MXGP hops across the sea to Lombok for the second Indonesian round.
The FIM Motocross World Championship flies across the sea to go to Lombok – Indonesia for the eleventh round of the 2023 season and the second part of the double header in Indonesia. The Selaparang circuit will host a Grand Prix for the first time and following the success of the MNC MXGP of Sumbawa-Indonesia we can expect a lot of excited fans for the first MXGP event on the beautiful island.
The MNC MXGP of Lombok-Indonesia that marks the back-to-back Indonesian Grand Prix is expected to be an amazing experience for the whole MXGP Paddock that will prolong the Asian adventure and especially for the riders who will all arrive on the same equal foot with a circuit they do not know or rode before which will be very interesting to witness.
The Selaparang circuit will be will be similar to Sumbawa – Samota and can be classed as a hard pack although it is a mix of dirt and sand, a type of track that the riders seem to enjoy a lot which will be great to deliver an incredible show. The MNC MXGP of Lombok-Indonesia marks the 11th round of the season and will test riders’ resilience with this back-to-back event under very hot and humid conditions.
Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado comes to Lombok-Indonesia as a solid leader after getting an excellent second place last weekend in Sumbawa-Indonesia. Prado won the first race and finished 3rd in the second one; continuing to win races week in week out and show outstanding consistency which propelled him this season to the top of the Championship. Prado will want to keep his momentum as he heads to Lombok.
Freshly 2nd of the Championship, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre joined the Grand Prix winner list in 2023 in Sumbawa-Indonesia. The Frenchman was a head above the pack as he dominated every session during the weekend and was leading when he crashed in the first race to go 2-1. Febvre is getting his flow and his speed back making him a threat at every race mainly as he also worked hard on his starts which he showed by clinching both FOX Holeshot in Sumbawa-Indonesia.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings lost one position to Febvre as he didn’t compete last weekend and will still not be riding this weekend.
Still 4th in the Championship is Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández who hangs on to that position although he stayed a bit quieter than in Germany where he got the podium. Fernandez went 6th overall as he wasn’t able to push much higher during the races but still gets a good number of points to enter into the second Indonesian stop as 4th. He will give his all and make sure that Seewer will not be catching him up.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer is 5th in the Championship only 3 points behind Fernández as he got a podium in Sumbawa – Indonesia after missing it by little in Germany. Seewer looks in great shape and really able to endure this baking Indonesian heat as he managed to keep pushing hard in the second race of the Sumbawa Grand Prix to overtake Red Plate Prado for 2nd. He will be one rider to watch this weekend as the Swiss showed time and time again his resilience and determination.
His Teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff is 6th in the Championship and managed another great performance on the back of his Podium in Germany. Coldenhoff went 4-5 for 4th overall and has found the consistency that eluded him in the beginning of the season. The ‘Hoff’ is now riding increasingly at the front which allows him to push for podium places.
Solid 7th is still Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen who has shown in Sumbawa-Indonesia that the heat did not bother him as he went 6-4 for 5th overall. Vlaanderen is a rider that expresses his talent very well at the moment and displayed the speed necessary to be fighting with top riders in the Championship. Vlaanderen still ride after his first podium and the second Indonesian header in Lombok could well be a good chance for him to shine.
SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato showed that he is resourceful with a 7-8 for 8th overall. The 8th in the Championship dig deep to come from the back in race 1 to get into the top 10. His qualities are obvious as he got us used to see his great skills throughout the season. His double overtakes in one move in race 1 in Sumbawa by splitting two riders was another example of what he is capable to do.
9th in the Championship, Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod showed how fast he can be when he found himself 2nd behind Febvre in race 2 last weekend. Although he made some mistakes later in the race to finish 9th, the Swiss who is a privateer, managed another top 10 with a 9th overall which installs him solidly into the top 10 so far.
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans managed to respond present as he went 9-7 for 8th overall. The Australian performed well and keeps improving his fitness. He had good starts over the weekend which will be handy when he will be able to maintain his good speed over the whole races. It is another top 10 that puts him in a good headspace to attack the MNC MXGP of Lombok-Indonesia.
