The Grand Prix of Czech Republic gave Red Bull KTM Factory Racing their nineteenth trophy of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship and from thirteen rounds as Jeffrey Herlings went 1-4 for 3rd overall around the quick but tricky course near the town of Loket.
MXGP landed back on European turf and for the slick and compact dirt of Loket and the Grand Prix of Czech Republic. The historic layout close to the spa town of Karlovy Vary is a tight and narrow trajectory that winds across the hillside setting and draws a diverse collection of fans from across the continent. Loket has hosted Czech GP every year since 2002, with the exception of 2020.
Sunny and warm conditions coated both days of action in western Czech Republic and Jeffrey Herlings took his KTM 450 SX-F to a steady 3rd position in Saturday’s RAM Qualification race and a decent slot for the wide and long start straight. In MX2 Sacha Coenen grabbed P2 and was followed directly by Liam Everts in 3rd and Andrea Adamo in 9th after a slip cost the Italian a few places and time on track after he’d made good ground.
Starts were at a premium on Sunday. Herlings moved up from the top five to 2nd in the first laps of the opening moto and then stalked World Champion Jorge Prado to seize the lead at mid-race distance. He then eased to his 200th career checkered flag. In the second moto the Dutchman went down entering the second corner. He swiftly fought back to the top half of the leaderboard but then clipped the rear wheel of another rider and again had remount, pull the pin and find time where possible. Herlings’ speed and skills dragged him up to 4th place, less than ten seconds from the winner, meaning a solid salvage operation with P3 to show for his efforts: just one point from the overall runner-up slot. JH84 is 3rd in the world championship standings but just 19 points from 2nd and 55 from the red plate.
MX2 was won by Kay de Wolf on the day but Red Bull KTM saw Liam Everts take the KTM 250 SX-F to 4th overall and with a top three second moto finish. Red Bull KTMs led 1-2-3 at the launch of the first MX2 dash but then the race was red flagged. Upon the restart Coenen grabbed the holeshot, however a mistake while in P2 dropped deep him into the pack and another crash at the bottom of the hill forced a DNF. Everts and Adamo were part of a busy fight in the second group that was won by the Belgian in the final minutes as he pushed up to 5th. Adamo, who had fallen in morning warm-up, was unseated with less than two minutes to go on the clock and pulled off the track. The Italian would not take to the gate again due to a cut abdomen. Everts captured the last holeshot of the day and rode to P3 (his first top three ranking since the Italian GP) while Coenen banked some points with a ride to 9th.
The annual swing from Loket to Lommel and hardpack to deep sand sees MXGP travel west and to the northern tip of Belgium for round fourteen next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 4th for 3rd overall in MXGP: “I felt like my old self from a few years ago today. I am still improving, and these kinds of tracks are not easy for me. I went from 5th to 1st in the first moto and wanted to make another statement in the second but I messed up; maybe a bit too much confidence. From dead last to 13th and then I hit someone’s rear wheel and had to do it again. Speed was good, fitness was good but luck was not on my side today. So, not great, not bad and to win my 200th moto was pretty special, nobody else has reached that amount. Still seven races to go and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Liam Everts, 5th and 3rd for 4th overall in MX2: “A good qualifying moto on Saturday and it was enough for a decent pick in the gate. We had two starts and I had a tip-over for the second one, the full race, and 5th was alright. The holeshot helped in the second moto but I rode a bit tight. I’m not super-happy about some things but I was quite happy with my riding today. I just need to cut down the mistakes and hope for better at my home GP.”
Sacha Coenen, DNF and 9th for 15th overall in MX2: “Two holeshots but only one counted and I was riding with my brother at the front until I had a small tip-off that was really strange. I got back to 5th but had to bail off the bike on the jump at the bottom of the hill. I was lucky to have just a few scratches. My riding was good in the second moto although I had some pain and the start wasn’t great. I’m really looking forward to racing Lommel; I wish the race was tomorrow!”
Andrea Adamo, DNF and DNS: “This morning I had a scary crash and I was 50-50 for the races but I said I wanted to try, I wanted to give it a go. I had a pretty good start but then we had the red flag, and I hope everyone is OK. We had to re-group and it was not so easy because I was feeling a bit weak. I fought as much as I could the whole moto but towards the end I made one small mistake and hit my head and also my torso where I had a cut and it re-opened. I had to go to the hospital because my blood pressure was very low. I had some stitches and things are well now. To go home with only five stitches after the fall from the morning is positive and I hope to be back on my bike as soon as I can.”
Results MXGP Czech Republic 2024
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 3-1
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 2-2
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-4
12. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 8-16
Standings MXGP 2024 after 13 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 663 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 627
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 608
12. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 194
Results MX2 Czech Republic 2024
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna 3-1
2. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 2-2
3. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna 1-4
4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-3
15. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, DNF-9
32. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, DNF-DNS
Standings MX2 2024 after 13 of 20 rounds
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 626 points
2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 580
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 560
4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 515
5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 457
8. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 362