The Grand Prix of Galicia was rewarding for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as Jeffrey Herlings and Andrea Adamo finished as runners-up in the MXGP and MX2 classes and Liam Everts also walked the podium in 3rd place after the sixth round of twenty. The team gathered three trophies with KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F machinery at the picturesque Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado in Lugo, northern Spain as the venue hosted the FIM World Championship for the first time.
Decent weather represented a hefty contrast of racing conditions in Lugo, Spain for MXGP and after the deluge of rain and mud in Portugal the previous weekend. The soft terrain and compact layout of the Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado, a reasonably new facility and named after the current MXGP #1 due to its location in his hometown, drew Spanish fans to the fences for the second time in 2024.
On Saturday Jeffrey Herlings earned a 3rd place finish in the RAM Qualification Heat after a brief dice with Romain Febvre. In MX2 Sacha Coenen was extremely close to victory and Pole Position but a small error meant he classified 3rd while teammates Liam Everts and Andrea Adamo rued their starts to collect 11th and 16th respectively.
Herlings did not figure in the dash for either MXGP holeshot on Sunday but established an effective and consistent pace to gain positions and move up to 4th and 3rd. With Tim Gajser’s slip late in the second moto Herlings swooped to P2 that allowed him to confirm the second step of the box and his highest result of the season so far.
In MX2, World Champion Adamo rushed to the lead of the first race and deflected late attention from Kay de Wolf for the KTM 250 SX-F’s fourth win of the campaign. The Italian couldn’t make the same in-roads among the leaders in the second moto but a 4th marked a return to the overall top three for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix (round two). Everts, buoyant after victories in the two previous Grands Prix in Italy and Portugal but also struggling with illness, enacted his usual lofty level of consistency and ran to a 3-2 for yet more podium champagne. Lugo was also beneficial for fellow Belgian Coenen, who was 6th overall and matched his raw speed with better performances for a 6-7.
KTM Academy star, Cas Valk, used a free weekend in his EMX250 European Championship schedule to ride the KTM 250 SX-F in the MX2 class in Lugo. The Dutch youngster scored 11th overall with finishes of 13th and 12th and banked more laps and education of the class he is expected to enter full-time in 2025.
MXGP will hurtle onto a third race weekend on the bounce and will anticipate another large and noisy crowd at St Jean D’Angely for the Grand Prix of France.
Jeffrey Herlings, 4th and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “Last weekend in Portugal was pretty unfortunate because that could have been a win…but it also wasn’t that bad. I missed my starts a bit today but got to back to 4th and 2nd; I had a bit of luck with Tim crashing. I know I need to work on my weak points but the speed is coming back and I felt it again here. Pretty pumped with my second podium. Step-by-step we are on the way and I’m very happy to be up here again.”
Andrea Adamo, 1st and 4th for 2nd overall in MX2: “I felt really good all weekend here. It was a bummer that we had a clash in the Qualification Heat and P16 meant I was out of the [Saturday] points and it was not easy for today! I made a good start though and led the whole moto. I was consistent and managing the gap and then had to step-it-up a bit at the end. I was really happy to win. In the second moto I messed up the start but, overall, it was a solid weekend and I’m pleased to be on the podium. A win would have been better but there are a lot of races to go.”
Liam Everts, 3rd and 2nd for 3rd overall in MX2: “I’m happy to be sitting here because I felt pretty bad all day. A lot of stomach pain and whatever I ate come up straightaway! Two solid starts and I surprised myself a little bit but I gave my all and took what I could. I kept a cool head and did what I could.”
Sacha Coenen, 6th and 7th for 6th overall in MX2: “The qualifying race was really good. I led the whole moto and just crashed on the last lap! I then ran top three in the first moto and dropped back to 6th: I wasn’t happy about that. I felt fast again in the second moto and wanted to follow my brother but the mistakes came in again and I even ran into a lapped rider. 6th overall, not bad, but I wanted the podium today. I will give it all to try and win in France.”
Results MXGP Galicia 2024
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 1-1
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4-2
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 2-4
10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA), Husqvarna 13-8
Standings MXGP 2024 after 6 of 20 rounds
1. Jorge Prado (ESP), GASGAS, 298 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 296
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki, 267
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 246
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT), Honda, 217
Results MX2 Galicia 2024
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 4-1
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-4
3. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 3-2
4. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna 2-3
6. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 6-7
9. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 7-9
Standings MX2 2024 after 6 of 20 rounds
1. Kay de Wolf (NED) Husqvarna, 292 points
2. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 248
3. Liam Everts (BEL), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 230
5. Lucas Coenen (BEL) Husqvarna, 223
6. Andrea Adamo (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 211
9. Sacha Coenen (BEL) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 141