Welcome to our new-brand GP Reel session coming to you from the hard sand of Kegums, Latvia, home of round eight of the MXGP World Championship. From warm-up session reports to the first and second motos reports of the day, you’ll find it all right here. Updates are posted in chronological order, so be sure to scroll down for the latest info. For more updates follow us on Twitter: @mx1onboard
MORNING REPORT
Hype is the word that well-define this morning and the reason for that was the big battle between Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado for the win yesterday at the Qualifying Race. The Dutchman took his first Qualy Race win of the season, but it was an easy one as Jorge Prado was right there all the time putting pressure. Herlings crossed the line just +467 over Prado. No doubt it will be super interesting to watch these two sand masters. Herlings has a little bit of pressure has had a disadvantage of 23 points.
In the MX2 class, we have a new red plate holder as Andrea Adamo surpassed Jago Geerts by 1 point despite being eight in the Qualifying Race. However, Neestan Husqvarna rider Kay de Wolf won the race and is just 4 points behind the Italian, which means that the Red Plate can chance one more time before leaving Kegums…
WARM-UP:
Neestan Husqvarna trio ruled the Warm-Up session as Kay de Wolf, Roan Van de Moosdijk and Lucas Coenen went 1-2-3 with de Wolf on top by 636 over Moosdijk. Fresh Red Plate holder Andrea Adamo came in eight. And in the MXGP class, Herlings set the fastest time of the session with a 1:57.291 over Febvre+1.569. Coldenhoff, Fernandez, and Paturel rounded the top five. Prado came in tenth.
First race of the day will take place at 13:05 (Local time) with MX2 riders being the first to hit the track.
MX2 – RACE 1:
Kay de Wolf remains perfect here in Kegums as he took the first race of the day and the championship leads as well. The Neestan Husqvarna rider keeps Benistant at bay from the beginning to the checkered flag. Roan Van de Moosdijk came in third after taking the holeshot, while KTM duo Liam Everts and Andrea Adamo rounded the top five.
Kevin Horgmo went sixth after making some moves over Isak Gifting and Mikkel Haarup, 7th and 8th respectively. Meanwhile, Spaniard Oriol Oliver score his first top ten after passing Sacha Coenen, who rounded the top ten, in the final stages.
With one race to go, Kay de Wolf is the new red plate holder with 5pts over Andrea Adamo.
MXGP – RACE 1:
What a race for Herlings! Jorge Prado grabbed the holeshot and from there he lead the entire race over Herlings, keeping a 2-second distance. Herlings tried to pull the trigger in the mid portion of the race, but he tipped over, allowing Prado to run away with a 7-second distance. However, in the final stages, Herlings drop the hammer and caught Prado to take the win.
Meanwhile, Ruben Fernandez rode ina solid third place the entire race without any pressure. Behind the HRC rider, Coldenhoff came in 4th while Vlaanderen rounded the top five after keeping at bay Romain Febvre.
MX2 – RACE 2:
The second race was an eventful one under rainy conditions. In the first turn, Thibault Benistant and Liam Everts had a crash. Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, Kay de Wolf ended with the win after a minor crash and some change positions against his teammates Lucas Coenen and Roan van de Moosdijk, who also fell in the process while running into the top 3. However, they ended 2-3 respectively for a race sweep by Neestan Husqvarna.
Andrea Adamo and Kevin Horgmo rounded the top five. On the other hand, Thibault Benistant made all his way to sixth position trying to minimize the damage. Haarup came in 7th over Liam Everts. The top 10 was closed by Spaniard Oriol Oliver and Isak Gifting.
At the end, Kay de Wolf claims his first-overall win in MX2 and the red plate as well. His teammate, Roan van de Moosdijk was second overall with Thibault Benistant in third.
MXGP – RACE 2:
Prado started at the front once again, but this time he was quickly caught by Febvre and then by Herlings. The Frenchman from Kawasaki led some laps before being under attack in the form of Herlings. The positions didn´t change much from there. The top five were completed by Yamaha duo Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeremy Seewer, respectively.
Unfortunately, Ruben Fernandez suffered a crash while running in fifth. He stops in the pit-lane with some damage on his handlebar, regrouping in 20th and finishing 18th.
Herlings went 1-1 for a new win, taking ninth points from Prado, who was second overall with a 2-3, while Romain Febvre ended up third overall.
