Perfect MXGP of Germany for Jorge Prado | Evans P7

MXGP 2023

Round Nine – MXGP of Germany, Teutschenthal

The ninth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship, saw riders compete in Teutschenthal for the MXGP of Germany, kicking off the festivities with the RAM Qualifying Races where Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado dominated the MXGP RAM Qualifying Race and Aussie Mitch Evans qualified 10th.

In the MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, the winner was Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk.

When it came to race day, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado won his first perfect 1-1-1 of the season in front of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández.

KRT’s Mitch Evans, gained in confidence by the day after his season-best Qualifying on Saturday, raced to a superb seventh overall from ninth- and sixth-placed moto finishes.

The Australian rode an aggressive opening lap in moto one to advance quickly into the top-ten and pushed for the entire thirty-five minutes to take over ninth three laps from the close. Race two was even better as he took over sixth within a few corners and raced fifth for most of the race before a title-candidate slipped past four laps from the end.

Mitch Evans

“It’s nice to finally be in the battle again and going home with a smile on my face. We have made a lot of progress lately, both with my bike settings and my fitness. For a long time I wasn’t able to do full training, but pain-wise I’m now 100% and last week I changed my training program and I already feel much better. I was also happier with my starts this weekend. The Kawasaki is unreal off the start, but it calls for a different technique to my previous bike and I still need to get completely used to it; the rest is down to me now and then the holeshots will come. I’m looking forward to getting back into the top-five, perhaps already in Indonesia; I got sick there last year but the track and the fans were really great.”

In MX2, it was a big first for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts who won the first race and Grand Prix of his career in front of the new Red Plate and teammate Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant.

News Highlights Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany 2023

MXGP Race One

Jeremy Seewer grabbed his seventh FOX Holeshot of the season in Race One, leading Jorge Prado and Jeffrey Herlings, while looking very comfortable despite the pressure from the duo for most of the race.

There was nothing between the top three and eventually on lap five Herlings pounced, moving up to second and trying to line up a pass on Seewer. Herlings on the outside to take the lead on lap 12 of 18, Prado following and overtaking Seewer a lap later.

The battle raged on until Herlings lost the front before a jump and got completely thrown off his bike, eventually finishing 20th and not lining up for Race Two.

As a result Prado went on to win his  sixth win of the season, Seewer also benefiting from Herlings’ crash to finish second.

Ruben Fernandez claimed the final podium position, well clear of Glenn Coldenhoff, who was in turn clear of KTM mounted Alerto Forato.

Romain Febvre was top Kawasaki in sixth, followed by Calvin Vlaanderen, Valentin Guillod, Australia’s Mitchell Evans and Tom Koch in tenth.

MXGP Race 1 Results

MXGP Race Two

Coldenhoff took the Race Two FOX Holeshot, followed by Prado who made sure he never lost sight of Coldenhoff, biding his time to attack.

That proved quite late in the race, Prado eventually denying Coldenhoff a second race win of the season, launching a successful overtake on lap 16 of 18 and zooming off to a eight-second lead.

With the move, Prado sealed a perfect weekend with a 1-1-1 for the first time this season.

Glenn Coldenhoff had to settle for second, but was well over 20-seconds clear of the rest of the field.

Febvre had to battle hard in Race Two, after being overtaken by Fernandez on lap three and dropping down to fourth, where he had his hands full with teammate Evans who really showed that he is back on form.

Evans even briefly got the better of Febvre for few turns, before Febvre took back fourth place and edged away to attack Fernandez for the final podium position on lap eight. Fernandez ended the race in fourth, just ahead of Jeremy Seewer.

Evans settled for sixth but with a 9-6 got his first overall top 10 of the season in seventh.

Rounding out the top 10 were Alberto Forato, followed by Ben Watson, Jeremy Horebeek and Tom Koch.

The round overall went to Prado with a perfect scorecard, Coldenhoff claiming second with 40-points, and Fernandez and Seewer were tied on 38-points.

