2023 MXGP Of Lombok – Indonesia | Race Highlights & Report

PHOTOS | KTM & MXGP
VIDEO & TEXT | MXGP

The eleventh round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship closed the Indonesian double-header in the beautiful island of Lombok for the MNC MXGP of Lombok – Indonesia. The dirt of the Selaparang Circuit made it hard to control the bike and made the riders employ all their skill to keep pushing while getting good lines during the whole weekend.

In MXGP it was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre who came out victorious with an excellent back-to-back win in front of Red Plate Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who keeps his race winning streak and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff who continues on his great consistent form.

In MX2, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts came back on top with a sweep going 1-1-1 and winning his first Grand Prix since his injury. Red Plate Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo showed incredible speed and finished second in front of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder who got his second podium of the season and his first since his injury.

The day started with the Indonesian National Anthem resonating throughout the circuit of Selaparang before David Luongo, Infront Moto Racing CEO, Antonio Alia Portela, FIM/CMS Director, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Dr. H. Zulkieflimansyah S.E. M.SC and MXGP Sumbawa-Lombok Coordinator Ir. H. Ridwan Syah all took the stand to deliver speeches to welcome everyone to Lombok and reiterated the pride to host the second MXGP event in the region. Then, a traditional dance demonstration accompanied by traditional instrumental musicians performed for the greater enjoyment of the huge crowd present. The ceremony let the place to the incredible motocross competition.

MX2 RACE REPORT & RESULTS

In MX2 Race 1, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga who took his first FOX Holeshot of the season while Jago Geerts picked up where he left off on Saturday as he took the lead on the second turn and kept riding his race at the front. Andrea Adamo who quickly overtook Roan Van De Moosijkon lap 2 of 17 to move up to 2nd, managed to reduce the gap with Geerts for a while but Geerts picked up his pace to make sure to win confidently. Adamo settled for 2nd in the end and managed the rest of the race easily. On his side, Elzinga unfortunately made few mistakes to finish the race in 13th position.

Behind the front two riders, Van de Moosdijk and his teammate Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf rode pretty much the whole race together although Van De Moosdijk was 2nd until lap 2 when he got overtaken by Adamo and Simon Längenfelder to go 4th in front of de Wolf 5th. Both riders kept riding strongly and capitalised on Längenfelder’s loss of focus as the two Dutch riders overtook the German over two corners to move up to 3rd for Van De Moosdijk and 4th for de Wolf where they finished in the end. Längenfelder settled in the end for 5th.

It was less eventful for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts who after getting passed by de Wolf on lap 2, continued to ride 6th until the end, similarly to Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenenwho consistently rode in 7th position until the end.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant was trying to salvage the most points possible after being 100% during the weekend. He managed to gain a place early on lap 3 to go 8th where he controlled this position until the end. It was a fight for F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo who found himself 15th over the turn of the lap 1. Horgmo showed that he is resourceful and confident about his skill as the Norwegian made an amazing comeback to finish 9th in the end.

Another race and another top 10 for TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team’s Jan Pancar who had to employ himself to deliver a huge comeback after finding himself 17th on lap 1. But Pancar got us used to perform no matter what with an iron will and kept charging forward to pass 7 riders and finished 10th which is an incredible result given his start.

In race 2, Geerts took the best start and clinched his 4th FOX Holeshot of the season. Geerts kept riding like at a fast pace as he showed speed and skills to control the race from start to finish and go for the sweep with a 1-1-1 that propels him back into the title hunt.

Längenfelder started well in 4th on lap 1 and capitalised on Adamo’s fall in lap 2 to go 3rd. He then kept riding his race lap after lap when he capitalised on Van De Moosdijk’s crash on lap 6 of 17 to move up to 2nd. In that moment it was race on for the German who had a shot to get on the podium. He did brilliantly as he kept his cool to finish 2nd in the end for an excellent 5-2 for 3rd overall, synonymous of his 2nd podium of the season.

Adamo was one of the fastest riders in the field but made few mistakes and had to employ all his talent to get back up. Crashing on lap 2 Adamo moved down to 6th but the Red Plate knows his worth and battled his way forward to pass L.Coenen, Van De Moosdijk and his teammate Everts to finish 3rd in the end. With a good 2-3, Adamo got the 2nd overall but definitely had the speed this weekend to fight with Geerts at the lead which is encouraging for the next GPs.

Everts settled for 4th in the end going 6-4 for 5th overall. L.Coenen managed another good race and only got overtaken by Adamo in the end to finish 5th and 6th overall.

It didn’t go as planned for Van De Moosdijk who showed that he was having fun on this track and looked fast the whole weekend. He made a mistake unfortunately in race 2 on lap 6 while he was 2nd and moved down to 4th. He then couldn’t find his great rhythm of the weekend and got passed a couple of times to finish 6th in the end. With a 3-6 and 4th overall, Van De Moosdijk missed a good chance of a podium.

Pancar made a much a better start in race 2 as he found himself 8th and kept riding with confidence as he moved up to 6th in the end to 10-6 for 8th overall and another important top 10.

De Wolf had some difficulty to find his flow in the second race and could not ride higher than 8th in the end. It is still a good performance as he finished 6th overall. Benistant kept the same mindset as the first race and finished 9th to go 8-9 for 9th overall but losing precious points for the Championship.

Horgmo managed a less spectacular race compare to the first race and rode consistently in 10th during the whole race to go 9-10 for 10th overall.

Home rider JM Astra Honda’s Delvintor Alfarizi who was very supported and cheered on in Lombok managed get more points during the weekend as he went 16-15 for 15th overall and getting his fitness back in the meantime.

Jago Geerts: “It was a perfect weekend for me, three race wins I couldn’t ask for more. It was quite tough with the hot weather also because it was really humid but we made the best of it. I really enjoyed the track so I am very happy about the whole weekend.”

