Lucas Coenen makes Belgium dream!

DThe combined MXGP/MX2 race was a piece of cake for Jett Lawrence. However, 18-year-old Lucas Coenen showed the American fans what he's capable of with a brilliant P2, 7 seconds behind Lawrence!

Patented quick starter Lucas Coenen He sent his KTM to the holeshot, ahead of Jett Lawrence! The start was disastrous for the Germans: Ken Roczen to the ground and had to come back from far away. Also Simon Langenfelder went down in the first corner and retired with a sore shoulder.

The Australian's MX2 rider, Kyle Webster, was also unlucky in the first corner. He would drive back to P15. After nine or ten corners Lawrence Why he's the best motocross rider in the world. From that moment on, he certainly did his own thing, but Coenen was never lost by Jett and hung on!

Also Sacha Coenen got off to an excellent start. He was not only the fastest MX2 rider but even briefly ran in 5th place after a mistake by Romain Febvre. At that point, Team Belgium was virtually in the lead. A few laps later, however, Sacha made his first mistake, dropping from 6th to 10th.

Also So Tomac took advantage of Fevbre's mistake. He moved up to P4, where he would finish despite attacks on Tim Gajser's position. Kay the Wolf Due to Glenn Coldenhoff's injury, Kay was the only orange rider in the race. After a final push, Kay defeated Mathis Valin to finish 8th overall and first in MX2.

Sacha Coenen seemed on his way to P10 but crashed with a rider behind him at the end of the moto. He then suffered engine problems and was forced to retire. Because each country is allowed to delete the worst of six scores, Sacha's 20th-place finish isn't necessarily a disaster for Team Belgium. USA took the lead in the general classification, followed by France, Australia en Belgium (on equal points with Spain) in the top five.

The 2nd race (MX2 & Open) starts at 20h40!

MXON Race 1 (MXGP + MX2)

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS, Honda), 34:51.650; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:07.012; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:17.417; 4. Eli Tomac (USA, Yamaha), +0:19.361; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:37.927; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:55.921; 7. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:59.758; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +1:00.895; 9. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:01.052; 10. Justin Cooper (USA, Yamaha), +1:24.233; 11. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +1:27.241; 12. Andrea Adam (ITA, KTM), +1:30.718; 13. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:34.175; 14. Enzo Lopes (BRA, Yamaha), +1:45.758; 15. Kyle Webster (AUS, Honda), +1:51.319; 16. William Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:54.228; 17. Mikkel Haarup (THEN, Triumph), +1:54.802; 18. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +2:00.121; 19. Charles Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +2:08.120; 20. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 21. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 22. Josh Gilbert (GBR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 23. Anthony Rodriguez (VEN, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Nico Greutmann (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 25. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Ducati), -1 lap(s); 26. Bernardo Tiburcio (BRA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 27. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 28. Albin Gerhardsson (SWE, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 29. Pelle Gundersen (NOR, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 30. Joosep Parn (EST, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 31. Yuki Okura (JPN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 32. Hakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), -2 lap(s); 33. Jaka Peklaj (SLO, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 34. Carlos Badiali (VEN, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 35. Slade Smith (RSA, Honda), -2 lap(s); 36. Soya Nakajima (JPN, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 37. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s); 38. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), -16 lap(s);

Standings after Race 1

Photos: JP Acevedo