It’s A Red Plate Rampage For Febvre And De Wolf at The MXGP of Spain
After getting through a relatively dry Saturday at the Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado, the rains came today with earnest to lash the Lugo venue with an early downpour that made conditions incredibly difficult for everyone involved at the MXGP of Spain!
However, the eighth round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships did see sunshine later in the day, and the two Championship leaders showed why they are holding the red plates with supreme, if hard-fought, overall victories in their respective classes.
Romain Febvre took his first ever GP victory in Spain, at his 11th attempt, with a 1-2 card for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, although a second race crash left him with a lot of work to do as Lucas Coenen won race two and took second overall for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. There was joy for the Spanish fans as Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez bounced back from a rough Saturday to claim third overall on the podium for the second week running!
The MX2 class saw overall victory for Kay de Wolf, in a similar fashion to Febvre’s day with a convincing first race win, then a battling second race to clinch the overall win for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing with a fourth-place finish.
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Andrea Adamo won race two to secure second overall, with fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pilot Sacha Coenen earning his first podium finish since the opening round with 6-2 results.
The dark soil of the popular Lugo circuit delivered a thoroughly entertaining GP weekend and left an impact on the Championship situation in both classes!
As with the two practice sessions on Saturday, Febvre set the best time in the morning Warm-Up ahead of Jeffrey Herlings on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine, and another Dutchman, Glenn Coldenhoff of Fantic Factory Racing MXGP.
Febvre showed his true intent immediately in the opening race, held on a drying circuit as the rain had finally come to a stop during the earlier first MX2 race. Firing the Kawasaki into the first turn to claim his second Fox Holeshot Award of the season as Coldenhoff ran wide, he had the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX-Team machine of Jeremy Seewer for close company, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammates Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts also nudging past Coldenhoff into third and fourth!
Sadly for Saturday’s Qualifying Race winner Geerts, he ran wide into some deep mud at the edge of the track and dropped down the order for an eventual finish of 15th. Febvre’s teammate Pauls Jonass had already dropped his Kawasaki in the first corner, and had to fight back to an eventual eleventh.
Meanwhile, Fernandez and Coenen were running fourth and fifth until lap three, when Seewer had the first of many crashes that would drop him to 19th at the end of the race with a battered machine! It was a case of trying to stay upright on the tricky surface that didn’t leave many passing options, but further back Seewer’s teammate Mattia Guadagnini claimed tenth behind a spirited ride from JM Racing Honda’s Brent van Doninck, his first top ten finish of the year.
Herlings was moving forward through the race to take seventh from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP man Calvin Vlaanderen, while Fantic Factory Racing MXGP teammates Coldenhoff and Andrea Bonacorsi held fifth and sixth from lap six onwards.
Try as he might, Coenen couldn’t get onto terms with Fernandez for third, and Renaux only closed to within four seconds of Febvre for the lead as the Kawasaki man saw it home safely in the final laps.
With a much drier circuit for race two, it was a case of reset and repeat for the Frenchman as he blasted to another Fox Holeshot Award in race two, this time with Vlaanderen and Seewer disputing second ahead of Fernandez and Coenen. The Belgian teenager then pulled a stunning move around the outside of both Fernandez and Seewer on the opening lap to suddenly fire into third!
Guadagnini and Geerts were also in the mix, then came a bizarre game of falling Frenchmen as first Renaux from sixth, and then Febvre from the lead, made costly mistakes to undo their good starts! Vlaanderen inherited the lead briefly, but on the final corner of the first full lap it was Coenen who made a forceful, slightly out of control move up the inside of the Yamaha man to take the lead, and at that time a possible Grand Prix winning position.
Febvre remounted in seventh, then passed Geerts and Guadagnini on consecutive laps, before taking four laps to get around former teammate Seewer for fourth on lap seven. Geerts crashed again to end the race in fifteenth, and Guadagnini, under pressure from Jonass, Bonacorsi, and Herlings, dropped the Ducati in the waves to drop to ninth, but then a lap later had a violent crash exiting the first corner to leave him 18th, without a front fender, at the flag.
Jonass then took his turn to drop the bike from sixth, which was taken up by Herlings to the finish ahead of Bonacorsi, and they would finish sixth and seventh overall as well, ahead of Coldenhoff who struggled to 12th in race two. Jonass would have to settle for ninth overall, ahead of the consistent Ben Watson, who claimed another top ten overall for MRT Racing Team Beta with 12-11 results.
