The deepest of deep sand tracks awaited the MXGP elite today for the first day of action at the MXGP of Flanders, as rain intermittently lashed the already soft circuit to leave seriously heavy conditions for the Qualifying Races, and the MXGP and MX2 World Championship battles continued in front of packed spectator banks all around the circuit of Lommel!
It was delight for the home fans who had come to see their star man Lucas Coenen take victory, which he did with multiple passes to earn his sixth Qualifying Race victory of the year for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing! Championship leader Romain Febvre also had to charge through the pack to take second place and keep the red plate on his Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP machine, while Calvin Vlaanderen made use of his sand prowess with a solid third for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP.
The clear favourite in MX2 delivered this time, as Kay de Wolf scored his third Saturday win of the season for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing. Fellow Championship challenger Andrea Adamo worked hard to take second for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s sand lover Camden McLellan, who had his best Qualifying Race result of the season in third!
The first taste of the sand is never the deepest at Lommel, and with brighter weather likely to add to the physical punishment, the GP races tomorrow will see only the fittest and the best sand riders prevail!
Febvre was looking strong and controlled with the fastest time in morning Free Practice, although on his return from injury, Jeffrey Herlings claimed second best time for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with a late run, with Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider Glenn Coldenhoff in third.
Coldenhoff’s teammate Brian Bogers took that third position in Time Practice, however, with Coenen taking the first gate pick for the Qualifying Race, just a quarter of a second ahead of Herlings.
With a special livery to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the brand, Isak Gifting put his smart-looking JK Racing Yamaha into the early lead with a stunning Holeshot, his first in any race this year, with the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammates Calvin Vlaanderen and Jago Geerts running in second and third ahead of the factory Fantic pairing of Coldenhoff and Bogers!
Of the pre-race favourites, Coenen was initially seventh into the third corner, with Febvre tenth and Herlings eleventh! Coldenhoff and Geerts went back and forth on the first lap for third, when suddenly Coenen was amongst them, picking his way past Bogers for fifth on the last corner before the end of the first full lap.
Febvre was also making passes, staying two places back from Coenen until half-distance, by which time they were third and fourth and chasing down the leading Yamaha men, with Gifting still ahead of Vlaanderen. The South-African born Dutchman nearly made the move past the Swede after holding back the Belgian teenager, who had a big moment through the wooded section of the track that nearly saw him over the handlebars!
Further back, there was a stunning ride in progress from Norwegian Hakon Fredriksen, who lifted his YRC High Performance Yamaha past factory man Maxime Renaux for the final point in tenth with three laps to go, finishing just 2.5 seconds down on the returning Herlings! After a crash from Bogers saw him tumble down the order, Andrea Bonacorsi was the second Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider in the top ten, claiming a steady eighth at the flag.
Geerts and Coldenhoff continued their duel throughout the race, and the Dutchman made the decisive move on lap eight to take fifth ahead of the Yamaha man, while the JM Racing Honda of Brent van Doninck scored a solid seventh place for the second Qualifying Race in a row!
On lap seven, Coenen finally made the breakthrough, scrubbing the Finish Line jump brilliantly to make an inside pass on Vlaanderen, and as Gifting ran slightly wide halfway through the lap, the home hero pounced to leap past the gallant Swedish Viking and take the lead! Just three corners later Vlaanderen also made it past the white Yamaha, who in turn succumbed to the charging Febvre over the wall jump by Pit Lane! Isak was able to hold on to fourth at the finish, however, to record his best ever Qualifying Race result in MXGP!
Febvre took two further laps to catch and pass Vlaanderen for second place and reeled in Coenen a little in the closing stages, but the KTM man celebrated his sixth Saturday success in the premier class to edge closer to his title rival in the Championship!
The gap between the series leaders is now just nine points, but with both of them being evenly matched around the arduous Belgian sand pit, tomorrow’s Grand Prix races could see either of them emerge with the red plate for the next round!
