The 13th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the hillside circuit of Loket for the MXGP of the Czech Republic on July 20-21. Points leaders Tim Gajser and Kay De Wolf continued their championship charges, both claiming individual overall victories and further extending their championship leads.
Highlights
MXGP
Both races of the MXGP division saw close racing among the three championship contenders. Jorge Prado led early on, with rivals Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings in close succession. The three battled for position early on but settled into a pace near the halfway mark.
Herlings then struck on lap eight as he moved past Prado for the lead and never looked back. The KTM rider checked out and crossed the line first, taking the 200th race win of his career. Prado held on for second, with Gajser in third.
Race two saw Prado and Gajser up front yet again, with Herlings struggling from the get-go. Two crashes on the opening lap spelled trouble for the race-one winner. Prado led again as he did early in the first moto, but Gajser continued to close.
On lap nine, the Honda rider executed his final move, which secured the lead from the reigning champ. Gajser held on for victory and claimed the overall win with 3-1 scores. Prado’s 2-2 gave him second. Herlings charged back to a brilliant fourth and earned third overall with 1-4 finishes. Gajser continues to lead the championship, now 36 points clear of Prado.
“It’s amazing to finally get a win here in Loket,” said Gajser. “I’ve had some good moments here, but never been able to take the victory, so this is just a great feeling. I didn’t have the best first moto, but we worked together as a team to improve things for race two and I immediately felt a lot better. I got a good start, put pressure on the leader, and then made a move midway through and controlled the rest of the race.”
MX2
After a red-flag restart, the race for MX2 supremacy was on. Both Coenen brothers found themselves up front, with KTM-mounted Sacha leading the early laps. The Husqvarna of Lucas moved to the lead on lap three and ran away up front while Simon Laengenfelder and Liam Everts duked it out for the final spots on the box.
Points leader Kay de Wolf pushed forward after a poor start and made key passes throughout the race. On the final lap, he slipped by to take third, rounding out the podium behind Laengenfelder and Lucas Coenen.
Race two again saw Everts up front and leading early on. A tip-over proved costly for the young KTM rider, as it allowed Triumph’s Mikkel Haarup to close the gap and trade the lead back and forth. Laengenfelder also joined the conversation up front and challenged for the top spot, taking the lead on lap eight.
Eventually, de Wolf made his way to the front group after a poor start. He passed both Everts and Laengenfelder with three to go and held on for the win and the overall. Scores of 3-1 earned him the day’s victory, extending his points lead to 46 over second place. Laengenfelder’s 2-2 put him second, with Lucas Coenen rounding out the podium with 1-4 scores.
“It was amazing to get the victory, even though the starts didn’t make it easy, but I’m so happy with the result,” de Wolf said. “I got a little bit emotional on that podium. From last year going through so much pain, I was on the box as well, and then in 2018 I missed out on the Junior 85cc —which also just raced here this weekend—so to finally get the win here feels very special.” CN
MXGP
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 3-1
- Jorge Prado (GG) 2-2
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 1-4
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Yam) 5-3
- Jeremy Seewer (Kaw) 4-6
MX2
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 3-1
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 2-2
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 1-4
- Liam Everts (KTM) 5-3
- Mikkel Haarup (Tri) 4-5
