Welcome to our new-brand GP Reel session coming to you from the modern venue of Intu-Xanadu at Arroyomolinos, Madrid, home of round six of the MXGP World Championship. From warm-up session reports to the final qualifying race 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:
Good morning race fans! It`s time for one of the best Grand Prix on the calendar! The sixth round of the MXGP World Championship is happening right now at the modern venue of Intu-Xanadu, in Madrid, for 4th year in a row. Fans are really excited to see their hometown heroes Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez. Prado won right here in 2020 and is expected to do it again this year. He is the currently Red Plate Holder by 17 points over 2021 winner Jeffrey Herlings. Maxime Renaux found his first-career GP overall in the main class here in Spain, and after a rough weekend in Portugal, he expects to rebound. So, it will be a total clash between three former winners. Also, Ruben Fernandez came hungry after coming short not once, but twice to the podium spot in the last two races. In a nutshell, it will be an exciting weekend.
Meanwhile, in the MX2 class, Jago Geerts will be the man to beat after a hat-trick in Portugal. However, he never won in Spain. Besides Geerts, Andrea Adamo and Thibault Benistant are the only ones to get overalls wins so far, while Kay de Wolf, Roan Van de Moosdijk, and Simon Langenfelder have race wins. Geerts is the championship leader by a nice margin of 36 points over Adamo, but the batlefield is still wide open at every gate drop and this weekend everything can happen.
Unlike Agueda last week, which completely changed the track design going in reverse, the layout of Intu-Xanadu will remain similar to previous years, except for some minor changes. So riders will be familiar with a track known for its hard-packed but also ripped, rough, rutty, and full of large jumps and technical sections. The GP officially started at 9:15 (Local time) with the free practices. Remember, this is your place to follow all the results and the latest updates. VAMOS!
FREE PRACTICES:
Most every usual suspect in the MX2 class surfaced atop the timesheet in the first timed session of the day. Championship leader Jago Geerts wasted no time as he put in an impressive 1:50.522 on lap 10. Followed closely was Simon Langenfelder, who was at the top of the board until one lap later with a 1:50.613. Both were the only riders to set laps under the 1:50´, while Thibault Benistant came in third with more than a second of a deficit from the leaders, same to Lucas Coenen and Kay de Wolf who rounded the top 5. Jan Pancar was in the mix being sixth over KTM duo Liam Everts and Sacha Coenen. Roan Van de Moosdijk was 9th and local hero David Braceras completed the top 10.
MXGP riders were the next to hit the track. Jeffrey Herlings send a strong message. The Dutchman has been the fastest in this session with a 1:48.456 mark on lap 10th, beating riders from 2nd to 7th by more than a second. Maxime Renaux, Glenn Coldenhoff, Romain Febvre, and Alberto Forato rounded the top five. From the sixth spot to the tenth came Guadagnini, Seewer, Bogers, Van Doninck, and Calvin Vlaanderen; all of them with a deficit of more than two seconds from Herlings’ fastest lap.
Hometown heroes Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez took things easy as they rode on the 14th and 16th respectively. It will be interesting to see what they hide under the sleeves for the Time Practice.
TIME PRACTICES:
MX2: Backing up his free practice session speed, Geerts rocketed to the head once he hit the track for the Time Practice. This time around the Yamaha rider was even faster. He immediately put the hammer down with a 1:49.0.59 on lap 5. Kay de Wolf made an effort in the final minutes, coming home in second place just +875 behind Geerts. The top five were completed by Simon Langenfelder, Roan Van de Moosdijk, and Thibault Benistant by a margin between half of a second and two seconds behind the poleman. Coming from sixth to tenth were Lucas Coenen, Jan Pancar, Andrea Adamo, Mikkel Haarup, and Liam Everts.
Hometown hero David Braceras was displaced to the 13th spot after being in the top ten early in the free practice session.
MXGP: Jeffrey Herlings took the pole position. The bullet boosts to the first spot in lap 8 as he puts a strong 1:47. One lap later Jeremy Seewer came short by half a second +463. GasGas duo Jorge Prado and Mattia Guadagnini went 3rd and 4th just half a second behind the best lap time marked by Herlings. Maxime Renaux rounded the top five +1.465.
From sixth to tenth came Forato, Febvre, Coldenhoff, Bogers, and Beta rider Alessandro Lupino rounded the top 10 for the first time this season.
MX2 QUALIFYING RACE
Jago Geerts ruled the race from the beginning. He grabbed the holeshot and from there controlled every lap at front heading to a comfortable win. Behind him his countryman Lucas Coenen did the same fo second place after escape from Simon Langenfelder and Kay de Wolf. Andra Adamo rounded the top 5.
The top 10 were completed by Benistant, Van de Moosdijk, Horgmo, Pancar and Everts.
MXGP QUALIFYING RACE:
Initially, the race has to be restarted due to a red-flagged because of a big crash in which Romain Febvre took the worst part after colliding with Brent Van Doninck in the first corner. Febvre was DNF as the medical crew took him out. More details soon.
In the restart, Jorge Prado grabbed the holeshot and run away in the lead. However, in the final stages, Jeffrey Herlings add pressure on the Spaniard but wasn´t enough to make the pass. Jeremy Seewer and Mattia Guadagnini rode on a solid 3rd and 4th while Alberto Forato rounded the top 5. Behind them came Glenn Coldenhoff over Ruben Fernandez, who flexed his muscles to remount to seventh after an early crash while in contention for the third spot.
Maxime Renaux was DNF. At first glimpse, it seemed a technical issue, but some sources secure that the Frenchman hit one of his legs on the roots, causing some serious damage. Will be updating soon.
