Round nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the sandy circuit of Kegums, Latvia, on June 8-9, where two new winners left their mark on the 2024 season. In the MXGP division, Jeffrey Herlings secured his first win in over a year, while his KTM teammate Sacha Coenen claimed his first career overall victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
MXGP
Rain came and down poured just before the gate drop of the first MXGP moto leaving the track a muddy mess for the MX1 heavyweights. Nevertheless, Jorge Prado grabbed the all-important holeshot over Herlings and points-rival Tim Gajser.
Both Herlings and Gajser made quick work of Prado in the first two laps, moving the red plate holder back to third. Later on lap three, Prado slid out in the mud, dropping him out of podium contention. With a muddy bike he salvaged seventh place. Up ahead, Herlings maintained control for the win over Gajser and Glen Coldenhoff.
Prado again took the start in race two with Herlings and Gajser closely in tow. This remained the running order for the entirety of the second moto, with all three riders finishing within just three seconds of each other. Herlings’ third in moto two earned him the overall with 1-3 finishes, his 104th overall win. Gajser’s 2-2 and Prado’s 7-1 rounded out the podium with Gajser retaking the points lead by four over Prado.
“Yesterday was so bad but today I was able to show people I could still ride a bit,” Herlings said. “The podium was the goal but to come out with a win was amazing. I didn’t quite have the pace for Jorge and Tim in the second moto; I was able to close them down but didn’t have the speed to pass. Anyway, very happy and two good starts today. I hope to keep that going because it’s been a weak point.”
MX2
The MX2 races saw more bar-to-bar battles as Sacha Coenen, Lucas Coenen, Kay De Wolf, and Simon Laengenfelder slugged it out. Sacha Coenen held the lead early in race one and defended the spot by sending De Wolf off-track during a pass attempt.
De Wolf, the current points leader, remounted an attack and made the move for the lead, taking his Husqvarna teammate Lucas Coenen with him for second. This moved Sacha to third as the two Husqvarna’s finished one and two in the first moto.
Race two spelled disaster for the Husqvarna teammates as multiple crashes throughout the moto dropped them both out of contention for the lead. For De Wolf, he threw away the race win and later hit the deck three more times before crossing the line ninth. Lucas Coenen crashed out of second place and eventually worked his way back to third, salvaging second overall with 2-3 scores.
Sacha Coenen benefitted from these mistakes as the KTM rider ran away with the moto victory. 3-1 scores earned the young Belgian his first overall win ahead of Lucas’s 2-3 and Laengenfelder’s 4-2. This marked the first time two brothers have landed on the podium since the King’s did it back in 1997.
“Really nice to win my first GP,” Coenen said. “I’m feeling happy! I had good speed today and I knew I could do it! I had a really good start in the second moto and I just did my race. We need to focus and try to make every weekend a bit like this…and be on the podium as much as we can. Not many mistakes today and I kept on my wheels. This feels so nice.”
RESULTS
MXGP
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 1-3
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 2-2
- Jorge Prado (GG) 7-1
- Glenn Coldenhoff (Fan) 3-4
- Brian Bogers (Fan) 4-5
MX2
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 3-1
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 2-3
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 4-2
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 1-9
- Liam Everts (KTM) 5-4
