FEBVRE AND LÄNGENFELDER BOSS THE BASIN AT THE MXGP OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Although the sun hid behind the clouds for most of GP race day at Matterley Basin, the stars of MXGP shone through with a brilliant showcase of flat-out Motocross at the MXGP of Great Britain, the 12th round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships!
With the track crew battling an eternally drying surface that was subject to both sunshine and strong winds, the riders responded with maximum effort all round, and it was the Championship leaders in both classes that prevailed with some flawless riding to strengthen their positions as red plate holders!
Romain Febvre bounced back from third in race one to dominate race two and clinch his fourth GP win of the season for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, while Lucas Coenen took second overall yet again for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Matterley Basin also saw a podium return for Glenn Coldenhoff, after clinching the first ever race win in the opener for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP!
MX2 saw the completion of a perfect weekend for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder, showing patience to fight through the field in race one before enjoying a gate-to-flag victory in race two. Liam Everts had his best result for some time with second overall for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, with Längenfelder’s teammate Sacha Coenen in third.
Once more the natural amphitheatre of Matterley Basin challenged the very best in front of an enthusiastic crowd, who will surely be back for more in years to come.
The morning Warm Up saw Romain Febvre in a mood to show who was boss by setting the only sub-two-minute lap of the session, with Lucas Coenen over a second and a half behind in second, ahead of Andrea Bonacorsi for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP.
Despite not looking comfortable in Saturday’s Qualifying Race, Coenen gave himself the best shot at redemption on Sunday with a storming Fox Holeshot Award, his tenth of the season, as Coldenhoff gave chase ahead of Ruben Fernandez for Honda HRC. Antonio Cairoli, racing for the second time this season for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team, showed he wasn’t just playing around as he moved into fifth behind the Red Bull KTM of Jeffrey Herlings, putting series leader Febvre behind him in turn three! TC222 even gave “The Bullet” a little contact halfway around the lap, and was clearly enjoying one of his favourite circuits, even though Febvre got past him towards the end of the first full lap.
Isak Gifting enjoyed barging his JK Racing Yamaha past Cairoli for sixth at the end of the start straight, while the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP machine of Calvin Vlaanderen started in eighth ahead of fellow Dutchman Brian Bogers on the second factory Fantic. With his best start of the season, Team Motul Honda Motoblouz SR rider Alberto Forato rounded out the top ten at the start of the race!
Halfway around lap two, Coenen had his wheels slip out from under him, allowing Coldenhoff into the lead. By lap six, Herlings had found his flow and pushed up the inside of Fernandez for third. It took “The Bullet” only three laps to chase down Coenen and advance into second, initially pulling away and seeming ready to threaten Coldenhoff for the lead!
Further back, Vlaanderen had railed round the outside of Gifting for sixth, after passing Cairoli along Pit Lane as the Italian seemed to signal that he had a brake problem, although the nine-time Champ recovered to score seventh behind the surviving factory Yamaha man. Jago Geerts had already crashed out and was to miss race two with a suspected foot injury.
As Gifting pulled out of the race after a crash, Bogers and Forato moved up to secure eighth and ninth, with Brent van Doninck taking a good tenth place for JM Racing Honda.
Lap 13 was unlucky for Herlings, slipping to the ground after the big uphill quad jump, dropping himself from second to fourth, still ahead of Fernandez but behind Febvre. Coenen had drawn breath and launched an attack on Coldenhoff for the lead, but the veteran Dutchman held fast to take a brilliant first ever race win for Fantic as an MXGP manufacturer! Amazingly, it was also the Dutchman’s first race win here, after winning the 2013 MX2 Grand Prix overall with a 3-4 scorecard!
Gusts of wind hit the circuit hard for race two, and it was clear that the ultra-professional riders were in a cautious mood over the many big jumps around the track. Febvre rocketed into the lead for his fourth Fox Holeshot Award of the season, while Fernandez held back the two Red Bull KTMs of Coenen and Herlings.
Coldenhoff was still in the hunt in fifth ahead of Vlaanderen, while Kevin Horgmo of Team Motul Honda Motoblouz SR ran well up in seventh, in his first GP back from a shoulder injury sustained at Ernée. Cairoli held onto eighth ahead of his Aruba.it Ducati teammate Jeremy Seewer, while Forato backed up his first race result with tenth in race two, enough to earn him eighth overall ahead of Horgmo and Seewer.