Unfortunately, MRT Racing Team Beta’s Alessandro Lupino, will not be taking part in the MNC MXGP of Lombok – Indonesia. The Italian crashed in race 1 last weekend and missed the second race and will have to sit the second Indonesian round to come back stronger.
Championship Standings
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 505 points;
2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 404 p.;
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 p.;
4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 374 p.;
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 371 p.;
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 346 p.;
7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 324 p.;
8. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 256 p.;
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 229 p.;
10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 p.;
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo is still leader of the MX2 Championship although he lost few points to Thibault Benistant. Despite crashing in the RAM Qualifying Race, the Red Plate managed to play it smart as he mentioned that he was in surviving mode due to some pain felt after his crash on Saturday. Considering all that, it was a great performance as he managed to finish 4th in the end and comes to Lombok with the Red Plate and a desire to be on top.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant is 2nd in the Championship, only 3 points behind Adamo after his excellent 2nd place in RAM qualifying race in Sumbawa and a solid 5th overall. Benistant keeps getting closer to Adamo and he has never been that close to be potential leader in MX2. Lombok will be a decisive round for the top of the leader board.
Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf was quieter than his rivals in Sumbawa with a 10thoverall. It will be interesting to see if he manages to heal a bit more again before Lombok to be able to go full gas and get back on top.
Ex-Red Plate, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts continues to impress with a podium on his second GP after his wrist injury. Geerts is still 4th in the Championship and look like he is getting stronger race after race. Even more impressive is that he woke up with a fever on the Saturday and was not 100% fit but still manage to clinch his 4th FOX Holeshot in race 1 and go 5-3 for 3rd overall. The Belgian grows in strength and is going to come in Lombok for not less than the win.
Gaining a position, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts is 5th In the Championship but levels on points with Geerts. He confirmed is remarkable performance in Germany and kept riding at the front in Sumbawa going 2-2 for the 2nd step on the podium. The young Belgian seems to be riding freely and it shows in his speed as he set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix last week in MX2. Everts is a rider on the rise and one to watch for the rest of the season.
Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk was not at his best, or more accurately as good as he showed recently. Van De Moosdijk went 8-6 for 8th overall and may have been bothered by the heat that takes a toll on riders in unpredictable ways. He will surely try to come back at his best in Lombok. He lost one position in the Championship and will want to gain important points for the rest of the series in Lombok.
Gaining a position to move up to 7th in the Championship Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen dominantly won his first MX2 Grand Prix of his career in Sumbawa. He did in style with a perfect hat-trick getting 60 points over the weekend. He also topped the first full Belgian podium since 2014. The 16-year-old Belgian is one of the fastest riders of the Championship and he proved it with this performance. L.Coenen managed to find the way to get all aligned and showed that if and when he will do that he will be hard to catch during the rest of the season.
For his comeback after his injury, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder did well but knowing his qualities and his determination, he probably would have like to do even better. The German went 4-10 for 7th overall and concede one place in the Championship to L.Coenen. Längenfelder is only getting started and will need to get his fitness and rhythm back to perform like he did when he dominantly won the GP of Spain before getting injured. Lombok will be another chance to get where he wants to be.
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo, 9th in the Championship showed in Sumbawa how fast he can be as he raced at the front for a while as he went 7-5 for a good 5th overall. Horgmo got to be consistent in Sumbawa and is getting more confident as the season goes. It will be interesting if he will be able to keep fighting for top places in Lombok TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team’s Jan Pancar is 10th in the Championship and took full advantage of this first Indonesian round with a 10-8 to go 9th overall which is excellent given that Pancar is a privateer with a really small team behind him.
Home hero JM Astra Honda’s Delvintor Alfarizi probably did not have the impact that he would have hoped for coming to compete in his home country but the Indonesian rider managed to score his first points of the season with a 16th overall and bring all he got to do even better in Lombok.
Championship Standings
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 439 points;
2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 434 p.;
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 417 p.;
4. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 381 p.;
5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 381 p.;
6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 373 p.;
7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 315 p.;
8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 295 p.;
9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 268 p.;
10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 217 p.;
Text/Bild: Infront