Team Motul Honda Motoblouz SR rider Kevin Horgmo fought well to get to eighth in race two, and Seewer held on for fifth, but the most attention was on Febvre as he attacked home hero Fernandez for third, getting past on lap eleven, a move that put him back in control for the overall GP victory. A pass on Vlaanderen for second on lap 15 of 17 just limited the Championship damage by a further couple of points, but there was no catching Coenen out front.
After a great Saturday for Yamaha, they would have to settle for fourth and fifth overall on Sunday for Renaux and Vlaanderen, with Fernandez’s 3-4 finishes enough to secure his second podium in succession, in each of his two closest GPs to home!
Febvre’s 23rd career GP win puts him level with Clement Desalle and Alessandro Puzar in the all-time record books, and gives him a 49-point lead over Coenen in the Championship, as Lucas has now moved past the absent Tim Gajser, who sadly has no date on his return for Honda HRC.
Febvre will continue to proudly wear the red plate to his home GP at Ernée in two weeks’ time!
Romain Febvre: “I was leading in the second race and crashed on lap two after the big tabletop. 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. At first I didn’t think the overall was possible—I thought Renaux and Lucas (Coenen) were ahead. Then I saw the pit board and realised third might be enough. I pushed, passed Ruben, and got the overall. Really pleased with that. Now we go to Ernée which is always special for me, and I hope we get good weather this time.”
Lucas Coenen: “To be honest, I didn’t feel great on the track at first, it was fast, hard-pack, and not really my style. First race was slippery with the rain, and I got stuck in fourth. I didn’t want to risk too much, so I just rode smart. 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. Ernée is next and it’s going to be a big one.”
Ruben Fernandez: “I’m very happy, really. Last year I couldn’t race here, so this was my first home GP in Galicia—and 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. My family, my girlfriend, friends—everyone came, and it meant a lot. It’s also my second podium in a row. Maybe not a turning point yet, but we’re building. I just want to stay consistent and keep this momentum going.”
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 34:31.746; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:04.151; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:09.823; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:20.474; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:29.809; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:38.429; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:40.532; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:54.326; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +1:03.162; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Ducati), +1:05.728
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 33:41.734; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.347; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:16.019; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:20.726; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +0:29.545; 6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:34.519; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:36.907; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:38.739; 9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.100; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:44.360
MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 38 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 29 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 25 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 19 p.
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 386 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 337 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 277 p.; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 261 p.; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 259 p.; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 223 p.; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 201 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 195 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 179 p.
MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 402 points; 2. Kawasaki, 392 p.; 3. KTM, 356 p.; 4. Yamaha, 340 p.; 5. Fantic, 306 p.; 6. Ducati, 233 p.; 7. Beta, 134 p.; 8. Husqvarna, 51 p
After losing out to title rival De Wolf in Saturday’s Qualifying Race, Simon Laengenfelder was keen to show that he had good pace in the very wet conditions of morning Warm Up, with the fastest time in the session for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
On a very wet circuit for MX2 race one, Qualifying Race winner Thibault Benistant shot to the front for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 to claim his second Fox Holeshot Award of the season, while the Monster Energy Triumph Racing machine of Camden McLellan veered around the outside of Laengenfelder in the third corner of the race to take second place! Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing man Liam Evertsand the Honda HRC machine of Ferruccio Zanchi held fourth and fifth, but De Wolf was swiftly moving forward with a pass on the Italian. Then the reigning Champ put a stunning move between both Everts and Laengenfelder through a left-right corner combination to suddenly get up to third!
At the start of the first full lap, McLellan briefly stalled to drop back to fifth, giving De Wolf a clear run at leader Benistant. Even better for the red plate holder was that Laengenfelder, having already dropped to seventh behind Adamo, then crashed awkwardly to drop himself even further down the order!
The Champ took the lead on the second lap and controlled the race from the front, while his teammate briefly passed Benistant for second, but the Frenchman took it back immediately!
Laengenfelder did all he could in treacherous conditions to limit the damage, and managed to work through to eighth at the flag with late passes on Valerio Lata, who took ninth for Honda HRC, and Mathis Valin who was tenth for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2. McLellan’s stall broke his rhythm, and he was also subject to a late pass by Sacha Coenen for sixth.
The Italians of Zanchi and Adamo brought it home in fourth and fifth, the best result for the Honda man since his first race win at Cozar in March. Everts was able to pass Benistant for second on the uphill waves at the end of lap nine, and although the final gap of just 1.638 seconds between the teammates would indicate that it was close, the Dutchman never looked like relinquishing his first race victory since Sardegna, over a month ago.