Prado extended his standings lead as a result to 453-points, Herlings on 386 and Febvre on 347.

Jorge Prado – P1

“It was a pretty good weekend! Winning the qualification race and then both motos was just perfect. The bike was very good and so was my riding. I knew that I could do this more often, but it is just about putting everything together and building my confidence. I think today was a perfect example of what I can do. I feel very confident going to Indonesia. Everything is going very well and I need to keep going like this.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P2

“It has been a long road since my first podium finish in Riola, and it has been mentally tough. After France, I decided to change my training program a little bit, and worked really really hard. We have focused a lot on the start, and finally, I got a Fox Holeshot today. I needed that. My riding felt good, and all the hard work is paying off. Every weekend I get stronger and stronger, and to be on the podium here at a track like Teutschenthal, which, if I am completely honest, is not my favourite track, shows that we are going in the right direction. I’d like to thank my team Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP for all their hard work. It’s nice to show it’s paying off.”

Rubén Fernández – P3

“I’m so glad to be up on the podium as I had to fight hard this weekend to make it happen and I feel like I have deserved to be here after previous performances. It’s funny that this weekend I didn’t really have feeling for the track and yet I’m on the podium and at other venues I’ve felt much better and not made it. Still, it shows that every weekend I am giving myself a chance and that I can’t give up. I did make things a bit harder for myself at the end of the second moto but I held on and it was enough. Big thanks to the whole of Team HRC for supporting me and helping me out because it was a difficult weekend but we kept working hard and I’m looking forward to the small break before we head to Indonesia, which is a track I like.”

Jeremy Seewer – P4

“This weekend was going good, but I had a rare issue in Race Two and had to swap bikes after the sighting lap. It was not anything that I felt was wrong with the bike, but my mechanic noticed something with the rear shock, so we swapped bikes as a precaution. To ride a bike that I have never done a lap on is quite challenging. I lost a little focus on the start and missed the jump, then lost the front with a small crash at turn two. After that, I think I raced one of my best races of the year, coming through the pack and nearly making the podium. It’s disappointing to miss it, but still a lot of positives to take away. This is racing, and I am just looking forward to the next GP.”

Romain Febvre – P5

“I’m not really happy with my results as I crashed in both motos. I had the speed to fight for the win, but as I crashed twice I couldn’t do it. My first start was average, the second one was much better, but in both motos I was in the top-four during the first few laps before these crashes. In the first moto I was surprised in a rut after the finish line; the rut was muddy due to the watering and I lost my balance. In the second race I was a little unlucky as there was a stone in a rut before a small jump, and I lost the front wheel when I landed from this jump. I don’t look at the championship, but I’m disappointed as this weekend I missed at least a podium. Now we have one weekend off before we fly to Indonesia where I had a great feeling last year in Sumbawa.”

MXGP Race 2 Results

2023 MXGP of Latvia Round Overall

MXGP Standings

MX2 Race One

Liam Everts took the FOX Holeshot from Roan Van De Moosdijk but Lucas Coenen took the lead off Everts right before the first lap ended.

Coenen then just kept going, edging away and never looking back, the 16-year old winning his second race of the season..

Second-place was hard-fought, Everts passed by Van De Moosdijk on lap two, then under threat from  teammate Adamo.

Both riders caught up with Van De Moosdijk in second, Everts managing to pass Van De Moosdijk on lap 11 of 18, defending second to race’s end.

Van De Moosdijk defended an insistent Adamo but the Dutchman crashed in the last lap and saw all his hard work go to waste, having to pick himself up for fifth.

Adamo claimed third and a quiet but consistent Thibault Benistant secured fourth, thanks to Moosdijk’s misfortune.

Jan Pancar was sixth, followed by Oliver Oriol, Mikkel Haarup, Marcel Stauffer and Sacha Coenen.

MX2 Race 1 Results

MX2 Race Two

Liam Everts grabbed his second FOX Holeshot of the day in Race Two but L.Coenen took the lead directly and set a blistering pace.

