The fifth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took to the picturesque Italian mountains for the Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino, on April 13. Rains sprinkled the hillsides and challenged the field with tricky conditions. To further please the Italian fans, Antonio Cairoli made an appearance to race the Ducati Desmo450 MX in front of his home fans. At the end of the weekend, though, Tim Gajser and Andrea Adamo stood atop their respective podiums.
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MXGP
Romain Febvre won the Saturday qualifying race and carried that momentum into a holeshot on Sunday’s race one. The Kawasaki rider got out to the lead but was followed closely by points leader Gajser, who ran second from the get-go.
Gajser stalked his rival for the first three-quarters of the race and finally made his move for the lead when Febvre left the door open in a tight left-hander. Gajser sprinted away in the final few laps and won the opening moto by 17 seconds over Febvre. Lucas Coenen snuck into third on lap six and rounded out the podium.
Race two saw Glenn Coldenhoff cross the holeshot line first ahead of the two Hondas of Ruben Fernandez and Gajser. Febvre, meanwhile, was buried around 10th and had his work cut out for him if he wanted an overall podium. Gajser quickly took over the lead from his teammate on lap one and ran off with the win, going 1-1 for a historic sixth win in Trentino.
Febvre continued to push through the field and passed into second with five laps to go. Key passes allowed him to go 2-2 on the day and claim second overall. Coldenhoff stayed up front and passed back into third in the closing stages of the moto to earn third overall. With another overall win, Gajser further extends his points lead to 39 over Febvre.
“Really happy with this weekend—two solid races,” Gajser said. “I knew I had to start well because passing is always tough on this track. I started third in the first race and had a great battle with Romain [Febvre] until the end before making the pass. In the second race, I got around Ruben [Fernandez] early and just controlled it from there.”
“Honestly, I’m disappointed,” Febvre said. I felt like the fastest rider all weekend. The first race was going well, but we had a race incident with a yellow flag, I lost time and left the door open for Tim (Gajser) to pass. I tried to fight back but made a mistake and crashed. In the second race, I didn’t get the start, and like Tim said, it’s really difficult to pass here. I worked my way to second, but the gap was too big. I just need to keep working harder to finally get the win.”
“Not bad for a 34-year-old,” Coldenhoff said. “I struggled a bit all weekend and was off the pace but starts are everything. I got my second holeshot of the year and that made a big difference. I was freer, could follow Tim for a while, and just felt much better. It’s my third podium in five rounds—that’s crazy. Big thanks to the team, they’ve been amazing. Hopefully we can keep this going.”
MX2
The MX2 division experienced more shake-ups as Liam Everts won the qualifying race and aimed to gain crucial points in the championship hunt. Come Sunday, it was Factory Triumph’s Camden McLellan who claimed his first-ever holeshot in race one.
The South African native controlled the race from the front and went on to win the moto by just over three seconds, making him the seventh different race winner this season. This victory marked the first for McLellan and the first for the Triumph brand since their entry into the MX2 scene. Points leader Kay de Wolf moved into second on the last lap with a pass around Italian native Andrea Adamo, and the two rounded out the podium.
Three factory KTM bikes started in front during race two, with Sacha Coenen leading his teammates Adamo and Simon Laengenfelder across the finish line. Liam Everts crashed out on lap one and did not finish the race, which dropped him to fourth in points.
Back at the front, Coenen led the first three laps before crashing out from the top position and later finishing seventh. This misstep allowed Adamo to take the lead, much to the delight of the Italian fans. He maintained the top spot for nearly the entire race but encountered lapped riders as the clock wound down. Yamaha’s Thibault Benistant seized this opportunity, closing the gap to Adamo and passing for first on the final lap.
Benistant rounded the final lap in first place and achieved 12-1 scores, securing third overall. Adamo managed to hold on for second and clinched the day’s overall victory with 3-2 finishes. De Wolf finished fourth in race two but with 2-4 results, he achieved second overall, taking sole control of the points lead.
“It was a solid day,” Adamo said. “I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t win the second race because I led the whole way and had a good gap. However, in the last two laps, the lapped riders made things difficult. But anyway, that’s racing. I finished second and took the overall win, and that’s what matters most.” CN
MXGP (Top 5)
1. Tim Gajser (Hon) 1-1
2. Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-2
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (Fan) 5-3
4. Lucas Coenen (KTM) 3-6
5. Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 7-5
MX2 (Top 5)
1. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 3-2
2. Kay de Wolf (Hus) 2-4
3. Thibault Benistant (Yam) 12-1
4. Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 7-3
5. Cas Valk (KTM) 6-5
