MXGP launched the second half of the 2024 FIM world championship by decamping to the island of Lombok and a double-header at the Selaparang circuit. The Grand Prix of West Nusa Tenggara was the first of back-to-back Indonesian dates at the same venue. The initial hot and humid meeting saw Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings and Andrea Adamo filling the second steps of the MXGP and MX2 podiums.
The Indonesian stint of 2024 MXGP represented the second time the championship has left European shores this season and took the paddock to the familiar flat, fast and compact Selaparang circuit. The first ever Grand Prix of West Nusa Tenggara (named after the province) took place in predictably sunny, hot and humid conditions.
Saturday saw Herlings already up to speed and gelling with the man-made circuit. The Dutchman stalked and passed Tim Gajser to win the RAM Qualification Heat by a comfortable margin and bank 10 points as well as Pole Position. In the MX2 dash, Sacha Coenen took the holeshot but would classify outside the top ten due to an off-track excursion. Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts were 4th and 5th respectively.
On Sunday Herlings rode a near-perfect first moto, leading from the opening lap until the flag with a ten second margin after the 30 minutes and 2 lap distance. It was his fifth moto success of the season (making him the rider with the second highest total of wins so far in 2024). In the second race Herlings was again attacking the heavily watered terrain in P1 until a mistake put him on the ground and back to 3rd. He was able to get back to 2nd and his 1-2 card put him level on points with Jorge Prado but as runner-up for the day. It was the seventh rostrum of 2024 for the former multi world champ.
Adamo probed for P1 in the first MX2 moto, alongside championship leader Kay de Wolf and the difference between the rivals was 2.6 seconds at the line as the Italian finished 2nd. Liam Everts classified 4th with fellow Belgian Sacha Coenen having made decent progress to arrive to 5th: all three KTM 250 SX-Fs in the top five. The second moto another Coenen holeshot helped the youngster to fashion a small advantage which he held until the last ten minutes of the distance before drifting back to 4th. His reward was P5 for the GP. Adamo’s getaway was not as effective but he pushed forwards, made positions and jumped across the line in a very decent 3rd, placing runner-up on the day. An early mistake for Everts put him outside of the top ten and he recovered to 7th for 6th overall.
Liam Everts is 4th in the world championship and just ahead of Adamo in 5th while Coenen holds 8th. Recovery and training on Lombok will be the main items on the agenda this week as the championship remains in place and will compete at the same venue for the Grand Prix of Lombok – round twelve – next weekend.
Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “1-1-2: a decent weekend. A shame about the second moto and the watering. I had to hit my handlebar and lever a few times to get them back into place after the crash but I was lucky I could ride again in 3rd place. It was tough. At the end of the moto the lines got so much deeper and rougher. I still managed to close a bit to Jorge but I didn’t want to take more risks. Not bad.”
Andrea Adamo, 2nd and 3rd for 2nd overall in MX2: “A good weekend, happy to be back on the podium. I had a good feeling here all weekend and good speed but also motos were I had to come back both times. I made two big mistakes at the start of the first moto and the second one was like a mud moto but with no rain! It was crazy. Anyway, solid weekend and I’m happy. Let’s keep going in this way.”
Sacha Coenen, 5th and 4th for 5th overall in MX2: “Not that good this weekend, but I was really happy with the first moto holeshot! I feel like I can make a good start from anywhere. I almost tipped over though and make my way back to the top five. Not the best but not the worst. I was riding really good in the second moto but with five-six laps to go I started to feel pretty bad and had to slow. 4th so then 5th overall. Not a disaster. We’ll keep our head-up for the next race.”
Liam Everts, 4th and 7th for 6th overall in MX2: “Difficult weekend. I felt like I couldn’t put together two solid races. Not the best start in the first moto and I came back to 4th and in the second I think I was 4th or 5th but tucked the front because they had watered the track so much. It was as surprise. Not so happy with the results but we’ll keep working and come back next weekend.”
Results MXGP West Nusa Tenggara 2024
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 2-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-2
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED), Yamaha, 4-4
7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 10-7
Standings MXGP 2024 after 11 of 20 rounds
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 555 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 533
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 497
13. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna, 146
Results MX2 West Nusa Tenggara 2024
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna 1-1
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-3
3. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna 7-2
5. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 5-4
6. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4-7
Standings MX2 2024 after 11 of 20 rounds
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 532 points
2. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 467
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 463
4. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 432
5. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 417
8. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 312