INTU-XANADÚ ARROYOMOLINOS (Spain) 7 May 2023 – The MXGP of Spain held all its promises with many fantastic ridings throughout MXGP and MX2. The sixth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will go down in the history of the sport with the 102th GP win of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings to consolidate his legend.

At the end of the day, Jeffrey Herlings won a back-to-back GP in front of the excellent Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini who got his first MXGP podium of his career and home hero Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez third on the podium. Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado fourth overall keeps the Red Plate.

In MX2, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder won with a perfect 1-1 to get his first podium and win of the season in front of Red Plate holder Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Andrea Adamo.

Spanish fans made their voices heard throughout the whole day and cheering loudly for their home heroes through all the categories and made this Grand Prix a moment to never forget for the riders as the crowd created this fantastic atmosphere.

In MXGP Race 1, we saw an eventful and great level of riding through the whole race and it was Monster Energy Yamaha factory MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer who took the FOX Holeshot and kept the lead for 5 laps. Then the excellent Mattia Guadagnini who has found a great rhythm this week overtook the Swiss on lap 6 but gave up the lead on lap 12 to a Jeffrey Herlings on a mission to break Stefan Everts’ ultimate GP win record. Before that Herlings went into an intense battle with Jorge Prado between lap 3 and 5 as both riders overtook each other in front of ecstatic Spanish fans. Herlings got the last word and kept charging for the win. Herlings won the race in the end.

Prado looked determined to win in front of his home fans and kept attacking first overtaking Seewer on lap 9 for 3rd and then his teammate Guadagnini with two laps to go to finish 2nd. Guadagnini settled for a good 3rd place. Seewer on his part seemed to have lost a bit of energy throughout the race and got overtaken several times until the end going from 2nd on lap 8 to finishing 8th. 

For Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff things starts to align as he showed a good performance again today. He got 5th on lap 1, and stayed consistent until he could overtake his teammate Seewer on lap 9 to finish 4th. Ruben Fernandez had a good start and found himself 6th but couldn’t find a way past Coldenhoff. He managed to capitalise on Seewer’s fading to pass him for 5th and stay there until the end.

Another consistent performance on race for SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery MXGP’s Alberto Forato as he rode solidly staying 7th for most of the race until passing Seewer for 6th with 4 laps to go. It was a really similar feat for Team Gebben Van Venroy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen who shadowed the Italian to finish 7th. 

Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod gets used to ride inside the top 10 as he raced in 9th for most part of the race and made one overtake on lap 11, passing MRT Racing Team Beta’s Alessandro Lupino for 9th. Lupino deserved a good 10th place in the end as he showed a good pace throughout the whole race getting only passed once. 

Race 2 started like the first one with Seewer taking his second FOX Holeshot of the day displaying fast starts although it was Fernandez who quickly took the lead after few turns in front of Guadagnini again in 2nd. However, it was to be Herlings’ day as the ‘bullet’ found himself 4th after lap 1 making more and more good starts as the season advances. He took six laps to finally pass Seewer for 3rd. Herlings kept increasing his pace as he sets a couple of fastest laps along the way to inch closer to Guadagnini in 2nd. While Guadagnini had to defend on Herlings with an astonishing pace both riders caught up with leader Fernandez on lap 9. Herlings used that occasion to make 2 overtakes over the course of one lap showing once again his drive to win and his amazing control of his bike. Herlings edged quickly away from them to run to victory and get a perfect 1-1. This GP win was the 102th which broke the mighty record to put the Dutch rider even more into legend territory. 

On his side Fernandez kept his 2nd spot to climb on the third step of the podium in 3rd with a 5-2 giving Spanish fans what they were coming for. Guadagnini showed all his talent and looked calm and composed throughout the weekend going 2-3 for the 2nd overall. The Italian clinched his first MXGP podium of his career. 

Behind them Seewer kept a strong pace this time to finish at a very good 4th place and taking the 6th overall. Seewer also had to contain Prado most of the race. Prado, who did not make his fastest start of the season seeing himself 6th on lap 1, went on to overtake a surprising De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Benoit Paturel for 5th. As the compact track made it hard to pass easily Seewer, held his ground and Prado had to settle for 5th in the end, leaving him outside the podium in 4th for the first time this season. Prado keeps the Red Plate and will want to come back to his best in France in two weeks.

After making an amazing start Paturel felt very tidy on this track as he was 5th until lap 4 when he started to get passed several times by Prado first and then the solid Coldenhoff. In the end he settled for an encouraging 9th place and 13th overall. Coldenhoff had another strong race as he managed to get to 6th after passing Paturel and stayed until the end for a 5th overall. 

Behind were Forato who showed a good consistency this week and managed quite a few overtakes to get from 10th on lap 1 to finish 7th, and Vlaanderen continuing his top 10s habits and ending the race in 8th for 8th overall. 

Lupino managed the second top 10 this weekend as he finished 10th and worked hard to overtake several riders including Guillod for the 10th place on lap 9 and stayed there until the end. 

In the end, Jeffrey Herlings showed all his talent to get a perfect 1-1 for a back-to-back win and get to his 102th GP in style. First MXGP podium for the excellent performer Mattia Guadagnini who got second while Ruben Fernandez clinched his first home podium in front of his fans. 

Jorge Prado also showed that even when he is not on the podium, he is riding to high standards to keep his Red Plate.

Jeffrey Herlings: “I am super happy to break the MXGP wins record. The rest of the guys have such a high level so I did not dream to come back so quick. My starts are getting and today went very well. I managed to work my way to the front and feel physically strong until end helped me to overtake in the end of race too. The Spanish fans were also amazing. Now I am already focusing on France in two weeks”

Mattia Guadagnini: “It’s been a long time after my 2nd place in 2021. It took some time to get used to the bike to ride with the best in the world. I couldn’t be happier today. I knew that I always felt great on this track and I knew I needed two good starts. I also tried to focus on my technique and ride smart. So, it is a step in the good direction and I’m really happy. I also want to congratulate Jeffrey on his new records”

Ruben Fernandez: “I didn’t’ have the best start in the first heat and waste a bit of energy trying a lot to overtake Seewer. The second heat I managed to keep a consistent pace and keep my lines. I focus on staying as long as possible near Jeffrey (Herlings) to make sure I kept my distance with riders behind. I felt very supported on every corner of the track which gives you a bit more strength and I’m happy to get on the podium in front of Spanish fans. Thanks to all of them.”

Main Photos: Jeffrey Herlings

Bottom Photos: 1. Mattia Guadagnini; 2. Rubén Fernández