell with a six-second lead and handed the position to points leader, Prado. Prado held on for another moto win ahead of Febvre and Seewer.
Febvre again took the lead in race two and looked to right his mistakes from the first one. He went uncontested ahead of the competition and used 2-1 finishes to take the overall win, his first since 2021. Febvre also moves into second in points with Jeffery Herlings out due to injury.
“I needed this victory and it is always welcomed, especially in these kinds of conditions,” said Febvre. “I felt very comfortable in the first race, made my own mistake but I showed in the second that I was riding very well and that I was fast. I am happy to win here and I hope for more wins this season.”
Behind the leader, Prado found himself in second for most of the race. Seewer mounted a late-race charge and worked his way from outside the top five right up to the rear wheel of Prado. With just four laps left in the moto, Seewer made his attack and overtook Prado for second. The Yamaha rider ended up third overall with 3-2 finishes behind Prado’s 1-3. Prado continues to lead the overall points.
MX2
The MX2 division is still anyone’s to win. The early-season points leader, Jago Geerts, is back from injury and holeshotted the first moto of the day. The Yamaha rider led early on but fell on lap two and dropped back to sixth. He remounted but only went on to salvage fifth at the checkers.
Geerts’s crash allowed Liam Everts to sneak by for the top spot. Everts rode by himself for nearly the whole race while Lucas Coenen stalked from behind. With two to go, Coenen made his pass for the lead, made it stick, and held it through to the finish. Andrea Adamo also managed a last-lap pass to claim third.
Coenen again found himself up front in race two with his twin brother Sacha. The Husqvarna-mounted race-one winner finally managed to hold the lead for the entire race with no real mistakes. He claimed a dominant 1-1 victory to take his first career overall and earning redemption from his round-nine heartbreak.
“I think this one is really special,” Coenen said. “This is an insane feeling that I cannot describe. I want to thank everybody who has worked extremely hard to support me.”
Everts and Geerts battled it out for the final spots on the podium. Everts eventually made the move to secure second in the race and in the overall. Geerts took third, making it a Belgian sweep of the podium. Adamo finished fourth overall and now leads the MX2 championship just five points over Thibault Benistant. CN
VIDEO | MXGP of Sumbawa-Indonesia Highlights
MXGP
MXGP
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-1
- Jorge Prado (GG) 1-3
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 3-2
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Yam) 4-5
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Yam) 6-4
MX2
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 1-1
- Liam Everts (KTM) 2-2
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 5-3
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 3-7
- Thibault Benistant (Yam) 6-4
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