Round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship jumped to Lugo, Spain, at the Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado, May 10-11. Rain again soaked the track for Sunday’s motos, and racers were greeted with sloppy conditions for the first half of the day.
Despite the challenging conditions, the championship leaders Romain Febvre and Kay de Wolf still grabbed overall victories and further extended their points leads.
VIDEO | 2025 MXGP & MX2 of Spain Highlights
MXGP
Race one of the MXGP division was all about Romain Febvre. With his main title rival, Tim Gajser, out with a shoulder injury, the Kawasaki rider has a firm grasp on this year’s championship. He rocketed out to the holeshot and navigated the muddy conditions with veteran experience. Febvre put it on cruise control and led all 17 laps en route to his third moto win of the season by nearly five seconds. Fellow French rider Maxime Renaux crossed the line in second, with Spanish native Ruben Fernandez taking third in front of his home fans.
Race two saw much better track conditions as the sun and the track crew worked together to fix the rutted surface. Febvre once again started up front in the second moto but crashed on the second lap and surrendered the lead to Calvin Vlaanderen. More action in the opening stages saw Lucas Coenen launch into the top spot as he passed Vlaanderen for the lead just before the finish line. Coenen, the MXGP rookie, ran off with the win and used 4-1 finishes to take second overall, moving to second in points in the process.
“First race was slippery with the rain, and I got stuck in fourth,” Coenen said. “I didn’t want to risk too much, so I just rode smart. The second race, I had a better start; Romain passed me but then fell and I made a pass stick on Vlaanderen. After that, I just rode my race. Finishing on a race win feels really good. I’m just taking it step by step and learning every weekend.”
Febvre picked himself up after a lap-one crash and battled all the way back to second at the checkers. His 1-2 results were good enough to take the overall win and allowed him to stretch his championship lead to 49 over Coenen.
“I was leading in the second race and crashed on lap two after the big tabletop,” Febvre said. “There was a tricky section with deep mud and bumps. I tried to switch lines mid-air and landed in the wrong spot. It was my mistake. Took me a while to get up, and I was pretty far back, but I found good lines and came back to second.”
Vlaanderen held on for third in race two, with Fernandez one spot back in fourth. The Spanish rider’s 3-4 scores proved strong enough for third overall, his second podium in back-to-back weeks.
Last year I couldn’t race here, so this was my first home GP in Galicia,” said Fernandez. “To be on the box in front of the home crowd is amazing. I had a tough Saturday with a crash at the start, and I was sore today. But I pushed through, started from gate 16, and made it count. I’m still a bit disappointed because I wanted more, but the fans were incredible.”
MX2
The MX2 riders saw the worst conditions of the weekend, as their first moto was the muddiest of all. Still, Yamaha’s Thibault Benistant grabbed his first holeshot of the year and held the lead for the opening lap. Points leader Kay de Wolf was the man on the move as he passed for first on lap two and never looked back. The defending champ looked comfortable despite the muddy mess and held on for the win in the opening moto. To better his points situation, de Wolf’s closest championship contender, Simon Laengenfelder, fell from a podium position and later finished eighth. Liam Everts put in a late-race charge for second, with Benistant rounding out the podium in third.
Race two looked much better as the track continued to dry out and offered a much more raceable surface. This time Sacha Coenen led a trio of KTMs across the line, with teammates Andrea Adamo and Laengenfelder closely in tow. Meanwhile, race-one winner de Wolf found himself midpack after a lackluster start and battled his way through the field. Sacha Coenen looked to be running away with the win, but a mistake caused him to stall the bike and forfeit the lead. Adamo slipped past for first in the closing stages of the race and claimed the victory, breaking the tie and putting him second overall for the day. Coenen finished a close second, but 6-2 results were only good enough for third overall. De Wolf managed to work his way to fourth place late in the race thanks to a daring pass that saw him slip past two riders in the same section. This move gave him enough points to still claim the day’s overall win with 1-4 results. He now leads the championship by 15 points over Laengenfelder.
“Me and Thibault [Benistant] came together [on the start] and I basically had to start from the back,” de Wolf said. “For the first few laps, I was still down in 17th, maybe 15th. Even with 10 minutes to go, I was only in eighth. But then in the last five or six laps, I just went all in. I found something, dropped my lap times, and worked my way up to fourth. I think experience definitely helps in those moments.” CN
2025 FIM MXGP Round 8 Results
MXGP (Top 5)
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 1-2
- Lucas Coenen (KTM) 4-1
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 3-4
- Maxime Renaux (Yam) 2-9
- Calvin Vlaanderen (Yam) 8-3
MX2 (Top 5)
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 1-4
- Andrea Adamo (KTM) 5-1
- Sacha Coenen (KTM) 6-2
- Liam Everts (Hus) 2-6
- Thibault Benistant (Yam) 3-5
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