Andrea Adamo: “The track was more slippery in the first laps of the second race so we had to be careful and I had not been careful enough and made small mistake that costed me some places but I came back quite fast so I’m really happy with that. I was looking for a better result because I had the speed to fight for the win but 2-3 is not too bad so let’s keep going.”

Simon Längenfelder: “I was doing my thing and the other riders crashed but I didn’t make mistakes and then I saw on the pitlane that I could make the podium. I just said to myself, out and go for it and I made it so I feel very happy.”

MXGP RACE REPORT & RESULTS

In race 1 it was Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod who clinched his first FOX Holeshot of the season although Romain Febvre took the lead after the first corners. Febvre kept riding well at the front with a good speed in front of Team HRC’s Rubén Fernández and Jorge Prado. Fernandez was keeping the pace with Febvre and looked comfortable but made a mistake and went down, seeing Prado and Glenn Coldenhoff overtake him. Prado kept charging forward and edged closer to Febvre when he finally pounced on lap 16 of 17. Prado took an aggressive line and both riders nearly collided but nonetheless Prado took the lead and won the race. Febvre settled for 2nd place in the end.

Behind them Coldenhoff managed to pass his teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer on lap 4 before capitalising on Fernandez’s fall and kept the 3rd place until the end. Fernandez battled with Seewer for 4th over few laps in a remake the RAM Qualifying Race. Each rider giving everything to get in front, made mistakes and got wheel to wheel but in the end Seewer got the last word on lap 10 and finish the race in 4th while Fernandez finished 5th.

Following his FOX Holeshot, Guillod got to 8th on the turn of lap 1 but showed class and speed moving up the ranks with his pass on Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen on lap 2 for 7th. Quickly after, the Swiss managed to overtake the great performer De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Benoit Paturel for 6th on lap 3. Guillod kept 6th until the end. Paturel had to concede some positions but still got a good 9th place. Vlaanderen settled for 7th.

SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato seemingly not at 100% still managed to get into the top 10 and even fought until the end to pass Paturel on lap 16 for 8th. This was a great race for JWR Honda Racing’s Alvin Östlund who consistently rode around the 10th place and found the way to pass Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Mitch Evans on lap 12 to finish 10th in the end. Evans made a mistake early and struggled to regroup moving down from 9th to finish 12th.

MRT Racing Team Beta’s Ben Watson had to retire on the first lap with an issue but took part in the second race to finish 12th.

In race 2 it was Coldenhoff who got the FOX Holeshot while Prado took the lead. Febvre found himself 3rd but was determined to pass Fernandez for 2nd after several corners. Febvre kept charging and even went off track while doing so but kept going which speaks volume about his determination. After few laps Febvre eventually got the inside of Prado to briefly take the lead but Prado responded straight back with a great line to take the lead back. The fight was intense as Prado tried to second guessed every move from Febvre. Riders were riding at the limit and Febvre eventually made the pass stick to take the lead and edge away. Prado never caught him up again and Febvre flew to victory to win the Grand Prix with a 2-1.

With back-to-back wins in Indonesia Febvre showed that we can count on him to fight until the end of the season. Prado got closer to Febvre near the end of the race but knew it was not enough and cruised until the checkered flag to finish 2nd, getting him two 2nd places in both Indonesian round.

Fernandez and Seewer went wheel to wheel for a third act that was as intense as the first ones. The battle was tough and physical as both riders gave everything to fight for 4th. In the end Seewer got the last word again for the day and moved up to 4th on lap 13. Seewer knew that he had to pass Coldenhoff for 3rd to get on the podium and edged closer to his teammate. Racing got tensed until the very last corners for Coldenhoff. He showed great speed as he went 3rd on lap 4 passing Fernandez but the last couple of laps where very intense as Seewer looked like having the momentum to pass Coldenhoff when he lost the control of his front wheel, loosing precious seconds. Coldenhoff then kept his composure as he has done throughout the whole weekend to get an excellent 3-3 and get on another podium. Seewer settled for 4th going 4-4 for 4th overall. Fernandez went 5-5 in the end for 5th overall.

Guillod kept performing very well after his first race and did the same in the second one as he stayed 6th the whole race going 6-6 for 6th overall and equalling his season’s best finish. It was also very consistent for Vlaanderen who despite feeling unwell during the weekend managed to stay 7th the whole of race 2 and go 7-7 for 7th overall.

Forato kept riding in 8th position and be consistent to go 8-8 for 8th overall although he was also feeling not at his best which makes it a good result for the 23-year-old Italian.

Evans bounced back from his 12th place in race 1 to go 9th in the end and get 10th overall while Paturel had a good consistent race as he finished 10th going 9-10 to get another top 10 with 9th overall.

Romain Febvre: “It was tough with these hot weather and tough conditions. But hey you know, the guys behind are young and they are pushing so I showed I can still win and I am very happy. I want to thanks my team, all the sponsors as it has been 1-1 in Indonesia and I am happy to go back home to see my daughter and my wife, I love them!”

Jorge Prado: “Overall I need to say it was a good weekend, I’m getting out of here with the most points in the standings which is the most important. It is just a pity in that second race because I was struggling with the goggles since lap one and could not see very well so I couldn’t ride as smooth as before. But I really thought I could win that second one but I extend my lead in the Championship ad now let’s get back to Europe.”

Glenn Coldenhoff: “It was a really tough weekend; the heat was bad mainly in the first race and we gave already so much in the first race so it was a tough GP. Jeremy (Seewer) was behind me and I knew that I had to stay in front of him to get on the podium. In the end I even get closer to Jorge (Prado) but I take a 3rd and a 4th in the Indonesian rounds which is so hard. Now let’s move on to Loket.”