Brilliant 3rd MXGP victory for Lucas Coenen in Finland

NAfter the Finnish GP, in which he won both heats, Lucas Coenen has closed the gap to within 15 points of Romain Febvre. The 18-year-old Belgian performed at a high level in both the first and second heats. Febvre finished second (2-5) at the KymiRing. Clavin Vlaanderen (2-4) took his first podium of the season.

While Lucas Coenen blew away the competition, title contender Romain Febvre struggled in the first moto of the Finnish Grand Prix. Coenen crossed the finish line almost 14 seconds ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff. Febvre was just inside the top 10 at the start. He ultimately finished 5th.

Coldenhoff piloted his Fantic to holeshot number 3 this season. A few corners later, he had to make way for an eager Lucas Coenen. Coenen took his chance, as rival Febvre was far back in the starting line. Despite a warning, "LC96" kept pushing, only easing off in the closing stages.

Coldenhoff (pictured above) impressed with his consistency as the "best of the rest." The same could be said of teammate Andrea Bonacorsi, who held 3rd place from start to finish. Calvin Vlaanderen finished a respectable 4th, leading the Yamaha. Ruben Fernandez, who had started well, was completely exhausted at the end on the heavy sand of the KymiRing. Febvre had already passed for P5 without any problems. However, the HRC Honda rider still had a strong final push up his sleeve. He almost caught Febvre. At the finish, the difference between Febvre and Fernandez was less than 3 tenths!

Brian Bogers (8th) and Brent Van Doninck (9th) also scored easily in the first heat. Jago Geerts had to settle for P15 after his heavy fall during warm-up this morning.

Bad luck Coldenhoff, Van Doninck as the standout!

Coenen once again piloted his factory KTM to the holeshot. A nimble Coldenhoff jumped on his wheel, but when Ruben Fernandez made a mistake next to him, "The Hoff" also lost his balance! Teammate Bonacorsi had to dodge the fallen riders ahead of him and also lost significant time.

Calvin Vlaanderen, Jago Geerts, and Brent Van Doninck (pictured below) were given a unique opportunity to move up the order. A rejuvenated Geerts held his own and gained confidence with a superb sixth place! On the fifth lap, Coenen moved up the leaderboard, but it made little difference. Vlaanderen briefly showed Yamaha's birthday colors at the front. One lap later, he was called to order by Lucas. The MXGP rookie regained his rhythm and finished in a controlled manner.

Coenen's mishap gave a dogged Febvre an opportunity. The French veteran would only manage a second-place finish at Flanders. Ruben Fernandez was forced to abandon the race due to engine problems, losing ground in the battle for third place with Glenn Coldenhoff.

Coldenhoff pulled off a remarkable comeback to snatch a podium finish. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, as Glenn scored the same number of points (38) as Febvre and Vlaanderen, but a poor second moto performance, in which he finished 2th, was the undoing of his job. In an inspired final sprint, the Fantic Factory Racing rider overtook first Geerts and then Forato, but unfortunately, Van Doninck remained (far) out of reach. Van Doninck once again showed that with a good start—especially in the sand—he can hold his own against the factory pack. The JM Honda Racing hero finished Finland in 5th place.

After his Finnish triumph, Coenen has reduced his deficit to Febvre from 32 to 15 points. Coldenhoff remains firmly in third place. Vlaanderen jumps over the injured Renaux and Herlings to fifth place in the World Championship standings. Before the world's elite compete in Lommel, the GP riders will travel to the Czech Republic. The 3th round of the World Championship is scheduled for the hard-packed Loket track in two weeks.

MXGP Race 1

1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35:16.114; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:13.879; 3. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:20.853; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:34.179; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:43.453; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:43.700; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +1:01.324; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:10.359; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +1:19.544; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:24.184; 11. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +1:28.426; 12. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:37.327; 13. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Ducati), -1 lap(s); 14. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 15. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 16. Tom Koch (GER, Beta), -1 lap(s); 17. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 18. Pekka Nissinen (FIN, GASGAS), -2 lap(s); 19. Kasper Kangasniemi (FIN, KTM), -2 lap(s); 20. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), -15 lap(s); 21. Miro Varjonen (FIN, KTM), -17 lap(s);

MXGP Race 2

1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35:03.807; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:08.850; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:24.134; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:36.186; 5. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:46.826; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +1:01.767; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +1:03.424; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:04.076; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +1:05.353; 11. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:21.785; 12. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Ducati), +1:44.879; 13. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:50.731; 14. Tom Koch (GER, Beta), -1 lap(s); 15. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 16. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 17. Pekka Nissinen (FIN, GASGAS), -2 lap(s); 18. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), -11 lap(s); 19. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), -12 lap(s); 20. Miro Varjonen (FIN, KTM), -17 lap(s); 21. Kasper Kangasniemi (FIN, M.Sc.), -17 lap(s);

MXGP Finland final standings

1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 38 p.; 5. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 33 p.; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HON), 30 p.; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 28 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 25 p.; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 21 pts.; 11. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 19 pts.; 12. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, DUC), 17 pts.; 13. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 17 pts.; 14. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 14 pts.; 15. Tom Koch (GER, BET), 12 pts.; 16. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 12 pts.; 17. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, HUS), 10 pts.; 18. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 9 pts.; 19. Pekka Nissinen (FIN, GAS), 7 pts.; 20. Kasper Kangasniemi (FIN, KTM), 2 pts.; 21. Miro Varjonen (FIN, KTM), 1 pt.;

MXGP World Championship standings after 13 rounds

1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 627 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 612 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 449 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 407 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 366 p.; 6. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 353 p.; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 347 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 325 p.; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 pts.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 296 pp.; 11. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 243 p.; 12. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 218 pts.; 13. Geerts Trade (BEL, YAM), 211 p.; 14. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 201 p.; 15. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 198 p.; 16. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 162 p.; 17. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, DUC), 159 p.; 18. Isak Gifting (SWE, YAM), 149 p.; 19. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), 113 p.; 20. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HON), 107 p.; 21. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 83 pts.; 22. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 72 pp.; 23. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 72 p.; 24. Tom Koch (GER, BET), 69 pp.; 25. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 50 pts.; 26. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), 38 pts.; 27. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, DUC), 37 pts.; 28. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 36 p.; 29. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 27 pts.; 30. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 20 p.; 31. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), 19 pts.; 32. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, HUS), 10 p.; 33. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, DUC), 9 p.; 34. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KTM), 9 p.; 35. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 8 p.; 36. Pekka Nissinen (FIN, GAS), 7 pts.; 37. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KAW), 6 p.m.; 38. Cato Nickel (GER, HUS), 6 pts.; 39. Tom Guyon (FRA, TRI), 5 p.m.; 40. Fabio Aparecido dos Santos (BRA, YAM), 5 p.; 41. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, YAM), 4 p.; 42. John Adamson (GBR, HON), 3 pts.; 43. Romain Pape (FRA, YAM), 3 pts.; 44. Victor Alonso (ESP, HON), 2 pts.; 45. Kasper Kangasniemi (FIN, KTM), 2 pts.; 46. James Carpenter (GBR, HON), 2 p.; 47. Miro Varjonen (FIN, KTM), 1 p.; 48. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 1 p.; 49. Mark Scheu (GER, HUS), 1 pt.; 50. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), 1 p.;

Photos: JP Acevedo, Fullspectrum Media, Fantic