Ryan Nitzen | September 17, 2024
The penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the Shanghai International Off-Road Circuit for the Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China, September 14-15. A unique stop on the tour saw a one-day format due to typhoon warnings in the area but had close racing nonetheless as the series nears its completion. Both Jorge Prado and Lucas Coenen scored repeat wins, with Prado upsetting the championship points in the MXGP division.
MXGP
Race one of MXGP saw things go sideways when championship leader Tim Gajser crashed spectacularly in the second turn. Suddenly, his 14-point lead over Jorge Prado went up in smoke, as Prado carried on in the front pack. Gajser was then forced to claw through the field, crashing again and later stopping in the mechanics area for repairs to a broken footpeg. He crossed the line 17th after a dramatic opening moto.
Febvre (3) and Prado (1) battle in moto one.
Meanwhile, Romain Febvre capitalized and made his way to the front. The Kawasaki rider rode a smooth race and took the moto win, his first since round four earlier this year. Prado moved to second late in the race and scored massive points due to Gajser’s misfortune. Jeffrey Herlings battled his way to third after a poor start.
Febvre claimed the win in race one, his first since round four earlier this year.
Prado continued his stride in race two with a holeshot over Gajser. The Spaniard led the entire moto, going 2-1 on the day and taking the overall win. Gajser’s second place in race two helped minimize the damage, as he finished seventh overall, but watched his points lead slip away. Prado now leads by seven going into the final round.
Prado led start to finish in race two.
“After the first moto, I gave it my all and focused on finishing the weekend as strong as possible,” said Prado. “We did that, and now we have the red plate and a seven-point lead with one round left. This gives us a dream opportunity at the end of the season, and I’m so excited for the final round in Spain. I don’t think anyone expected us to come out of this GP with the red plate. We worked hard on the bike this weekend, and I think my riding was great.”
Prado now leads the points by seven with one round left.
Febvre crossed the line third, which earned him second on the day, followed by Herlings 3-4 for third.
“After having such a consistent season, to have a day like today at such a crucial time is hard to take,” said Gajser. “To lose the championship red plate with one round left is definitely not what I wanted to happen, and now I know that with three races [final round is a doubleheader] to go, I have to win them all. It isn’t an ideal situation, but I will keep fighting and give my all until the very end.”
MXGP Podium.
MX2
Lucas Coenen is hitting his stride late in the season. The Nestaan Husqvarna rider swept the weekend again with another dominant 1-1 victory. Moto one looked easy for the Belgian as he led wire-to-wire to kick things off. Race two wasn’t as easy, but he still managed to reach the front.
MX2 start.
Contact with fellow countryman Liam Everts saw Everts hit the deck, resulting in a broken C5 vertebra. Everts is on the mend and is expected to make a full recovery. Coenen continued forward and passed his Husqvarna teammate Kay de Wolf for the lead. Double race wins earned him maximum points on the day and he now sits second in the championship points standings, cutting the lead from 44 to 36 with one round to go.
Lucas Coenen made it look easy with another 1-1 sweep.
“I need to push and get every single point I can. We only have one race left now,” said Coenen. “For the championship, I’ve got my fight on now. I want to beat him [Kay de Wolf], and just win every race. I’m doing everything I can, so let’s see how things go at the final race in Spain.”
Kay De Wolf finished second overall and still leads the points.
De Wolf still leads the MX2 Championship and finished second on the day. The Dutchman got off to a poor start in race one and climbed as far up as third at the checkers. He led most of race two but was overtaken by Coenen with only a few laps left. He earned second on the day with 3-2 finishes while still maintaining a healthy points lead going into the series finale.
Simon Laengenfelder stayed consistent for third overall.
“I gave it everything out there today,” said de Wolf. “The conditions were tough with the heat and the threat of the typhoon, but I’m happy with my performance overall. After taking the lead in the second moto, I made a small mistake that cost me, but I’m glad I managed to fight back and secure second.”
Simon Laengenfelder landed on the box again with a third in the overall classification. The German rider ran up front for most of race one, trading positions with the leaders early on. After crossing the line second, he received a six-point penalty for jumping on a yellow flag. His position held up for the overall rankings despite the points penalty. Race two saw strong consistency from the GasGas pilot as he started and finished in third. His 2-3 scores gave him third on the day.
MX2 Podium.
“I tried to stay consistent and fight as hard as I could in both motos,” said Laengenfelder. “Finishing with P2 in the first moto and P3 in the second is great and of course to get another podium feels great, and it puts me in a strong position heading into the final round.”
The final round of the 2024 MXGP World Motocross Championships is set to take place in southeastern Spain for the MXGP of Castilla La Mancha, round 20 of the series. CN
MXGP
- Jorge Prado (GG) 2-1
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 1-3
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 3-4
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 4-6
- Jan Pancar (KTM) 8-5
MX2
- Lucas Coenen (Hus) 1-1
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 3-2
- Simon Laengenfelder (GG) 2-3
- Mikkel Haarup (Tri) 5-4
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 6-5
