2023 MXGP Of Germany | Race Highlights & Report

PHOTOS | KTM & GASGAS
VIDEO & TEXT | MXGP

The Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany was full of twists and unexpected events that offered an incredible show on the hard pack of Teutschenthal.

The ninth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship was marked by exceptional performances from the riders, in particular for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who 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.

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

MX2 RACE REPORT & RESULTS

In race 1, it was Liam Everts who took the FOX Holeshot just in front of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory’s Roan Van De Moosdijk but it was Lucas Coenen who took the lead off Everts right before the first lap ended.Nestaan Husqvarna Factory’s Lucas Coenen kept going and was the quickest as he managed to edge away and never looked back. The 16- year old kept the lead until the end to win his 2nd race win of the season. 

The 2nd place however was hardly fought as Everts got passed by Van De Moosdijk on lap 2. Everts was then under threat from his teammate Adamo as a raging battle intensify. Both riders tried to second guessed each other until they caught up with Van De Moosdijk in 2nd. Then Everts managed to pass Van De Moosdijk on lap 11 of 18. Everts then broke away but made a mistake that put himself again under pressure but he kept riding strong to finish 2nd in the end. 

Van De Moosdijk stayed strong and defended very well on an insistent Adamo but the Dutchman crashed in the last lap and saw all his hard work go to waste as he picked himself in 5th position and finish there. Adamo who pushed the whole race finished 3rd in the end while a quiet but consistently Thibault Benistant also benefited from Van De Moosdijk misfortune to secure a 4th place.

The great operation was for TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team’s Jan Pancar who showed why he is often riding within the top 10as he went from the 12th position on lap 1 to finish 6th. Pancar also managed the best out of WZ Racing Team’s Oriol Oliver on lap 17 to get to 6th. Oliver continued on his good form recently to finish 7th.  Another incredible performance was for his teammate WZ Racing Team’s Mikkel Haarup who crashed on the first turn to find himself 30th on lap 1. The Danish kept going methodically to overtake pretty much every rider in front of him to finish 8th in the end showing his speed and skills along the way.

Marcel Stauffer showed a lot of good ridings as he managed an encouraging 9th place while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen rode consistently in the top 10 to finish 10th in the end. 

The noticeable performances where those of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts. De Wolf fell in RAM Qualifying Race and looked to struggle with his foot during both races however he drew from deep within to get over his pain and heroically finished 11th getting precious points in the Championship. Geerts who is coming back only 2 weeks after breaking his arm in France rode for most of the race within the top 10 but slowly faded to finish 13th in the end scoring also vital points thanks to his massive effort. 

In race 2, it was Everts who clinched his second FOX Holeshot of the day but L.Coenen took the lead directly after that. L.Coenen’s pace was blistering and the young Belgian was on course to win a perfect Grand Prix for the first time of his career. Unfortunately, L.Coenen’s bike let him down and stopped completely on lap 11 of 18. It was heart breaking for L.Coenen who could be seen completely down next to his bike on the side of the track to then walk off and be denied his first GP win. 

L.Coenen’s misfortune meant that Everts was the one to go for his GP race win synonymous of of his first GP win. Everts rode confidently and kept his cool until the end to write history as he passed the checkered flag. Everts became the third generation of Everts to win a Grand Prix and it was fully deserved given his top performances recently. 

His teammate Adamo managed again a strong performance as he passed a surprisingly fast Geerts for 3rd on lap 3. Adamo kept on pushing as he’s used to and finished at a great 2nd position to 3-2 and get another podium on the second step. As a model of consistency, Adamo got vital points and took back the Red Plate before the double header in Indonesia. 

Benistant also showed a great performance and showed that he is a threat for the Championship as he managed to get from 6th on lap 1 to 3rd in the end as he passed Van De Moosdijk and Geerts along the way. Going 4-3 and 3rd overall, Benistant moves up in the Championship to go 2nd which places him in ideal position to fight for the title. 

