The third round of the FIM Motocross World Championship was held in Saint Jean d’Angely in Southern France for the MXGP of Europe, on March 23. The normal hard-packed and rocky conditions were unusually wet, which created another obstacle for the competitors to fight against. Tim Gajser once again swept the MXGP races and further extended his points lead, while Andrea Adamo scored his first overall win of the year.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
MXGP
Tim Gajser is proving he’s the one to beat once again in the MXGP series. The Honda HRC rider led nearly every lap over the weekend and took control of the lead in race one by just the second turn. Even with rain falling in the first moto, Gajser put it on cruise control and managed the lead from the front. He rode away to a safe three-second win over French native Romain Febvre and MXGP rookie Lucas Coenen.
Race two saw Glenn Coldenhoff take the early advantage on his Factory Fantic. The Dutchman is fresh off his first podium of the year and used that momentum to lead the first five laps of the second moto. Gajser, however, had other plans as he marched his way to the front and overtook Coldenhoff for the top spot. Once again Gajser couldn’t be stopped as he sprinted away to a near 20-second lead. With two moto wins, he swept the weekend and further extended his points lead to 29 over Febvre.
“It was a good day of racing for me,” Gajser said. “I felt comfortable on the bike, even though the track was quite sketchy with deep ruts, bumps and tricky acceleration points—it definitely wasn’t easy to ride. The start was important, so I was glad to get out front early and take the lead quickly in race one. Lucas [Coenen] pushed hard at the beginning, and then Romain [Febvre] closed in near the end, but I managed to stay in control. In the second race, I had a solid start, made some good early passes, found my lines, and built a gap that I could manage. Overall, I’m really happy with how I rode.”
Febvre crossed the line in second and used 2-2 finishes to take second overall in front of his home fans.
“I’m quite happy to finish second, especially after a tough weekend last time out,” Febvre said. “My starts weren’t great in either moto and in the second one, I got hit off the start and almost went over the bars, which left me way back. I was around 18th at the top of the hill, so to come back and finish just 10 seconds off the lead, I’m happy with how I rode. Now I need to fight with Tim, as he is starting to get away.”
Lucas Coenen finished third in race two, which earned him third overall. This marks the KTM rider’s first trip to the overall MXGP podium.
“I’m very happy with my first podium and to get that out of the way,” Coenen said. “The pace was high, and the track demanded full concentration; at one point, I thought, ‘Okay, I don’t need to push more and let’s get the podium.’ It’s all part of the process—learning, adapting and building speed with each round.”
MX2
The MX2 field saw a new points leader start Sunday’s racing, as Liam Everts’ performance in the qualifying race earned him the red plate. The Belgian rider knocked off a great start in race one and found his way to the lead by lap three. With Everts leading, the two factory KTMs of Simon Laengenfelder and Andrea Adamo gave chase and moved into podium positions.
By lap eight, Laengenfelder passed for the lead, with Adamo quickly following suit. This dropped Everts from first to third in the matter of a few short laps. Laengenfelder held on for the win, with Adamo closely behind in second.
Race two saw tricky track conditions after the on-and-off rains. Sacha Coenen took the early holeshot, but the KTM rider crashed spectacularly just a few moments later down the first major descent. This put moto-one-winner Laengenfelder into the lead on lap one. Everts put on a charge from second and passed for the lead, rebounding from his first-moto result.
Multiple lead changes gave the French fans something to cheer for as their rider, Thibault Benistant, made his way to the front and passed Everts for the top spot. This didn’t last long, as former MX2 champion Andrea Adamo tailed Benistant at the front. These two put on a show as they duked it out for the final five laps.
Adamo eventually made the pass and held on for the win by just under one second at the line. 2-1 finishes gave him the advantage for the weekend’s overall win, with Längenfelder claiming second and Benistant taking third. Everts finished fourth overall but still leads the championship points by three over Laengenfelder and five ahead of teammate Kay de Wolf.
“I’m super happy about this win,” Adamo said. “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, but today everything came together. My starts weren’t perfect this weekend, so I had to fight through the field. In race two, I knew I had to win the race to take the GP overall, so I gave everything. Thibault [Benistant] and I were pushing to the limit—it was intense but clean racing, and I loved it. I’ve worked a lot on my mindset after last season—learning from mistakes, building from the positives, and trying to turn negatives into something useful.” CN
RESULTS
MXGP (Top 5)
1. Tim Gajser (Hon) 1-1
2. Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-2
3. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 3-3
4. Mattia Guadagnini (Duc) 4-7
5. Pauls Jonass (Kaw) 6-6
MX2 (Top 5)
1. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 2-1
2. Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 1-3
3. Thibault Benistant (Yam) 5-2
4. Liam Everts (Hus) 3-5
5. Kay de Wolf (Hus) 6-4
