Cycle News Staff | July 31, 2023
Round 14 of the MXGP of Finland saw Romain Febvre claim his fifth consecutive overall victory while Andrea Adamo swept MX2. But the biggest news of the day was MX2 title chaser Jago Geerts suffering a broken collarbone, and it appears he’ll be sidelined for multiple races.
MXGP
The championship heavyweights all started at the front of the field in MXGP race one with Jeremy Seewer leading the way early on over points leader Jorge Prado and Febvre. Febvre had other plans, though, and moved his way to the lead on lap two. From there, he held the top spot to claim yet another moto win and give him the advantage in the overall rankings. Seewer and Prado battled but stayed in their respective positions.
Race two saw Prado out front with Febvre close behind. The two stayed close with neither rider swapping positions. Prado took the race win, but his third in the opening moto dropped him to second overall. He still leads the MXGP Championship by a comfortable 98-point advantage. Febvre’s 1-2 finishes earned him the overall win. Coldenhoff came home third in the race and third overall.
Jeffery Herlings returned to action and logged 8-4 finishes for fifth overall.
“I had the speed every time I was on the track. I just feel one with the bike and the confidence is growing,” said Febvre. “I came close a few times but could not pass. But I knew it was going to be enough for a GP victory. That is five in a row; I beat my personal record.”
MX2
The MX2 Championship is one to watch as Geerts and Adamo were neck-and-neck for the title coming into the race. That all changed in MX2 race one when Geerts crashed with another rider on the opening lap, forcing him out of the race with a broken collarbone.
With his main rival out of the race, Adamo looked to maximize his points swing. The KTM rider then took command and went on to take only the second moto win of his career, despite having one overall victory. He won again in race two. A perfect day for Adamo saw him score maximum points and extend his lead to 60 over Geerts, who will most likely have to miss upcoming races.
Simon Langenfelder is catching steam after a strong podium at the previous GP. He again ran up front in Finland with a holeshot and an eventual second-place finish in race one. He crashed on the opening lap of race two but mounted an impressive charge as the moto wore on. At the checkers, he climbed as far as second place, going 2-2 for second on the day.
Liam Everts showed good pace in the sand with third overall. He ran up front all day and even led for a time in race two. Eventually, he lost the top spot but still carried strong 3-4 scores for another overall podium. Everts’ consistency is paying off as he is now third in the championship standings.
“I already won my first GP in Trentino but doing it like this with two race wins is really special,” said Adamo. “I didn’t expect this because it’s still a sand track, but I made it work. Now I want to keep working and keep going on this way.”
CN
MXGP
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 1-2
- Jorge Prado (GG) 3-1
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Yam) 4-3
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 2-5
- Jeffery Herlings (KTM) 8-4
MX2
- Andrea Adamo (Yam) 1-1
- Simon Langenfelder (GG) 2-2
- Liam Everts (KTM) 3-4
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 5-3
- Kevin Horgmo (Kaw) 4-7