The early week’s rainclouds made way for bright sunshine over the Schollenholz circuit for the Qualifying Races today at the MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS, and the action warmed-up in response to entertain the Swiss fans for the start of the sixth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Frauenfeld!
In MXGP there was a surprise victory for the Spaniard Ruben Fernandez, taking his first win of the season for Honda HRC ahead of his teammate Tim Gajser and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP man Maxime Renaux.
The MX2 class saw Kay de Wolf take his first Qualifying Race win of the season for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, to extend his Championship lead by a single point from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pilot Simon Laengenfelder, who took second ahead of De Wolf’s teammate Liam Everts.
The MXGP Paddock has a day off for Easter Sunday tomorrow before the full GP programme runs on Easter Monday!
The top four in Free Practice exactly mirrored the Championship situation, with Gajser fastest ahead of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre, Glenn Coldenhoff from Fantic Factory Racing, and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rookie Lucas Coenen. Time Practice saw the same top two, with Renaux third and a fighting Jeffrey Herlings claiming fourth gate pick for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
The Holeshot in the Qualifying Race went to Gajser’s teammate Fernandez, as Tim himself rounded the first corner in eighth and Febvre, having lost traction at the start, deeper still in the pack!
Renaux was second until a mistake through the second corner allowed Herlings to go past, followed by the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team’s replacement rider Alessandro Lupino. Although Renaux slipped no further back, Gajser was soon making a rapid recovery towards the front, firing past the Frenchman and then Lupino within a handful of corners to end the first full lap in third place!
It took three laps to then find his way past Herlings as arm pump kicked in for the Dutchman, who is still working his way back to fitness, and the Slovenian quickly moved to within striking distance of his teammate.
Lupino held fifth place bravely until half distance, before the regular campaigners started to make their fitness pay off. Febvre’s recovery ride was phenomenal, with great passes on Coenen, Fantic Factory Racing’s Andrea Bonacorsi, and finally Herlings, who had been passed by Renaux by that point for third.
Sadly, Febvre got “The Wall” section badly wrong and suffered an awkward crash that he escaped without major injury, amazingly picking his way back from seventh to fifth at the flag!
Home hero Jeremy Seewer had a steady ride for Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team, and just grabbed sixth from Herlings on the final lap. Behind the Dutchman was the other Swiss star, dressed in the glorious “Swiss Cheese” kit inspired by an old Swiss Olympic skiing outfit, and very happy to take eighth on his private Yamaha! Coldenhoff didn’t have a great race with ninth, but still made ground on Coenen, who finished a dissatisfied tenth, also making a last lap move, this time on Lupino.
After a late pass on Herlings, and benefitting from Febvre’s fall, Bonacorsi took a solid fourth behind Renaux, but amazingly Fernandez resisted his teammate’s attacks time and time again, and Gajser had to settle for second behind the Spaniard!
It was Ruben’s first Qualifying Race win for nearly two years, since Portugal in late April 2023, and meant a lot to the moustachioed man who is holding down sixth in the standings. Gajser will feel confident for tomorrow, now holding a 42-point advantage over Febvre with Coldenhoff another 43 behind in the Championship.
The big 450s are a handful around the Frauenfeld circuit, and generates a different type of challenge. Who knows how this class will shape up come the end of Monday’s GP races!
Ruben Fernandez: “That was a much-needed one. I’ve been building every weekend, getting better step by step, and finally it’s showing in the results. Honestly, I don’t even feel that great on this track—same as last year—but I pulled the holeshot in the qualy then, and did it again today. Super happy. Let’s carry this into race day now.”
MXGP – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), 24:05.531; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.874; 3. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.766; 4. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:31.131; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.764; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +0:34.620; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:37.223; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:37.896; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:38.176; 10. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:42.009;
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 283 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 241 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 198 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 177 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 172 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 158 p.; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 137 p.; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 129 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 104 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 102 p
De Wolf showed his liking immediately for the technical Swiss venue by setting the fastest laps in both Free Practice and Time Practice, although Laengenfelder was close to him in both sessions.
The Holeshot went the way of Honda HRC rookie Valerio Lata, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s usual Holeshot king, Sacha Coenen, bounced against other riders and plummeted down the order! Lata, a self-confessed fan of the circuit, managed to hold the lead until the end of lap four! Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star Andrea Adamo was briefly second, but Cas Valk passed him in the second corner to make it a rookie 1-2, paving the way for De Wolf to move up into third in the next corner!
De Wolf moved quickly, and was past Valk by the time they got to “The Wall” section. Meanwhile Laengenfelder had gone around the outside of Everts for fifth and was hassling Adamo, keen to not let his title rivals get away from him.
It all happened on lap five as Adamo and Laengenfelder got past Valk, with Everts and the Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors new recruit Oriol Oliver giving chase. De Wolf’s pressure finally told on Lata and the reigning Champ took over at the front, never to be caught from there. Adamo just got too aggressive with Lata and fell over his countryman’s rear wheel in a tight right hander!
Adamo remounted just ahead of the Monster Energy Triumph Racing machine of Camden McLellan, who was himself battling with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pilot Thibault Benistant. The Frenchman found a turn of speed to get past the South African, then quickly disposed of Oliver, Valk, and right at the final lap, overwhelmed a tiring Lata for fifth at the flag! A good start on Monday could see Thibault as a real threat. McLellan had to settle for seventh ahead of Oliver, with Honda HRC’s Ferruccio Zanchi passing Valk on the final lap for ninth position.
Adamo put on a spirited recovery and certainly showed he could also challenge on Monday, while Laengenfelder and Everts held station in second and third. It was, amazingly, the first Qualifying Race win of the season for De Wolf, and extends his points lead out to 13 over Laengenfelder.
There’s no doubt that Monday’s GP races in both classes are difficult to call, and the tight and technical circuit is capable of providing some excellent racing in front of a boisterous Easter holiday crowd!
Kay de Wolf: “I didn’t even realise it was my first qualifying win of the season! Lata had a strong pace early on, so I had to be smart about where to make the move. But yeah, I felt good all day—topped every session, so it’s nice to see that it translated into a good result. Now I’ve got a day off, gonna enjoy it, maybe play a little golf and come back strong on Monday.”
MX2 – Qualifying Race Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 24:19.016; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:01.798; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:03.052; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:04.463; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.511; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:14.429; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:14.989; 8. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:16.472; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:18.684; 10. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:20.236
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 241 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 228 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 220 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 211 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 177 p.; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 169 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 159 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 152 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 123 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 116 p.
MXGP OF SWITZERLAND QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1500m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 20°
Weather conditions: Sunny
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