THE NESTAAN HUSQVARNA FACTORY TEAM RETURNED TO EUROPE, TACKLING THE ICONIC LOKET CIRCUIT. KAY DE WOLF CLAIMED VICTORY, LUCAS COENEN TOOK THIRD OVERALL, WHILE MATTIA GUADAGNINI FINISHED 18TH IN MXGP.
After a short refresh break, the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Team touched down for racing on European soil again, following their total domination of the fly-away races in Indonesia two weeks ago. The picturesque and formidable Loket circuit beckoned, boasting its fearsome layout of steep climbs, and winding rock-laden turns.
Nestled in the hillsides of the scenic Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, Loket is a truly iconic venue on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar, having featured nearly every year since 1995. For current MX2 Red Plate holder Kay de Wolf, the venue held special significance, as victory had eluded him there throughout his career.
That was until now. The Dutchman delivered a true champion’s performance throughout a rollercoaster weekend, which started with a huge crash during lap three of qualifying. The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Team worked through the night to repair his bike for the start gates on Sunday. Repaying their efforts, de Wolf finished third in the opening moto and then cruised to a dominant victory in the second moto. Better yet, the 3-1 result earned him his fifth victory of the season and extended his championship lead by 46 points.
Teammate Lucas Coenen was in hot pursuit, eager to close down the championship gap to de Wolf. The Belgian charged to the front during Saturday’s qualifying to take an emphatic victory—his fifth qualifying win of 2024—and moved into Sunday with the prime gate slot.
Despite a tough start in Sunday’s opening moto, which initially dropped Coenen to 13th, the Belgian once again charged through the field, taking the lead on lap seven. By the final flag, Coenen had controlled the race with a nine-second lead over rival Simon Längenfelder. A difficult second moto saw Coenen swing between 8th and 4th, despite a heavy crash into a mud bank while racing his teammate. At the final flag, a 1-4 finish placed the Belgian third overall on the podium, setting him up to fight for the win at his home GP in under a week’s time.
For Mattia Guadagnini, Loket proved to be a weekend of mixed fortunes. Continuing his move to the front of the grid, Mattia showed why he is one to watch. Setting a strong pace in qualifying, Mattia ran in P4 for much of the session before slipping to a respectable seventh at the end. On Sunday, the Italian made a blistering start in the first moto, fighting his way up to 8th. Noteably at mid-race distance, Mattia went bar-to-bar for several laps with former world champion Romain Febvre.
The second moto saw Mattia make another excellent start, almost clinching the holeshot. However, an unfortunate crash after catching the rear wheel of Jorge Prado forced him off the bike. The incident was further compounded as other riders ran over him. Despite this, Mattia displayed remarkable determination, jumping back on his bike and pushing 100% to finish 16th. His combined results of 8-16 placed him 18th overall for the weekend.
Next up is the famous sand circuit in Belgium—Lommel—for the MXGP of Flanders on the 28th June.
#101 – Mattia Guadagnini: “It was going well until the second moto – and overall I think I can be quite satisfied with the weekend. I really pushed over Saturday and Sunday, and I felt good with the track. In qualifying I was running fourth, but I couldn’t quite keep that pace for the whole moto – so I slipped to 7th. In the first moto – I started around 10th and finished eighth. Then in the second moto, I almost took the holeshot, but then I got together with Jorge in the first corner and couldn’t stay on the bike. Some guys ran over me – which I could feel. That was a hard one for sure. I got back on the bike and pushed 100% to the end anyway to make up some positions. For the riding, I can be quite satisfied. I’m getting closer to the front now – and for sure I’m happy about that!”
#74 – Kay de Wolf: “It was amazing to get the victory, even though the starts didn’t make it easy, but I’m so happy with the result. I got a little bit emotional on that podium. From last year going through so much pain, I was on the box as well, and then in 2018 I missed out on the Junior 85cc – which also just raced here this weekend – so to finally get the win here feels very special. I couldn’t have done it without the amazing team behind me, they are really doing a great job. They had to do so much work overnight to fix the bike, which was completely bent after a big crash on Saturday, so a big shout out to them for sure!”
#96 – Lucas Coenen: “For sure, even though we were on the podium, it felt like a tough one. I don’t have loads to say about the first moto – I came from 13th through to win, the track was pretty tough and it was quite hot – so it was a challenge physically. In the second moto, my start was good but I got pushed wide from the inside and then I messed it up and I crashed. It was a big hit, but I tried to come back as best as possible. We don’t quit, we just race as hard as we can – and I’m looking ahead to Lommel to go as fast as I can!”
Results – 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round Thirteen:
MXGP – Overall:
- Tim Gajser (Honda) 45pts;2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 44pts;3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 43pts;4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Yamaha) 36pts; 18. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 18pts
MXGP – Moto One:
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 35:28.261; 2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 35:36.343; 3. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:38.655; 8. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 36:21.951
MXGP – Moto Two:
- Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:31.253;2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 35:34.284;3. Calvin Vlaanderen (Yamaha) 35:35.613; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 35:40.787;16. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 37:28.356
MXGP – Standings:
- Tim Gajser (Honda) 663pts; 2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 527pts; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 608pts; 12. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 194pts
MX2 – Overall:
- Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 45pts; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 44pts; 3. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 25pts; 4. Liam Everts (KTM) 36pts; 5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34pts; 15. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 12pts; 32. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 0pts
MX2 – Moto One:
- Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 33:54.414; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 34:04.363; 3. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:07.997;5. Liam Everts (KTM) 34:12.456; 26. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 27:33.493; 28 Sacha Coenen (KTM) 21:10.215
MX2 – Moto Two:
- Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 33:54.288; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 33:56.246; 3. Liam Everts (KTM) 34:02.033; 4. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 34:14.973; 9. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 34:53.616; DNS. Andrea Adamo (KTM)
MX2 – Standings:
- Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 626pts; 2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 580pts; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GASGAS) 560pts; 4. Liam Everts (KTM) 515pts; 5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 457pts;8. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 362pts; 16. Marc-Antoine Rossi (GASGAS) 122pts
Photocredits Full Spectrum
