De Wolf strengthens MX2 points lead in Switzerland
Words and images courtesy MXGP
Kay de Wolf took his seventh MX2 GP win of the season amidst the grey skies and showers at the Schweizer Zucker circuit before today’s MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS. His Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate – and championship rival – Lucas Coenen could only finish seventh overall. Simon Laengenfelder celebrated taking the second race victory for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing and finishing second overall on the day.
MX2
In the muddy morning Warm-Up session, Karlis Reisulis had set the fastest time for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2, but it was his teammate on return from injury, Thibault Benistant, who claimed the Fox Holeshot Award at the start of race one, with De Wolf second ahead of another Monster Energy Yamaha with Rick Elzinga at the helm.
Lucas Coenen had started in a lowly 13th position and had a lot of work to do on the slippery and sloppy circuit, while WZ Racing Team’s Oriol Oliver ran as high as fourth in the opening laps. Reisulis was ahead of Laengenfelder, but Liam Everts suffered a small tip over in the first lap, which would ultimately prove to be costly for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider!
Liam made a forceful pass on Lucas which put the pair in seventh and eighth, and both moved up a spot as Team HRC’s Ferruccio Zanchi slipped off to run in ninth for most of the race. Meanwhile, De Wolf was reeling in early leader Benistant, and just past the Pit Lane straight the Frenchman lost his balance through a tricky rut and fell, allowing both De Wolf and Elzinga through into the top two places!
Two laps later, the mud master that is Liam Everts passed both Laengenfelder and Reisulis to move to fourth, the move on the Latvian being a work of art that wasn’t repeated by anybody all day! The Belgian then took just two laps to close a three-second gap to Elzinga, but the Dutchman was suffering with bike issues and just after Liam went by into second, he ground to a halt at the side of the circuit.
On the penultimate lap, Lucas Coenen made a mistake and cut out the big, cambered corner, a unique feature to this circuit, and was therefore penalised two positions. This put him eighth in the classification, ahead of F & H Racing’s Quentin Marc Prugnieres and Monster Energy Triumph Racing rider Camden McLellan.
Zanchi and Reisulis were promoted to sixth and seventh, after a strong charge from McLellan’s teammate Mikkel Haarup earned him a solid fifth from a start outside of the top ten. Laengenfelder took fourth behind Benistant, which was still an impressive ride on his return from injury, but Everts charged to the rear wheel of De Wolf with three laps to go and very nearly passed the Championship leader. The Dutchman held his nerve to take a narrow win and extend his series lead by 12 points just in that race alone!
In what was a good day for the blue bikes, Reisulis took the first Fox Holeshot Award of his MX2 career in race two, with Benistant initially behind him but jumping past in the corner after the finish line to take the lead, with Laengenfelder chasing them both! On the first full lap, Everts fell, making life difficult for the teenage Belgian, while Reisulis retook the lead from Benistant, a bold move for the team rookie against the established star!
With De Wolf in fourth and Lucas Coenen crashing in a corner on lap three, Laengenfelder was keen to capitalise on his good start and fired inside Benistant on lap five, although it would take him many laps to close in the surprising Reisulis, whose confidence was growing by the lap in much better racing conditions than the first outing.
Benistant, feeling the pace on his return to action, slipped down the order to an eventual eighth in front of Zanchi and Prugnieres. Lucas Coenen recovered to seventh at the flag, nearly catching a disappointed Elzinga for sixth. Everts had to charge again, and although he was just shy of Haarup’s fourth position, it was enough for the KTM man, in a difficult weekend for his teammates, to claim the third spot on the podium overall.
De Wolf held station in third place, but Laengenfelder finally caught and passed Reisulis on lap 13 to take his fourth race victory of the year, and the Latvian held on for his best race finish of second, and his best overall result of 4th in MX2. A strong prospect for the future!
De Wolf’s Championship lead looks very strong now at 61, meaning he will carry the red plate even after the MXGP of Turkiye no matter what happens there, as Lucas Coenen will try to bounce back at Afyonkarahisar.
It’s the return to Turkiye next, after a week’s break for the series, to begin the final three rounds of the season. The battle to clinch the Championships swung towards the series leaders in Switzerland, but it is all still far from done yet!
Podium quotes:
Kay de Wolf: “The second race wasn’t as easy as the first one. The first few guys were really fast and I was struggling with my pace a little bit but I brought it home safe and gained some massive points in the championship. So that’s what it’s all about and yeah, I’m really happy. I can’t do it without this team. They do an amazing job for me day in day out. So yeah, I really appreciate it and now on to the next one in Turkiye!”
Simon Laengenfelder: “It’s nice to bounce back after a bad weekend like this. Okay, not the best start but at least the riding was really good in the second race. I was really happy to get the Moto win and happy with the bike. I’m now looking forward to the last few races this season.”
Liam Everts: “I certainly didn’t make it easy you know also last rounds; the speed was really good but just some little tip overs. And again, today but I still managed to make it happen which is which is pretty cool. I felt great all weekend. I also want to say hi to my parents, it’s the first time that they missed a round!”
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:29.269; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:01.313; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.749; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:16.506; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:36.702; 6. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:56.030; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:03.550; 8. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:50.398; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:30.119; 10. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +1:41.699
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), 34:39.275; 2. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:12.029; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:15.975; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:17.720; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:18.398; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:22.041; 7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:23.845; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:37.770; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:45.287; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:50.114;
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 45 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 43 p.; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 34 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 33 p.; 7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 27 p.; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 27 p.; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 23 p.; 10. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 21 p
MX2 – World Championship Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 831 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 770 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 727 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 681 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 581 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 570 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 511 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 456 p.; 9. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 337 p.; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 317 p
MX2 – Manufacturers Classification:
1. Husqvarna, 936 points; 2. KTM, 820 p.; 3. GASGAS, 734 p.; 4. Triumph, 627 p.; 5. Yamaha, 599 p.; 6. Honda, 352 p.; 7. Kawasaki, 318 p.; 8. Fantic, 238 p.; 9. TM, 60