Lucas Coenen: “I was a bit sick yesterday and didn’t sleep much, so it was tough early on. I tried to save energy in the races, kept it safe at the start, and then pushed when I needed to. I controlled it from there and saved some energy for tomorrow. The track is already rough and the fans are hyped, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
MXGP – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 25:54.249; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.744; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:19.667; 4. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:22.901; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:23.013; 6. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:26.260; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:41.735; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:48.187; 9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:50.649; 10. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +0:51.330
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 687 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 678 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 500 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 451 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 400 p.; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 373 p.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 368 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 327 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 327 p.; 10. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.
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Main Photo: Lucas Coenen
Bottom Photos: 1. Romain Febvre; 2. Calvin Vlaanderen
De Wolf was immediately fast in the morning’s Free Practice session, but only just got fastest time by less than half a tenth from Mathis Valin, who looked at home in the sand for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2. Sacha Coenen was typically on full throttle more often than not for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as he took third fastest time, and the young Belgian was again on the gas for Time Practice, holding the top spot until the very end of the session, as De Wolf grabbed the first gate pick by a third of a second from his teenage rival! Valin was again impressive but a second back from De Wolf in third spot. Series leader Simon Längenfelder was fourth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Rick Elzinga in his first race back from injury for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2.
A fired-up Coenen, without a Holeshot of any kind at the last GP, got back to his usual practice by firing into the lead and streaking away from the pack, his initial laps a full four seconds faster than his pursuers, who on the opening lap were Adamo, the JM Racing Honda of David Braceras, and the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team leader Thibault Benistant. De Wolf exited the tight second corner in fifth but was third by the end of the first full lap after a sweet move on Benistant.
Längenfelder looked unhurried but got up to sixth past Braceras on lap two, with Elzinga eighth in front of Valin. Jens Walvoort and his BTS Racing KTM was in a battle with Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Guillem Farres at the edge of the top ten.
On lap four, De Wolf made a forceful inside move on Adamo for second, with Coenen ten seconds clear by this time. Both McLellan and Längenfelder had passed Benistant as he slipped down to sixth, with Valin up to seventh. The reigning Champ guessed that a mistake from Sacha might be coming, and the young Belgian, who still has yet to win a Qualifying Race in his career, tipped over heading into the wooded section and lost a bunch of time, remounting in sight of De Wolf!
Just half a lap later and Coenen ran off the track after another big moment, and the Dutchman inherited the lead that he was never to lose. Coenen was to crash three more times during the race but at least he had soft landings, amazingly salvaging seventh by the finish! Elzinga battled hard to take eighth ahead of Braceras and Walvoort.
Valin took sixth at the flag after the last of Coenen’s crashes, but at the front of the field De Wolf was imperious, winning by 4.8 seconds from Adamo, while McLellan won a heads-up battle with Längenfelder for third, as Benistant came home a distant fifth.
After the end of the race, Andrea Adamo received a penalty for not respecting waved yellow flag and was therefore penalised by five points in the championship. He keeps his second gate pick for tomorrow’s races, but the Italian now sits 50 points behind Längenfelder in the Championship and has De Wolf just six points behind him!
It’s unusual for there to be a clear favourite for tomorrow’s MX2 races, but then we were also saying this last weekend! Nothing is ever certain on an MXGP Sunday in the deep sands of Lommel, so don’t miss this one tomorrow!
Kay de Wolf: “I was struggling a little bit, so they can expect more from me tomorrow. I waited for Sacha’s (Coenen) mistake, which came earlier than I expected, and then I took the lead. It turned out to be an easy qualifying race, and I saved a lot of energy for tomorrow, so I’m ready.”
MX2 – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 26:09.242; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:04.841; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:06.557; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:13.239; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.063; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:37.385; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:54.906; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:29.270; 9. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +1:30.559; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:31.645
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 672 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 622 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 616 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 524 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 498 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 425 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 330 p.; 9. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 306 p.; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 299 p.
Main Photo: Kay de Wolf
Bottom Photos: 1. Andrea Adamo; 2. Camden Mc Lellan
All the photos from the MXGP of Flanders will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MXGP OF FLANDERS QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1850m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 18°
Weather conditions: Cloudy
TIMETABLE
SUNDAY: 09:40 EMXOpen Race 2, 11:30 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.
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