The Grand Prix of Switzerland represented the third weekend in a row of FIM World Championship action for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as MXGP landed in the rain-hit and rough terrain of Frauenfeld. Jeffrey Herlings finished runner-up for his thirteenth podium of the season with the KTM 450 SX-F while Liam Everts acquired 3rd in MX2 and climbed the box for the first time in seven rounds. Words: KTM
- A twelfth consecutive podium from 17 Grands Prix for Herlings who rides to 2-2 results in Switzerland and stands 42 points from the red plate. 180 points are still up for grabs in 2024
- A strong, attacking 3rd place for Liam Everts and his fifth appearance of the year in the overall top three. The Belgian embarked on two comebacks for a 2-5 scorecard
- MX2 World Champion Andrea Adamo counts the cost of mistakes in each moto to classify 11th overall as Sacha Coenen is 14th with a right leg complaint
- Gabriel SS24 KTM’s Cas Valk captures 3rd overall in round 9 of 11 in 2024 EMX250. The Dutchman is only 19 points from the top of the European Championship points table in a close chase for the title
- 7th for Gyan Doensen in EMX125 as his Racestore KTM Factory Rookies teammate Nicolo Alvisi wins the overall. Doensen rises to the top of the championship standings with just one round remaining
- MXGP pauses for a week before the first step of a trek east. The Grand Prix of Turkey in Afyon on September 8th will be followed by the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai the following weekend
Hot sunshine initially bathed the facility of Frauenfeld; a short distance from the city of Zurich for the Swiss GP and the third MXGP fixture in succession after trips to Sweden and the Netherlands. Red Bull KTM came into the latest meeting having won three of the last five rounds and with Jeffrey Herlings on an eleven-podium streak. In MX2 the crew were hoping to add to the 12 trophies they had obtained between three riders so far this term.
Frauenfeld was fast, rough and rutty on Saturday while also slick in places. Herlings rode to 3rd in the RAM Qualification race. In MX2 Liam Everts pushed hard to take 4th with Andrea Adamo in 5th. Sacha Coenen crossed the line in 14th. Heavy overnight rainfall and a grey overcast sky on Sunday changed the outlook of the Grand Prix completely. The track was slower, muddier and more technical.
Herlings had to battle back from top ten and mid-pack starts in the two motos. The Dutchman was strong and adventurous with his lines and although he was not able to add to his moto win tally of 12 in 2024 to-date, he did reach 2nd place both times for the next best score. Jeffrey is still 3rd in the championship and needs 22 points more than Jorge Prado to move into P2.
In MX2 Liam Everts was fearless into the many deep, ruts on the wet and clayish soil. The Belgian’s commitment helped with a decent P2 in the first moto and also with an effective salvage operation in the second race after an early crash cost him time and positions. Liam’s ranking of 3rd overall represented a long overdue return to the podium ceremony. Teammates Andrea Adamo and Sacha Coenen had a challenging Sunday. Adamo hit the Swiss mud in both races and had to persevere to make the line with an 11-12 as Sacha was still nursing a painful right leg after his Swedish practice fall three weeks previously and took a conservative 15-15 on the day.
Three races – Turkey, China and Spain – remain on the calendar and with a maximum haul of 180 points to win. The habitual stop for MXGP on Turkish soil means the eighteenth Grand Prix of the year will rush around the flat hardpack of Afyonkarahisar in a fortnight.
Jeffrey Herlings, 2nd and 2nd for 2nd overall in MXGP: “Today was tough. My start was actually really good in the first moto but somehow I still ended up having to work back from 10th to 2nd. Second moto – I don’t know how – I was almost last. I did a lot of passing and by the time I got to 2nd then Tim [Gajser] had too much of a gap. In the sand you can go for it and make a three-lap sprint but here you push and end-up going backwards. I showed I had great speed again and I think my starts will be better in the next races because of the higher elevation. We’ll see. We’ve also been working on 2025 already and think we’ll also have something really good on the technical side for next year. I like Turkey and I was good in China the last time we went. The end of the season is coming quick and hopefully we can add another win.”
Liam Everts, 2nd and 5th for 3rd overall in MX2: “I had some wheelspin on the start and that didn’t help but from around 10th place I just kept moving forward, forward, forward. It was a good moto. I crashed early in the second race and my clutch was bent so I lost time but I’m happy with my riding and also the result. I’m still making mistakes and that’s been the story of the last GPs. The tip-overs are costing me a lot. I’m working on it! I felt good on the track today and also the bike and I was ticking-off the riders one-by-one. I felt competitive and in the flow.”
Andrea Adamo, 11th and 12th for 11th overall in MX2: “Not the best weekend. Saturday was quite solid but today I missed some confidence and good feeling in the mud. I also missed my starts which is so important in these conditions. I need to improve my speed. A day to forget. We still have three GPs left to do our best.”
Sacha Coenen, 15th and 15th for 14th overall in MX2: “My leg is still giving me problems and that means the righthand corners are difficult. I had a tip-over on the first lap in the first moto. I was just missing power with the right leg. I made as many passes as I could. In the second moto my rhythm was not great at the beginning but much better in the middle of the race and I was quick and having fun on the bike. Things are getting better, and I was already improving after Sweden and the Netherlands so I’m sure I’ll be 100% for Turkey.”
Image: Red Bull KTM / Ray Archer
