Cycle News Staff | May 14, 2024
Round six of the FIM World Motocross Championship took place in Lugo, Spain, May 11-12, at a new venue, The Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado, aka, The Circuit of Jorge Prado, aptly named after the defending series champion. Prado completed a perfect weekend in front of his home fans and regained the championship lead after losing it one round prior in the Portugal mud. In MX2, Lucas Coenen claimed his first overall win of the 2024 campaign.
Jorge Prado swept the weekend at his home circuit and reclaimed the points lead.
MXGP
Prado dominated the Ram Qualifying race before taking the holeshot in race one of the MXGP division. The Spanish native led every lap of the opening moto despite the efforts from second-place Romain Febvre.
Febvre stayed close but couldn’t get close enough to make a pass stick. He finished 2.5 seconds back.
Yamaha’s Calvin Vlaanderen battled with points leader Tim Gajser for third in the early stages of the race before Gajser fell and dropped to sixth. Vlaanderen held it together to finish on the podium in race one.
A gate malfunction forced a restart in race two in which Vlaanderen carried his momentum into a holeshot and early lead. Prado rode hot on his tail and passed for the lead on the opening lap. But the race didn’t end there, as both Febvre and Gajser battled up to the back of Prado. Gajser eventually got the upper hand and stalked the Spaniard, the red plate hanging in the balance. The Honda rider slid out with a few laps to go, dropping him from second to third and losing the points lead in the process. This fall allowed Jeffrey Herlings to move into second behind Prado, with Febvre taking fourth in the race.
Prado’s 1-1-1 sweep of the weekend saw him reclaim the championship lead by two points over Gajser. Herlings took second on the weekend with 4-2 results, swapping spots with Febvre’s 2-4 for third.
Jeffrey Herlings landed second overall with a podium in race two.
“I grew up around 15 minutes from here and pretty much learned to ride all around here, so of course, winning an MXGP here makes things super special,” Prado said. “It’s a very tough track, especially in the second moto. It was very rough. My goal for the weekend was to win, and I did it. I feel like nothing could stop me this weekend. We also have recaptured the red plate and to have it is important, but to keep it until the end of the season is going to take more work.”
“I missed my starts a bit today but got back to 4th and 2nd,” Herlings said. “I had a bit of luck with Tim crashing. I know I need to work on my weak points but the speed is coming back, and I felt it again here. Pretty pumped with my second podium.”
“I’m happy to be on the box for sure,” said Febvre. “In the first race, I thought I had something for Jorge, but he was fast. I didn’t make so many mistakes, and I was happy with second. Second starts were not the best, actually, but the first two laps went really good. Then I lost a little bit of my rhythm and got a bit disappointed, but Vlaanderen’s crash put me on the podium, so I had mixed emotions, but we got back to work.”
Kay de Wolf and Liam Everts rubbed elbows.
MX2
Race one of the MX2 division saw Yamaha’s Thibault Benistant take the holeshot and early lead. Defending MX2 champ, Andrea Adamo was having one of his best races of the year and challenged Benistant for the lead, eventually taking over the top spot before Benistant’s big crash. Points leader Kay de Wolf moved his way through the field after a poor start and found himself on Adamo’s rear fender with one lap to go. After a suspenseful final lap, Adamo held on for the win, finishing less than a second clear of de Wolf. Liam Everts finished third.
Everts rolled the race-one podium into a holeshot in race two, with Lucas Coenen passing for the lead on the opening lap. Coenen held the top spot for the entire race and showed the speed he’s capable of in good conditions. He crossed first and claimed his first Grand Prix overall of the year, the second of his career. Adamo passed up to fourth and took second overall with 1-4 finishes. Everts held on for second in the moto and took third overall with 3-2 results. De Wolf finished third in race two, but was off the podium in fourth for the overall classification. Still, he holds the championship lead by 44 points.
Lucas Coenen earned his first overall of 2024.
“The last few races have been really tough on me,” Coenen said. “I’m not 100 percent yet with my shoulder, and I’m still battling with it, but today I managed to win. This was a brutal weekend. In the first moto, I was frustrated because I couldn’t pass somebody. Then in the second moto, I just tried to focus on getting my rhythm going. I got into third and then into the lead, and I tried to control the gap as best as I could. I hope that now we have finally got the win, we can keep this pace up for the rest of the year and see where we end up!”
“I felt really good all weekend here,” Adamo said. “It was a bummer that we had a clash in the qualification heat and P16 meant I was out of the [Saturday] points and it was not easy for today. I made a good start, though, and led the whole moto. I was consistent and managed the gap and then had to step it up a bit at the end. I was very happy to win. In the second moto, I messed up the start but, overall, it was a solid weekend, and I’m pleased to be on the podium.”
“I’m happy to be sitting here because I felt pretty bad all day,” Everts said. “A lot of stomach pain and, whatever I ate, came up straightaway. Two solid starts, and I surprised myself a little bit, but I gave my all and took what I could. I kept a cool head and did what I could.” CN
MXGP
- Jorge Prado (GG) 1-1
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 4-2
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-4
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 6-3
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Yam) 3-7
MX2
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 4-1
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 1-4
- Liam Everts (KTM) 3-2
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 2-3
- Thibault Benistant (Yam) 5-6
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