Cairoli was as impressive as always with seventh overall, and Vlaanderen finished sixth again to take that position in the GP. It was one of those races where the riders were equally matched and passing proved next to impossible. Herlings was unable to make his early pressure on Coenen pay off with an overtake, and ultimately the closest battle was between him and his compatriot Coldenhoff, who twice drew level to take fourth but simply could not force past the canny GP-win record holder.
Herlings’ two fourth places were only good enough for fifth overall, while Fernandez put in a solid ride for second to claim fourth on the day. Coldenhoff took third overall for his first podium in over two months, as Coenen took second overall for the fifth straight Grand Prix. Febvre was peerless to take his 25th career GP victory, and increases his Championship lead to 32 points over his teenage pursuer. Fernandez advances to fourth in the series behind Coldenhoff but ahead of the absent Maxime Renaux, while Herlings is now sixth in the Championship! Vlaanderen advanced to seventh at the expense of the injured Tim Gajser and Bonacorsi, who had a very disappointing British GP in 16th overall.
The Championship takes the next two weekends off before the MXGP of Finland on the 12th & 13th of July. Who will cope with a brand-new circuit better than the rest? Join us to find out!
Romain Febvre: „It’s been a good weekend. Like I said yesterday, I felt really good on the track. Yesterday was good, but in the first race I didn’t get the start. I came close to the front at some point, but in the end they had a little bit more pace and I had to fight hard to come back. So I finished third. But in the second race I pulled the holeshot and that changed my life. I could ride free, take my own lines, and make a gap. Fernandez was coming back at the end, he was quite strong, but I won the overall. So yeah, it’s been a really good weekend. Thanks to all my sponsors and my team.“
Lucas Coenen: „I felt bad the whole weekend on track. I struggled big time on Saturday and just tried to fix it for today, but still I didn’t really feel my flow. Also the down starts with the 450, there’s a lot of power and I need to get used to that. First race I got the holeshot, that was good, but then I had a tip-over, they passed me, and I tried to come back but couldn’t manage to pass. Then, not the best start in race 2 and I tried to pass Fernandez but it was a bit sketchy, so I ran out of time. But yeah, we know what to work on and looking forward to the rest.“
Glenn Coldenhoff: “Aactually, the whole weekend was great. I was feeling good on the bike, the bike was working amazinlyg. My start wasn’t that good in the second race, but I kept fighting all the way. I even thought I wouldn’t be on the podium. I thought I had to pass Herlings, and I did everything I could. But it’s really difficult to pass, especially a fast guy like Jeffrey.“
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), 34:21.230; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:01.128; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.392; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:15.484; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:17.105; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:48.579; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Ducati), +0:53.691; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:56.396; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:58.123; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:59.080;
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:50.762; 2. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:01.427; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:02.495; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:10.713; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:11.121; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:35.429; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:36.934; 8. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Ducati), +0:38.346; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +0:40.438; 10. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:46.297
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 45 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 41 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 38 p.; 5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 36 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, DUC), 27 p.; 8. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 23 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 21 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 20 p.;
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 584 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 552 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 411 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 383 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 347 p.; 6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 325 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 319 p.; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 312 p.; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 274 p
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification 1. Kawasaki, 590 points; 2. KTM, 585 p.; 3. Honda, 549 p.; 4. Yamaha, 489 p.; 5. Fantic, 458 p.; 6. Ducati, 343 p.; 7. Beta, 211 p.; 8. Husqvarna, 53 p.; 9. Triumph, 5 p.
Längenfelder backed up his Qualifying Race win with the fastest time in Sunday morning Warm Up, but Championship chaser Andrea Adamo gave notice of his challenge by finishing just 25 thousandths of a second behind his fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pilot!
Indeed it was Adamo who took his fourth Fox Holeshot Award of the season in race one, with Sacha Coenen in second momentarily, before the Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors machine of Oriol Oliver forced past him in the third corner, and to everyone’s surprise suddenly leapt to the inside of Adamo after the big quad jump to lead the race!
David Braceras held fourth for JM Racing Honda, while at the start of the first full lap, Guillem Farres completed the Spanish triple threat by pushing past Längenfelder to take fifth for Monster Energy Triumph Racing!
Adamo suffered a small but awkward crash on a downhill drop-off midway through the first full lap, and dropped back to 12th place as he rejoined. Farres relegated Braceras to fourth on lap two, while Reigning Champ Kay de Wolf was now sixth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, trying to pass Längenfelder.
