Red Bull KTM Factory Racing added more trophies to their 2024 MXGP haul to cap a positive stint of back-to-race events on Lombok and for the Indonesian leg of the current FIM World Championship. Jeffrey Herlings was perfect on Saturday and Sunday for a second consecutive weekend of action at the rough and temporary facility of Selaparang for the Grand Prix of Lombok. Words: KTM
- MXGP spoils for the works team as Jeffrey Herlings goes 1-1-1 for his second victory this season on the KTM 450 SX-F after a second consecutive RAM Quali Heat win on Saturday
- Andrea Adamo misses the MX2 podium by just one point. The Italian finishes 4th overall after a strong second moto performance to P2
- Liam Everts earns 6th overall while countryman Sacha Coenen counts the cost of small mistakes to register 9th in the overall ranking
- MXGP travels back to Europe for a brief one-weekend break before another two-in-a-row sequence with the contrasting circuits of Loket and Lommel activating rounds 13 and 14
The familiar flat setting of Selaparang welcome the MXGP paddock for the second time in a week but with a reversed layout to offer some diversity for the racers of the MXGP and MX2 divisions. The weather conditions remained sunny and hot and the fast track was sandy and loose in places and hard and slick in others.
Jeffrey Herlings rode to 1st (Pole) position in the Saturday RAM Qualification Heat; the Dutchman had earned P1 the previous weekend and repeated the feat with an effective stalk of Tim Gajser. He obtained a favorable gate position for the two motos on Sunday as well as 10 more points to his championship total. In MX2 it was Sacha Coenen who ranked highest with a 4th place result after another holeshot and brief stint as the leader. Liam Everts was 6th and Andrea Adamo took to the gate on Sunday in 10th after contact with another rider put him off the track.
Herlings was once more able to count on a decent getaway in the first GP moto and he began a successful pursuit of Tim Gajser that saw the #84 head the field with three laps to go. His winning margin was over seven seconds at the flag. Hunting his first 1-1 of the season Herlings blasted to the front of the pack inside the first two corners in the second moto and started to build his race rhythm, despite a small technical issue. The relentlessness was good enough for a worthy 1-1 scorecard and the former multi world champion’s first ‘perfect’ Sunday haul of points (as well as the Quali Heat win) since the 2023 Latvian Grand Prix.
Jeffrey now has seven Grand Prix podium finishes in a row and eight for the season. His work in Lombok means he is 3rd in the championship standings but has narrowed the gap to the red plate to 51 points.
Liam Everts headed Andrea Adamo and Sacha Coenen in the first MX2 moto as the teammates ran 5th, 6th and 7th. Mistakes by the Italian and the younger Belgian dropped the pair away from the top five. At the second attempt Coenen was again a livewire out of the gate but a slip put him to the rear of the field and he finished 13th for P9 overall. Liam rode to 4th despite a collision with Andrea when the lines of each rider came together. The Belgian made his way to the finish for 6th overall while the world champion picked up and flowed back to a creditable 2nd, giving him 4th on the day.
Now onto the hardpack of Loket. The Grand Prix of Czech Republic will bring MXGP up to speed again on July 20-21.
Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 1st for 1st overall in MXGP: “Very happy. The KTM kept being so strong, so I have to give it up to the guys and the whole Red Bull KTM team; Pit, Roberts and the crew at home. 1-1-1 for the first time this year so I’m very pleased. Tim was pushing today. This is a good way to head back to Europe and I feel like we are getting better and better.”
Andrea Adamo, 6th and 2nd for 4th overall in MX2: “We had some ups and downs this weekend. I was pretty fast in the first moto but crashed and my rhythm was not the best. I was fast from the beginning in the second race but I was a bit aggressive with my teammate. I should have waited. I think it was a racing incident and from that I charged strongly to get back to P2. I’m happy to finish the weekend like that but we need to be a bit more consistent and not make those mistakes, which penalized us today. Two weeks and then to Loket.”
Liam Everts, 5th and 4th for 6th overall in MX2: “A consistent top five. I think the second moto was one of my better ones. A bad start in the first. It was good to pass Simon at the end of the second one but still not in positions where I want to be. Happy to go home now!”
Sacha Coenen, 7th and 13th for 9th overall in MX2: “This weekend we were fast but too many mistakes, so we will work on that when we get back home. Also, on my feeling with the bike to find some more improvements. I’m already looking forward to Loket. I really enjoyed this experience in Indonesia. It didn’t finish the way I wanted but, then, I always want to win!”
Image: Red Bull KTM / Ray Archer
