Round nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place on the northern hillsides of Ernee at the Circuit Raymond Demy for the MXGP of France. By the end of the weekend, local favorite Romain Febvre had secured the MXGP overall victory, while Simon Laengenfelder triumphed in the MX2 division and assumed the points lead.
MXGP
Febvre entered the race weekend with a strong grip on the championship standings, leading by 49 points over his closest competitor. However, in race one, he started well outside the top five, while Lucas Coenen, second in points, seized the holeshot and quickly took the early lead. To the fans’ delight, Febvre navigated through the field and overtook Jeffrey Herlings for second place with five laps remaining. By this time, Coenen was too far ahead, and despite Febvre’s efforts, the KTM rider secured a clear victory by over three seconds. This left the day’s overall win to be determined in the second moto.
Race two saw Coenen seize the lead by turn three as the rookie attempted to break away. Febvre, however, had other plans. The French rider caught up to Coenen’s rear wheel by the end of lap two, and the race was on from there. By the halfway point, Febvre made his move for the lead after Coenen made a crucial mistake on one of Ernee’s steep climbs. This pass put Febvre in command of the overall win, but Coenen didn’t go down without a fight. The Belgian stayed close all the way to the line, missing the 1-1 sweep by less than a second at the finish. Febvre’s victory in the second moto secured him the overall win as he maintained his lead in the championship. Ducati’s Jeremy Seewer crossed the line in third place, earning third overall and marking his 60th career podium.
“Winning at home is just incredible,” Febvre said. “The atmosphere, the fans—it means so much to me. Both races were intense battles, and to come out on top here in France makes it even more special. We were lucky with the weather too, so a big thank you to everyone who came out and supported!”
MX2
In the MX2 division, defending champion Kay de Wolf entered race day with a nine-point lead in the standings. He faced two disastrous motos, finishing outside the top 10, which caused him to drop to third in the championship.
Race one saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder secure his third holeshot of the year. The German rider, who was second in points, dominated the race, taking advantage of de Wolf’s mistakes and claiming the red plate by the time the checkered flag flew. After two significant crashes, de Wolf finished in 14th place. Laengenfelder’s teammate, Andrea Adamo, took second, while Honda HRC’s Valerio Lata crossed the line in third.
Race two again saw the two KTMs up front as Adamo took the holeshot with Laengenfelder right on his rear fender. Laengenfelder jumped past his teammate and made his move to the lead on lap one, with Adamo trailing closely behind. The duo battled for over 30 minutes with the overall win of the weekend hanging in the balance. Adamo finally made a mistake with one lap remaining, virtually handing the win to Langenfelder. The German finished 1-1 on the day, securing the overall win and the points lead in the process. Adamo’s pair of second-place finishes put him second overall, while Lucas Coenen’s 6-4 results earned him third overall, giving the top three spots to the Red Bull KTM team.
Laengenfelder now leads the series 11 points over Adamo and 25 clear of de Wolf.
“Two wins and the red plate—what a weekend,” Laengenfelder said. “The first race felt great, and in the second I had to dig deep because Andrea [Adamo] was really pushing me. The track was tricky with all the slick lines, but I stayed focused and managed it well. I’m really happy with how everything came together.”
De Wolf crashed at the start of race two but eventually made his way back to 12th place. His 14-12 scores placed him 13th overall and caused him to drop to third in the championship.
“I picked up an ankle injury in timed practice, and from there it felt like things just didn’t go our way,” de Wolf said. “The conditions on Sunday were tricky with the rain overnight, and I had a couple of crashes in the first race that set me back. In the second moto, I got caught up in a first-lap incident, which made it another tough fight from the back. I did what I could and kept pushing, but obviously losing the red plate is frustrating.” CN
2025 FIM MXGP Round 9 Results
MXGP (Top 5)
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 2-1
- Lucas Coenen (KTM) 1-2
- Jeremy Seewer (Duc) 5-3
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 3-5
- Andrea Bonacorsi (Fan) 6-6
MX2
- Simon Laengenfelder (KTM) 1-1
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 2-2
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 6-4
- Oriol Oliver (KTM) 4-7
- Valerio Lata (Hon) 3-10
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