After Längenfelder fought past Braceras on lap four, the resilient Spaniard held onto fifth for six laps ahead of the second Monster Energy Triumph of Camden McLellan, who had already forced past De Wolf. On lap ten, the dam broke as four riders went past the Spaniard, then another a lap later, pushing him down to ninth at the finish ahead of a disappointed Adamo.
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s lone wolf Mathis Valin was the last rider to pass Braceras to take eighth, but Everts had recovered from an average start and was able to get up to sixth past De Wolf with three laps to go. Up front, however, Oliver had looked in clear control of the race until a tiny error in the wave section, which sent him crashing off the track. He got back onboard quickly after only losing the lead to Coenen, but Längenfelder had already got back past Farres and was truly clicking with the circuit, up into second on lap eight and reeling in Coenen to take the lead three laps later!
Oliver’s third place was still his career best in MX2, and McLellan also took a good result in winning the battle of the Triumphs for fourth ahead of Farres. Längenfelder’s sixth GP race win of the year left him with a 45-point advantage over Adamo heading into race two!
Clearly with an idea to make things look even easier, Längenfelder pulled his fifth Fox Holeshot of the season and didn’t give anyone a chance to catch him, instantly posting sub-two-minute lap times that the rest simply couldn’t live with! Everts made a good attempt with a much better start in second, while Thibault Benistant, a disappointed 11th in race one for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, took third early on and had a lucky escape when a mistake in the waves was only corrected due to Oliver falling over his back wheel!
The unlucky Spaniard picked the bike up outside the top twenty, and begun a majestic charge through the pack that would eventually see him cross the line in tenth place! Farres inherited fourth due to the crash, with Coenen, Adamo, and Valin in hot pursuit!
Race two was not as kind to De Wolf or McLellan, who ended the race unable to move forward from eighth and ninth, leaving De Wolf tenth overall and facing a 70-point gap to Längenfelder in order to defend his #1 plate. Valin would finish seventh in race two to claim that position overall, while further ahead it was Coenen who was struggling the most with the dryer conditions, taking sixth in the race after being hit on the top lip by a big stone.
Adamo was able to pass the young Belgian, and then Farres at exactly halfway, but could progress no further than fourth to take eighth overall behind McLellan, while Benistant’s steady third place was enough for sixth.
Oliver’s fightback had rightfully earnt himself a top five overall finish, putting him just into the top ten of the series, and you feel that a podium cannot be far away! Farres was fourth overall with his two fourth positions, while Coenen was able to claim yet another podium behind Everts and the imperious Längenfelder. The German now holds a significant 52-point lead in the series with eight rounds left to race!
Nobody knows what to expect from the new Iitti-Kymi Ring venue in Finland, which will host round thirteen after two weekends off. Join us there with a refreshed field of riders ready to make their mark on the new track! The unexpected is always fun!
Simon Längenfelder: “What can I say? It went perfect. It was a great weekend. Especially coming back in that first race from sixth to first.. that was a great feeling. And backing it up in the second race is awesome. Now we have two weekends of break, so I think we have time to recover and then start the last push.“
Liam Everts: „I actually felt my first race was a bit better. I just got a horrendous jump but the riding was really good. In the second one I got a good jump and rode solid laps. I tried to stay with Simon, but he just had a little bit extra in some details. But it’s a good confidence boost going into two weekends off. I’m gonna enjoy it.“
Sacha Coenen: „Definitely not the easiest weekend. So yeah, finishing with the podium is quite nice. Second race, I just got hit by a rock on the first lap, so had a lot of pain. But yeah, just put my head down. So we just finished P3 overall.. it’s better than nothing.“
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 35:30.890; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:05.401; 3. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:10.850; 4. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:24.946; 5. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:26.515; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:26.761; 7. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:28.999; 8. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.821; 9. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +0:41.392; 10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:42.153
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 34:13.385; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:06.362; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:11.721; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:14.077; 5. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:22.929; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:29.891; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:36.397; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:43.038; 9. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:58.225; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:14.771
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 50 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 37 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 37 p.; 4. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 32 p.; 5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 30 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 29 p.; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 27 p.; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 27 p.
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 575 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 523 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 505 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 5. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 433 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 417 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 358 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 281 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 267 p.; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 246 p.
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 662 points; 2. Husqvarna, 585 p.; 3. Yamaha, 451 p.; 4. Triumph, 403 p.; 5. Honda, 377 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 194 p.; 7. TM, 150 p.; 8. GASGAS, 7 p.;
Bild/Text: Infront