Things weren’t so in control at the start of the much drier second race, however, as De Wolf tangled with Benistant out of the gate and entered the first corner at the back of the pack! This left start king Sacha Coenen to grab his fifth Fox Holeshot Award of the year, giving him a chance to uncork his obvious speed and try to pull away immediately at the front.
He was helped by an unfortunate mistake for Zanchi, who had started second and held off the attentions of Laengenfelder and Adamo, who would have been keen to capitalise on De Wolf’s misfortunes to help their Championship hopes! Zanchi crashed to the edge of a downhill landing area, and the young Italian had to battle back to an eventual tenth, just behind Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pilots Karlis Reisulis in ninth and Rick Elzinga in eighth.
There were also crashes for home heroes David Braceras, down from sixth on his JM Racing Honda, and Monster Energy Triumph Racing teamster Guillem Farres, who was to finish as the top Spaniard in MX2 with 12th overall, although Oriol Oliver was the best of the local contingent in race two with 11th for Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors.
As Coenen streaked away to a nine-second lead, Adamo passed Laengenfelder for second on lap four, as De Wolf’s charge was held up for eight laps by the valiant Elzinga. The Dutchman on the Yamaha eventually yielded and would take ninth overall ahead of Lata. De Wolf was then uncorked, quickly catching and passing McLellan, who would take eighth overall with 7-7 finishes.
Everts had also been unable to get past a Yamaha, as Benistant kept him back for the entire race, although De Wolf was able to get past both of them in a stunning display of comeback riding with three laps to go!
By that time Coenen had dropped the bike in a tight left hander, and Adamo accepted the gift of a fourth GP race win of 2025 gratefully, just as Sacha was remounting! Laengenfelder’s third place put him sixth overall ahead of Zanchi, while Benistant claimed fifth overall behind Everts.
De Wolf’s brilliant fight-back took the GP win from Adamo and Coenen, and he pulled away in the standings to a 15-point gap over Laengenfelder, with Adamo still just six further back of the German. With the two hard-pack circuits of Ernée and Teutschenthal coming up, the KTM riders will be out for swift revenge as we approach the halfway point of the season!
The MX2 World Championship, just like the MXGP one, is still far from being settled!
Kay de Wolf: “I just watched the second race back and I still don’t know exactly what happened. Me and Thibault (Benistant) came together and I basically had to start from the back. For the first few laps I was still down in 17th, maybe 15th. Even with ten 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. I didn’t think I’d get that far. I was stuck behind Rick (Elzinga) for ages and didn’t think I’d move forward, but in the end I did.”
Andrea Adamo: “Honestly, the two races today were completely different. The first one was really muddy. When I did the sighting lap, it was crazy, the ruts from the European races were completely filled with water. I didn’t get a great start either because of yesterday’s bad qualifying and bad gate pick. Then I also crashed. So, starting the weekend like that after going 1-1-1 in Agueda was obviously not ideal. But I reset overnight and tried to capitalise today with better starts and better execution. First race I was fifth, then I won the second one, so in the end it was a decent Sunday. That’s five podiums from the last six GPs, which is good, but I need to be better earlier in the weekends. I can’t always be starting from the back; all these guys are fast, and catching up isn’t easy.”
Sacha Coenen: “I felt really good on the bike and the track this weekend. We showed good speed all around. In the first race I had a really bad start and had to come all the way back to sixth, where I stayed for most of the race. The second race I took the holeshot and led the whole way, but with a 10-second lead I lost the front in a corner with just a few laps to go and finished second. Still, better than last weekend—step by step, we’re improving. The speed is there, but the inconsistency is tough. We’ve had bad starts in recent rounds, so we’re working on that. When I start up front, I can show what I’m capable of.”
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 34:41.232; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:01.638; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.171; 4. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:38.306; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:42.941; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:50.569; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:56.244; 8. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +1:23.628; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:28.925; 10. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:30.926
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 34:30.697; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:02.191; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:03.808; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:06.977; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:07.679; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:10.181; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:11.098; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:25.719; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:01.969; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:03.194
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 43 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 41 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 37 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 37 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 33 p.; 7. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 29 p.; 8. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 28 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 21 p
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 380 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 365 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 359 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 313 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 271 p.; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 264 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 241 p.; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 203 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 196 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 182 p.
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 431 points; 2. Husqvarna, 415 p.; 3. Yamaha, 304 p.; 4. Triumph, 263 p.; 5. Honda, 252 p.; 6. TM, 104 p.; 7. Kawasaki, 92 p
MXGP OF SPAIN QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1550m
Type of ground: Dark Soil
Temperature: 12°
Weather conditions: Rainy/Cloudy
Crowd Attendance: 18,300
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