Morning Warm-Up Highlights
In the morning Warm-Up, Jeffrey Herlings showcased impressive speed, clocking the fastest time ahead of defending World Champion Romain Febvre from the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP. Maxime Renaux took third place for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, while Lucas Coenen seemed unbothered, warming up in 22nd position.
Race One Performance
Despite experiencing a mechanical issue that prevented Febvre from claiming his fourth consecutive Qualifying victory at Trentino on Saturday, he secured a favorable start position and quickly shot out of the gate to win his second Fox Holeshot Award of the season! The race began with a brief French 1-2 as Tom Vialle held the second spot, while Tim Gajser excited numerous fans from third place.
Mid-Race Developments
Mattia Guadagnini, who fell at the first corner, started at the back on his Venrooy Racing KTM and finished 18th. Meanwhile, Coenen moved up from a fourth-place start, passing Vialle and then diving past Gajser in front of his Slovenian supporters to claim second place. However, a dramatic crash affected Coenen’s race, causing him to restart in 17th, plummeting to 26th by the end of the first lap.
Rising Stars
Following Febvre, Gajser, and Vialle, MXGP newcomers Andrea Adamo from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Thibault Benistant from Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul showed impressive performance in fourth and fifth. On lap two, Renaux’s move against Kay de Wolf caused the latter to fall, allowing Herlings to leap into sixth position, albeit with a challenging climb ahead.
Strategic Moves and Final Stages
Oriol Oliver managed to find himself within the top ten, ahead of Kawasaki’s Pauls Jonass and Honda’s Ruben Fernandez. Renaux secured six spot on lap six, while Herlings began to close in on the leaders, overtaking Adamo at the beginning of lap seven.
Race Conclusion
As the race progressed, Herlings swiftly overtook Gajser for third place on lap 13, then executed an impressive maneuver to snag second from Vialle. By lap 16, he launched himself into the lead, pulling away to win by more than five seconds over Febvre, with Vialle finishing third and Gajser fourth.
Second Race Dynamics
In the second race, Febvre struggled from gate 38, finishing the first lap in 23rd and ultimately finishing 12th. De Wolf and Coenen engaged for the Fox Holeshot Award, with De Wolf earning his first in MXGP history. The top six included Gajser, Vialle, Renaux, and Jonass, while Herlings fought his way back up from the edge of the top ten.