Performing very well this weekend Haarup displayed determination and speed as the Danish was moving up through the ranks to go from 7th on lap 1 to 4th in the end. With an excellent 8-4 and 5th overall, Haarup showed that he likes this track after getting the podium last year in Teutschenthal. Van De Moosdijk managed to ride very well although he didn’t managed to really battle for the podium as he went 5-5 for a good 4th overall. Following his RAM Qualifying Race win, the Dutch rider comes out with a solid weekend. 

Pancar is continuing his solid season as he got his best overall finish of the season with a strong 6-6 for 6th overall. In race 2 he even managed to pass Geerts on lap 15 for 6th to seal his strong weekend. 

Geerts impressively got a great start as he found himself 3rd over the first two laps but couldn’t contained Adamo. He got overtaken several times but considering that he broke his arm three weeks in France his performance is simply outstanding as he managed to do exactly what he came for and grabbed the maximum points possible to stay in the run for the Championship. Geerts finished 7th in the end with a good 13-7 for 9th overall. He will now have two weeks to get back in Indonesia on a better form. 

Behind him VHR Racing Team’s Isak Gifting and Stauffer showed great ridings over the race as they consistently rode into the top 10 to finish 8th and 9th respectively. Stauffer went 9-9 for 8th overall which is his best finish of the season. Similarly, Gifting went 12-8 for his first 10th overall of the year.

De Wolf braved his pain again and fought hard from the back to go from 15th on lap 1 to a terrific 10th place showing a huge mental strength. Kay de Wolf, who wore the red plate at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, desperately tried to overcome the pain that was caused by a midweek crash and showed an incredible amount of determination in both races. De Wolf left the track with 11-10, for 11th overall and ensured that he remains in title contention. 

In the end Liam Everts went on to win his first race and first GP of his career in an emotional moment for all his family. Andrea Adamo got the second overall and took back the Red Plate which is testament to his amazing consistency so far this season. Thibault Benistant got his third podium in the row and moved up to second in the Championship.

Liam Everts: “What a day with two Holeshots, a race win and the GP. I’m super happy. The last 8 minutes were so hard and it felt like an eternity but I tried to stay smooth and calm. I worked hard and it paid today. I only have a hundred to go now! It is a good motivation”

Andrea Adamo: “It was maybe not my best weekend of the season but it was a very good day for the Championship. Going third in the first race was okay and in the second I had to control the race in the end to settle for second which was important for the season. Let’s now continue this way”

Thibault Benistant: “I found this weekend difficult as I didn’t feel the best on the track. I struggled a bit but I gave my best to breathe, keep calm and find other lines but the guys in front were really fast. It is still a good podium and the season is long”

MXGP RACE REPORT & RESULTS

In MXGP Race 1, it was Jeremy Seewer who grabbed his 7th FOX Holeshot of the season and kept on leading the race in front of Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings. Seewer looked very comfortable as he came under pressure from Prado and Herlings for most of the race but the Swiss rider kept his cool for a long time. There was nothing between the top three riders and eventually on lap 5 Herlings pounced on Prado to move up to 2nd and kept trying to pass a solid Seewer. In the end Herlings powered through and commit on the outside the take the lead on lap 12 of 18. Seewer got a bit destabilised as Prado followed Herlings and overtook Seewer for 2nd a lap later. 

The battle raged between the top two in the Championship, Herlings and Prado until Herlings lost the front of his bike before a jump and got completely thrown out of his bike. Herlings tried to finish the race but looked affected by the crash and finished 20th and did not line up for race 2. Prado went on to win his 6th race win of the season. Seewer also benefit from Herlings’ crash to go 2nd. 

Rubén Fernández went on to finish 3rd in the end and it is down to his consistency as he got overtaken by Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre on lap 2 to move down to 5th, however Febvre crashed on lap 3 and Fernandez took the 4th place back. He kept the 4th place until the end although he had to fight with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff and SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato to keep them at bay to stay 4th and then capitalised on Herlings’ mishap to finish 3rd. 

Coldenhoff looked lively on his bike as he pushed hard to pass a performing Forato for 5th on lap 10 with both riding pushing forward and catching up with Fernandez. Coldenhoff finished 4th in the end while Forato kept on riding fast and kept his 5th place. 