The young Belgian was on course to win a perfect Grand Prix for the first time of his career, until his bike let him down and stopped completely on lap 11 of 18.

Everts rode confidently and kept his cool to write history as he passed the checkered flag, becoming the third generation of Everts to win a Grand Prix.

Teammate Adamo managed to pass a surprisingly fast Geerts for third on lap 3, holding that position to the finish, although the same couldn’t be said of Geerts.

Benistant demonstrated he is a threat for the Championship going from sixth on lap 1 to third, passing Van De Moosdijk and Geerts along the way.

Rounding out the top 10 in Race Two were Haarup and Moosdijk, followed by Jan Pancar, Jago Geerts, Isak Gifting, Marcel Stauffer and Kay de Wolf.

Liam Everts took the round win on 47-points to Adamo’s 42-points. Benistant third on 38.

The MX2 top three are fairly close, Adamo on 405-points, Benistant on 392 and de Wolf 388.

Liam Everts – P1

“It’s definitely nice to win this one. We made some good steps with the bike and I felt ‘at one’ with it. The pressure is not easy in my shoes. I’m the third generation of our family and I have to perform. I proved something this weekend. It is a load-off my shoulders but I want to keep going. I felt good and could push right to the end of that second moto. I stayed smooth and counted down the laps. Hard work pays off!”

Andrea Adamo – P2

“It was not the best day of the season so far but really good for the championship. I made two mistakes, one in the quali race and another in the first moto and it felt like I was always losing the lead group somehow. My riding was not the best. In the second Liam was really fast so I just tried to bring it home and with good points. I did my best.”

Thibault Benistant – P3

“I’m on the podium for the third time in a row. I did not feel great on the bike all weekend, so to finish third on a ‘bad day’ is not too bad. I did feel like I struggled out there. We did all we could. We tried to adjust the bike and I tried to adjust my riding style, but I think I was just a bit blocked today, which is a shame because Teutschenthal is a track where I should be able to go fast. But anyway, I leave here with a podium, and that is not so bad.”

Roan van de Moosdijk – P4

“We continue to make steps forward. Winning the qualification race was a nice boost, especially after the podium last weekend, and I had high hopes for today’s motos. Although it would have been nice to stand on the podium again, I am happy to put more consistent finishes on the board. We will keep working for more trophies.”

Lucas Coenen – P7

“I am very happy with the speed that I showed this weekend and the way that I felt on my FC 250. To get another win in the first moto was amazing and I was very motivated for the second one, but some bad luck meant that we could not finish. There are so many positives to take from this Grand Prix.”

Jago Geerts – P9

“I’m really happy with how today went under the circumstances. The first heat was already quite good. I had a good start and rode most of the race in seventh place but had a small crash when I hit a stone with my front wheel. After that, I got hit by another rider, but still finished 13th, which was 8-points and I was already really happy with that. In the second race, I got another good start and finished seventh, which was super. To get 22-points at a time like this is as good as it could have gone, so I am leaving here very happy.”

Kay de Wolf – P11

“Salvaging as many points as possible was the goal this weekend. There was just no way that I was going to give up and I’m happy with what we achieved. We are already looking forward to the next round in Indonesia.”

Jack Chambers – DNS

“It’s not great news. I cross-rutted going up the big hill yesterday in Qualifying; I had to go off-track to save it and when I went off the side of the track there was a strap holding the tower and it caught my rear tyre. I had to bail off the bike and landed on my feet; I’ve broke my left ankle – the talus bone. I’ll go back as soon as possible to the States for surgery; I don’t know how long it will take but I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’m obviously very disappointed as I have been making progress each weekend, but that’s how it is.”

Kevin Horgmo – DNS

“I had a really big crash so they wanted to keep me in the hospital overnight to check my internal organs but everything is OK. X-rays confirmed I have no broken bones; My body is just really sore, particularly my shoulder and ankle, but that’s racing. I will have more check-ups this week when I get back home to be 100% sure.”

MX2 Race 2 Results

2023 MXGP of Latvia MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Standings