Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo racked-up his seventh podium from 11 rounds of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship with 2nd place overall at the Grand Prix of Lombok and extended his MX2 series lead from 5 to 26 points. The Italian scored 2nd and 3rd position finishes in the two motos ran across a damp and overcast new-build circuit for the second Indonesian GP in a week.
MXGP continued to deal with heat, humidity and challenging racing conditions as the series hopped west from Sumbawa to the island of Lombok for round eleven and the very first Grand Prix at the location that is swiftly becoming synonymous with FIM world championship racing. The purpose-built track was fast, flowing and made from a shallow soft, loamy terrain with a harder base; meaning it was slippery and slick in places.
A decent attendance turned out to watch the Grand Prix despite inclement weather. The showers and clouds nevertheless helped soften the track and removed the oppressive effect of the sunshine. Red Bull KTM and their MX2 faction of the team (Jeffrey Herlings is still recovering from his neck injury) stationed themselves in Lombok after round ten in Sumbawa and went through the process of recovery and preparation.
On Saturday Andrea Adamo led his teammate Liam Everts for a 4-5 finish in the RAM Qualification Heat. Sacha Coenen, who was struggling with a stomach complaint, managed 9th. On Sunday, after the first moto where the trio went 2nd-6th-12th respectively, Adamo shone in the second race when he bounced back from an early fall, tumbling down to 6th place and hammered his KTM 250 SX-F to rally to 3rd. In the process he passed Everts, who would cross the finish line in 4th. Coenen bravely made the checkered flag with another 12th.
After some disappointment the previous weekend in Sumbawa, Adamo energized his championship bid with the showing in Lombok. His slender lead of 5 points before the Grand Prix swelled to 26 over Thibault Benistant. He has now held the red plate for four rounds and has the joint highest amount of podium trophies. Everts is 5th in the table and 32 points from the top three.
MXGP will benefit from a free weekend to rest and reacclimatize to a European routine before travelling to Czech Republic, Belgium, Finland and Sweden through the month of July and into August. Round twelve at Loket takes place on 15th-16th of July.
Andrea Adamo, 2nd and 3rd for 2nd overall in MX2: “I was happy with the first moto. I could follow Jago until about 7 minutes to go. I reached a point where I thought ‘OK, save some energy, don’t make mistakes’ and went for P2 to line-up the second moto. It was so humid, and the track was sketchier in the second moto: it was more wet and slippery. I made a stupid mistake and had to work hard again but came back to the front pretty fast. I wanted to try and pass Simon [Laengenfelder] for 2nd but I was quite tired at the end. Anyway, I’m happy. I gained some points but Jago [Geerts] took some from us. We need to be careful not to throw any points away and there are still a lot of motos to go. We need to be ready to fight.”
Liam Everts, 6th and 4th for 5th overall in MX2: “This weekend was definitely tough with this track and I was fighting myself the whole way through. The second race was a bit better than the first and I tried to make the most of it. 5th overall is OK but not what we wanted, but, for a bad day it could be worse. We’ll re-group for Loket. We’ll see how it goes but I’m very happy to be heading home.”
Tony Cairoli, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A good Grand Prix for Andrea. He made a couple of little mistakes in that second moto but I really liked his attitude because he kept pushing and pushing and showed he is ‘there’ as a main contender for the championship. Liam rode a bit stiff and couldn’t find the flow on the track. He was struggling a bit but made the best job that he could. He was not too happy but, as a team, we were happy that he could deliver a result and he leaves here fit and in good shape. A shame for Sacha to be riding ill, he had no power or strength but he brought home some points. Our team are all ‘rookies’ when it comes to the demands of these back-to-back overseas events and they did a great job off and on the track. We can go home happy and can move on to the next part of the championship.”
Results MXGP Lombok 2023
1. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 2-1
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 1-2
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED) Yamaha, 3-3
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Yamaha, 4-4
5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP) Honda 5-5
Standings MXGP 2023 after 11 of 19 rounds
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 562 points
2. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 459
3. Ruben Fernandez (ESP), Honda, 415
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Yamaha, 414
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED) Yamaha 390
6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 386
Results MX2 Lombok 2023
1. Jago Geerts (BEL) Yamaha 1-1
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 2-3
3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER), GASGAS 5-2
4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED) Husqvarna 3-6
5. Liam Everts (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 6-4
12. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 12-12
Standings MX2 2023 after 11 of 19 rounds
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 488 points
2. Thibault Benistant (FRA), Yamaha, 462
3. Kay de Wolf (NED), Husqvarna, 452
4. Jago Geerts (BEL), Yamaha, 441
5. Liam Everts (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 420
15. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 112