For Febvre things did not go his way as he crashed and moved down to 8th. But Febvre finished without a fight and managed to pass Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen for 7th on lap 10 after many attempts. In the Febvre finished 6th while Vlaanderen 7th. 

Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod stayed consistent as he usual with a solid place while never getting overtaken. Getting the 9th place was Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans who made his comeback into the top 10 as he showed promising ridings for the rest of the GP while KTM Kosak Team’s Tom Koch rode superbly to get 10th in the end. 

In race 2, Coldenhoff took the FOX Holeshot and kept riding superbly at the lead. Behind was Prado who never lost sight of Coldenhoff and bided his time to attack at the best moment. Prado eventually denied Coldenhoff a second race win of the season as he launched a successful attack to take the lead on lap 16 of 18. Prado sealed the perfect weekend with a 1-1-1 for the first time this season. Coldenhoff is on the rise and getting back to his best. The ‘hoff’ also showed that when he starts strongly, he is one to watch for podium finished as he went 4-2 for 2nd overall and his second podium of the season.

Febvre had to battle hard in race 2 as he got overtaken by Fernandez on lap 3 moving down to 4th. While 4th Febvre also had his hands full with his teammate Evans who really showed that he is back on form this weekend. Evans even took briefly took the better of Febvre for few turns but Febvre was not ready to sit and wait and took back the 4th place immediately and edged away to attack Fernandez for the 3rd place on lap 8th. Febvre made the pass stick and finished 3rd for a 6-6 synonymous of 5th overall. Evans in the end had to settled for 6th but with a 9-6 got his first overall top 10 of the season in 7th. 

Fernandez showed consistency once again although he finished 4th although he got under pressure when he fell down on the very last lap by Seewer who could have deny him a podium finish. In the end Fernandez held onto 4th and got his 3rd podium of the season.

Seewer made astonishing comeback as he fell in lap 1 after getting clipped by Forato. Finding himself 19th on the turn of lap 1 the Swiss got on the mission to get a podium after his 2nd place in race 1. He nearly achieved it when he put pressure on Fernandez on the last lap but came up short. He still shows how eager Seewer is to fight for top points.

Showing where level is at recently Forato, similarly to Seewer got back up to 7th in the end from 21st on lap 1. The Italian is growing into this season as he invites himself to battle with the top riders. With 5-7 and 6th overall, Forato jumped 2 places in the Championship to go 8th. 

MRT Racing Team Beta’s Ben Watson rode strongly as he spent most of the race in 6th position although he concede a couple of position to finish 8th. With a 14-8, Watson will take that positive into the next GPs in Indonesia. 

The great story of the weekend was for Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Jeremy Van Horebeek who came out of retirement to fill in for injured Pauls Jonass. Van Horebeek managed an excellent 9th place and showed consistency over the weekend as he went 11-9 for a 9th overall. 

Koch is a rider that fully took advantage of riding at home in Germany as he went 10-10 to get a first overall top 10 of the season. 

In the end Jorge Prado dominated this weekend showing a lot of composure to win with a perfect score his second GP. Second overall, Glenn Coldenhoff comes back into the podium with an excellent 4-2 and finding his rhythm back while Rubén Fernández shows all his talent and consistency this season to go third overall. 

Jorge Prado: “It was hard to get the second win of the day as Glenn (Coldenhoff) was riding very well and had a strong rhythm. I felt I was quite strong today. Going 1-1-1 is great. It’s just the perfect weekend for me, for the Championship. I wish Jeffrey (Herlings) will be back soon as it is amazing to battle it out with him for the Championship. I cannot ask for more and thanks to all my team!”

Glenn Coldenhoff: “It is great to be back here after having some disappointing results weeks after weeks that got me a bit down but I kept on working hard and never gave up fighting. It shows that hard work pays off. Getting a good start helped a lot too. It’s great to be back on the box, thanks to all the team because they have done a great job”

Rubén Fernández: “I struggled a bit on this track this weekend but at the end of the first race I started to feel stronger and was confident for the second race. I still felt fast and it is good to be back on the podium again. I want to thank all my team, my family and all the people around me. We now keep it going!”