LLucas Coenen won both races in Latvia. Just like in Teutschenthal, Jeffrey Herlings had to contend with a defective engine, allowing Coenen to pull away significantly in the standings. Kay de Wolf and Romain Febvre joined him on the podium.
First series
Lucas Coenen led the field in this first heat ahead of Romain Febvre and Jeffrey Herlings. They were followed by home rider Pauls Jonass, Kay de Wolf, and Tim Gajser. Andrea Bonacorsi was nowhere to be seen; he was licking his wounds after his crash yesterday in qualifying.
Coenen quietly pulled away from his pursuers, but they clashed amongst themselves. Febvre, Herlings, and later Kay de Wolf rode as if on a string. Herlings attacked Febvre's position, but the Frenchman countered quickly. After ten laps, Herlings pulled alongside Febvre. Kay de Wolf also slipped past Febvre immediately afterwards.
De Wolf then continued with his momentum and stormed past Herlings a lap later to take P2. Lucas Coenen won the race ahead of Kay de Wolf, Jeffrey Herlings, and Romain Febvre. After the race, a clearly irritated Coenen explained that he had to deal with a defective clutch during his final laps. Fortunately, he was still able to claim the victory.
Second series
Reigning world champion Romain Febvre took the holeshot this time, but after a few corners Lucas Coenen took the lead from the Kawasaki rider in a rather dominant fashion. Jeffrey Herlings also followed in Coenen's slipstream and took second position. Following Febvre were Jonass, Gajser, Oliver, and de Wolf.
Jago Geerts got off to a good start from tenth place and immediately gained two positions. However, as early as the fourth lap, Maxime Renaux had to pull over with a defective engine. Jeffrey Herlings (HRC Honda) had found a better rhythm and tried to get onto Coenen's wheel. Romain Febvre also wanted to join the party at the front and pushed Herlings towards leader Coenen.
And then a new drama unfolded for Herlings: just like last week in Germany, his Honda gave out again, forcing him to retire and lose points once more. Romain Febvre capitalized and was now in P2, about 4 seconds behind leader Coenen.
Despite Febvre posing a threat, Lucas Coenen didn't let it faze him and won this race as well. Febvre finished second ahead of Kay de Wolf. It was another perfect weekend for Lucas Coenen, with victories in qualifying and in both races. He now has a lead of no less than 62 points over the unfortunate Jeffrey Herlings.
This weekend is a real milestone for the Coenen brothers, as they both won all the heats in Latvia. In doing so, the two Belgians are writing yet another chapter in the great book of motocross.
There will now be a week of rest for the GP drivers; the next race is in two weeks in Montevarchi, Italy.
MXGP Race 1
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34:06.647; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.738; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), +0:05.385; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:26.417; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:35.092; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:49.314; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:57.624; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:06.693; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:09.931; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Ducati), +1:10.99911. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:37.995; 12. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:39.091; 13. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:46.775; 14. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Fantic), +1:48.346; 15. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), +1:40.730; 16. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:49.136; 17. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Yamaha), +1:50.167; 18. Iago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1:55.000; 19. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), +2:02.411; 20. Alberto Forato (ITA, Fantic), +2:06.724; 21. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 22. Markuss Kokins (LAT, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 23. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), -7 lap(s); 25. Kaarel Tilk (EST, Husqvarna), -9 lap(s); 26. Filip Olsson (SWE, Honda), -13 lap(s);
MXGP Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 34:32.862; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:08.108; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:13.586; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Yamaha), +0:15.973; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Kawasaki), +0:49.795; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +1:12.826; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:17.936; 8. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Yamaha), +1:21.382; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:28.441; 10. Iago Geerts (BEL, Beta), +1:34.865; 11. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +1:42.178; 12. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), +1:45.922; 13. Alberto Forato (ITA, Fantic), +1:52.219; 14. Ben Watson (GBR, Triumph), +1:55.717; 15. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), +1:59.504; 16. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 17. Markuss Kokins (LAT, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 18. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Filip Olsson (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, Honda), -7 lap(s); 22. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Fantic), -11 lap(s)23. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), -15 lap(s); 24. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), -15 lap(s);
MXGP Overalls
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 42 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 34 points; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 30 pts.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 25 pts.; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NORTH, HON), 21 pts.; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 20 pts.; 11. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, YAM), 17 points; 12. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 15 points; 13. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 14 p.; 14. Ben Watson (GBR, TRI), 12 pts.; 15. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 12 p.m.; 16. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 11 p.17. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 10 p.; 18. Alberto Forato (ITA, FAN), 9 p.; 19. Brent Van doninck (BEL, FAN), 7 pts.; 20. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), 6 p.; 21. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 5 pts.; 22. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), 5 pts.; 23. Markuss Kokins (LAT, GAS), 4 pts.; 24. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), 2 pts.; 25. Philip Olsson (SWE, HON), 1 p.; 26. Carel Tilk (EST, HUS), 0 points; 27. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, DUC), 0 p.;
MXGP Standings
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 404 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, HON), 342 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 310 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, YAM), 294 p.; 5. Kay de Wolf (DOWN, HOUSE), 273 p.; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 261 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 247 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 241 p.; 9. Tom Vialle (FRA, HON), 219 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KAW), 175 p.; 11. Alberto Forato (ITA, FAN), 151 p.; 12. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, DUC), 144 p.; 13. Kevin Horgmo (NORTH, HON), 129 p.; 14. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 120 pts.; 15. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 83 p.; 16. Brent Van doninck (BEL, FAN), 74 p.; 17. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 69 p.; 18. Jago Geerts (BEL, BET), 63 p.19. Ben Watson (GBR, TRI), 57 p.; 20. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KTM), 50 p.; 21. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, DUC), 41 pts.; 22. Thibault Benistant (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 23. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 34 points; 24. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 25 p.; 25. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, YAM), 22 p.; 26. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 21 pts.; 27. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), 17 p.; 28. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), 14 p.; 29. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 8 pts.; 30. Enzo Lopes (BRA, HON), 7 p.; 31. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 7 pts.; 32. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 5 pts.; 33. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), 5 pts.; 34. Joaquin Poli (ARG, KAW), 5 pts.; 35. Markuss Kokins (LAT, GAS), 4 pts.; 36. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 3 pts.; 37. Brian Hsu (GER, HON), 3 p.; 38. Lars van Berkel (NED, FAN), 3 p.; 39. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 2 p.; 40. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), 2 pts.; 41. Bogdan Krajewski (FRA, YAM), 1 pt.; 42. Philip Olsson (SWE, HON), 1 p.;
Editorial team: Danny Hermans
Photos: JP Acevedo et al
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