• MXGP win #1 of the season and career victory #104 for Jeffrey Herlings who owns the Grand Prix of Latvia for the second year in a row
• Sacha Coenen puts starts, speed and fortune together to go 3-1 for his first Grand Prix win, first moto victory and maiden podium finish in his second MX2 campaign
• Liam Everts’ 5-4 means a top five result with 5th overall as Andrea Adamo has a tougher weekend to classify 9th on the day in MX2
• Cas Valk wins the sixth round of the EMX250 European Championship with his KTM 250 SX-F by one point. The Dutchman is 13 points from the red plate in the standings while Gyan Doensen takes his KTM 125 SX to 4th in the EMX125 category and is 2nd in the table with strong options for the title
• The hilly and historic circuit of Maggiora will host the Grand Prix of Italy next weekend for round ten and the midway point of the 2024 calendar

An overdue stint of sunshine greeted MXGP for the Grand Prix of Latvia at Kegums. Round nine dipped into the soft shallow soil of Kegums but the fast layout and hard base meant a typically deceptive and tricky circuit for the MXGP and MX2 classes (and European Championship support cards). Now fifteen years as a staple part of the MXGP slate and former Motocross of Nations venue; Kegums was nevertheless hit by a heavy but brief rainstorm that affected the end of the first MX2 moto and the opening MXGP outing.

Before the weather could have its say for the motos, warm and dry RAM Qualification Heats took place on Saturday where Herlings labored to 6th place in MXGP and Andrea Adamo was best-placed with 4th in MX2.

On Sunday the passing Latvian clouds made sure the track was soft and very rough in places (braking bumps and ruts) but also fast and inviting in others. Herlings started well in the initial MXGP moto with his KTM 450 SX-F and seized the lead on the first lap. He controlled the race all the way for his third success of 2024. In the second moto Herlings had no answer for the pace of Jorge Prado and Tim Gajser (despite a late rally) but his 3rd position ensured the top step of the rostrum for his first success of 2024 and his fifth trophy of the year (his eighth career GP feat at Kegums). #84 is 3rd in the standings and 68 points from P1.

MX2 belonged to Sacha Coenen. The young Belgian logged his seventh holeshot of the season (and started 2nd in the following moto) to keep strong and quick at the front of both races. #19 remained upright and in the game, and classified 3rd and 1st to achieve a series of milestones: first race win, first Grand Prix podium and first overall triumph. He was four places ahead of countryman Liam Everts who suffered a tip-off in the first moto and recorded a 5-4 scorecard for more top five regularity. A crash and damaged motorcycled meant world champion Andrea Adamo could rise no higher than 13th in MX2 Moto1 and rode to 8th for 9th overall.

Everts is the highest ranked rider in the MX2 championship in 4th and one slot in front of Adamo. Coenen’s best points haul of the year means he has moved up to 8th. MXGP travels to southern Europe and the iconic racing facility of Maggiora for the Grand Prix of Italy next weekend.

Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 3rd for 1st overall in MXGP: “Definitely happy. Yesterday was so bad but today I was able to show people I could still ride a bit! The podium was the goal but to come out with a win was amazing. I didn’t quite have the pace for Jorge and Tim in the second moto; I was able to close them down but didn’t have the speed to pass. Anyway, very happy and two good starts today. I hope to keep that going because it’s been a weak point. Pleased with my riding and it’s nice to finally get off that #103 to #104!”

Sacha Coenen, 3rd and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “Really nice to win my first GP. I’m feeling happy! I had good speed today and I knew I could do it! I had a really good start in the second moto and I just did my race. We need to focus and try to make every weekend a bit like this…and be on the podium as much as we can. Not many mistakes today and I kept on my wheels. This feels so nice.”

Liam Everts, 5th and 4th for 5th overall in MX2: “Hard weekend and one of my most difficult races yet. Sunday was a little bit more positive than Saturday. We need to keep on working and keep on pushing to be back at the top.”

Andrea Adamo, 13th and 8th for 9th overall in MX2: “Yesterday was good and I was happy with P4 but it felt like everything went badly today! In the first moto I had a little issue that meant I was down outside the top twenty and came back to 13th, and in the second I crashed in the second corner and had to come back from last again. The speed was good but the results were not. We need to wake up a bit, not make these silly mistakes and get back to the front and some consistency. Looking forward to Maggiora.”

Results MXGP Latvia 2024

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-3

2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 2-2

3. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 7-1

11. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 13-9

Standings MXGP 2024 after 9 of 20 rounds

1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 454 points

2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 450

3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 386

14. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 97

Results MX2 Latvia 2024

1. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-1

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 2-3

3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 4-2

4. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna 1-9

5. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-4

9. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 13-8

Standings MX2 2024 after 9 of 20 rounds

1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 443 points

2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 388

3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 381

4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 341

5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 327

8. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 228

HARD-CHARGING MIKKEL HAARUP SEVENTH AT TOUGH MXGP OF LATVIA

Sun 09 Jun 2024

Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Mikkel Haarup has placed seventh overall at round nine of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship in Kegums, Latvia. Overcoming crashes in both races, Haarup fought hard for vital points and remains sixth in the series standings as the season approaches the halfway point.

A strong start and performance in Saturday’s MX2 Qualifying Race saw Haarup claim fifth to begin the weekend on a positive note. The following day, Mikkel lined up on the start gate for race one focused on finishing up front in order to maintain his mid-season consistency.

Just three corners into the opening moto, Haarup frustratingly fell from his TF 250-X machine. From there, the 22-year-old used his experience and creative line choices to make multiple passes on his way towards the front of the field. As the race neared its conclusion, heavy rain began to fall, but that didn’t deter Mikkel from his hard charge, and he was rewarded with and impressive seventh place for his efforts.

On a much more technical circuit for race two, the Dane knew a strong start would be crucial. Emerging from the first turn well inside the top 10, Haarup then took a few laps to find his rhythm before working his way forwards. Catching up to a close battle for third place in the moto, disaster struck when Mikkel caught the back wheel of a rival while in mid-air and went down. Lucky to escape injury, after remounting unscathed, he quickly regrouped and was able to make a last-corner pass on Oriol Oliver to claim a hard-fought sixth.

Following another challenging GP due to more heavy rain, Mikkel lies sixth in the MX2 World Championship standings after nine of 20 rounds.

Mikkel Haarup: “What a weekend! It started really well with fifth in the qualifying race, and that gave me a good gate pick for today’s races. Unfortunately, in race one, I made contact with someone and crashed so I had to start from dead last. I battled hard though, fighting back to seventh and I felt really strong on the bike. I was hoping for the same feeling in race two, and although I had a good start, I was a little off the pace and lost a couple of positions. As I began passing riders, I clipped someone’s back wheel and crashed. After that I was able to make a couple more passes and finish sixth for seventh overall. I think if I can clean a few things up at the next races then I can be back on the podium again.”

Results – MXGP of Latvia

MX2 Race 1

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:07.196
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:10.049
3. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:27.223
4. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:42.691
5. Liam Everts (KTM) 35:54.647
6. Oriol Oliver (KTM) 36:11.871
7. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 36:18.375

MX2 Race 2

1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 34:26.176
2. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 34:41.931
3. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 34:51.680
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 34:52.480
5. Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) 34:53.220
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 35:02.121        

MX2 Overall

1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 45pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 42pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 40pts                        
4. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 37pts
5. Liam Everts (KTM) 34pts
6. Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) 29pts
7. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 29pts

MX2 World Championship Standings

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 443pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 388pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 381pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 341pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 327pts
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 287pts
13. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 126pts