PIETRAMURATA (Trentino, Italy) 13 April 2025 – Despite mother nature sprinkling the Dolomites with a little moisture on Grand Prix Sunday, the crowds that flock to the “Il Ciclamino” circuit still made the noise and kept the legendary atmosphere that the Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino is famous for!
The fifth round of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championships provided more great racing on an unpredictable surface, but the results were exactly what the two biggest sections of fans – the local Italians and the travelling Slovenians – would have been hoping for, and they truly showed their appreciation!
The MXGP class was ruled by Championship leader Tim Gajser, who took his record sixth GP victory at the circuit with a perfect 1-1 for Honda HRC, in front of a legion of his flag-waving supporters who responded accordingly. Romain Febvre put up spirited resistance for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP and took second overall in front of the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP machine of Glenn Coldenhoff.
The first MX2 race of the day saw a historical first GP Race win for the Triumph manufacturer, as Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s lone wolf Camden McLellan took a Fox Holeshot to chequered flag masterclass, earning the South African his first win at this level. However, for the third straight year in MX2, the overall victory went to a rider who didn’t win either race, as Andrea Adamo survived last lap passes in each outing to keep Italian fans happy and claim his fourth career victory for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing!
Championship leader Kay de Wolf kept the red plate on his Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing machine with second overall, while second race winner Thibault Benistant climbed to the third step of the podium for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2. It was perhaps the most significant day yet in the Championship with varying fortunes for the four men who started the weekend just 14 points apart!
After winning Saturday’s Qualifying Race, Febvre was fastest again in warm-up, with Gajser second and Andrea Bonacorsi third for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP.
On Saturday, Febvre was denied a Holeshot by the private Kawasaki of Nicolas Lapucci, but in the first MXGP race today there was no stopping the factory rider from claiming the Fox Holeshot Award for the first time this season! While Antonio Cairoli did his best from the outside for the Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX Team, it was Maxime Renaux who gave chase in second for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, although he lost traction around the second corner and got passed on either side by Gajser and Fantic Factory Racing MXGP’s Glenn Coldenhoff!
By the end of the first full lap, Lucas Coenen had moved up for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing by passing Renaux and looked set on chasing down the leaders, but Febvre and Gajser set a blistering pace out in front, and Coldenhoff was going with them!
Ruben Fernandez was fighting in the top ten for Honda HRC and had the two Ducati riders behind him as Jeremy Seewer passed Cairoli for seventh by the end of the first full lap. Also fighting in the top ten was Austrian privateer Marcel Stauffer, last year’s EMX 2T Champion for the Osicka MX Team, getting as high as seventh at one point! On lap six, Coenen made a move on Coldenhoff for third, and Renaux also got past the Dutchman a lap later! They would stay in those positions for the rest of the race.
Fernandez dropped the bike and handed Seewer sixth position, which he would keep to the flag, while the Spaniard had to fight back up to seventh with passes on Cairoli, Stauffer, and the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP machine of Calvin Vlaanderen, who would come home in eighth. The TEM JP253 KTM Racing rider Jan Pancar took ninth, and Jeffrey Herlings looked to be in a better position than yesterday with a fighting tenth place for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, just getting past Stauffer with three laps to go.
For thirteen laps, the patient Gajser stalked Febvre at the front, before finally hounding the Frenchman into a mistake in the middle of the circuit, then diving inside the Kawasaki at the next corner! Febvre was not done, however, and although he nearly crashed on a couple of occasions, fought back to the Honda’s rear wheel with the fastest lap of the whole race on the penultimate lap! Sadly for him, he just pushed the front wheel into some soft dirt and fell at the top of the hill, bringing a roar of ecstatic relief from the Slovenian fans near the finish line as their man cruised to victory!
Febvre’s starting prowess deserted him in race two, as Coldenhoff edged across the line, although Fernandez grabbed the early lead alongside Pit Lane, allowing Gajser to charge around the outside of the following corner to make it a Honda HRC 1-2. Towards the end of the first lap it was the red plate of the #243 who emerged in the lead after out-braking his teammate into a right-hander.
Sadly for Ducati fans, Seewer was left to pick up his machine after a first corner crash that left the Swiss with more than just a torn race shirt. With the full gate of riders to work through, he got back to 22nd at the flag, three places behind Cairoli, who hadn’t started much better.
Febvre was taking his time to work through the pack, and it wasn’t until lap five that he got past Renaux for fifth, and was chasing down Lucas Coenen. Coenen was driven forward to pass Coldenhoff for third, but came up against the bullish Fernandez, who defied the Belgian’s attempts to push him aside. In similar fashion, Coldenhoff was keeping Febvre behind, and for four thrilling laps the quartet circulated together! The cycle was only broken by Coenen, whose front wheel washed out on a slick section, holding up “The Hoff” long enough to allow Febvre past into third. It took the Frenchman a further lap to dispose of Fernandez, by which time Gajser was over 11 seconds up the track
Team Motul Honda Motoblouz SR rider Kevin Horgmo, who had started the weekend sixth in the series, was again on the pace, and inherited fifth in the race with Coenen’s crash, keeping the Belgian back to sixth in the race. Renaux could get no higher than seventh, with Pancar eighth, Bonacorsi fighting through a few riders to get to ninth, and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP man Jago Geerts taking tenth with a last lap pass on Herlings.
Ben Watson scored twelfth in both races to again finish in the top ten overall for MRT Racing Team Beta, just behind Herlings who ended the day ninth overall.
Coenen’s sixth looked good enough to still get him on the podium, but Coldenhoff pulled a brave outside pass on Fernandez for third in the race, and his second straight podium result with third overall!
Febvre did his best to hack down Gajser’s lead, but the Slovenian controlled things to the close, claiming his 52nd career GP victory and stretching his Championship lead to 39 points
Last year Gajser was dominant at the MXGP of Switzerland in mixed conditions which could affect the event again, but Febvre insists he has the pace to run with him and make it another Grand Prix not to be missed!
Tim Gajser: “Really happy with this weekend—two solid races. I knew I had to start well because passing is always tough on this track. I started third in the first race and had a great battle with Romain (Febvre) until the end before making the pass. In the second race, I got around Ruben (Fernandez) early and just controlled it from there. Huge thanks to my team and everyone supporting me, and of course the fans who came to support me, this one means a lot!"
Romain Febvre: “Honestly, I’m disappointed. I felt like the fastest rider all weekend. The first race was going well, but we had a race incident with a yellow flag, I lost time and left the door open for Tim (Gajser) to pass. I tried to fight back but made a mistake and crashed. In the second race, I didn’t get the start, and like Tim said, it’s really difficult to pass here. I worked my way to second, but the gap was too big. I just need to keep working harder to finally get the win."
Glenn Coldenhoff: “Not bad for a 34-year-old, I think! I struggled a bit all weekend and was off the pace but starts are everything. I got my second holeshot of the year and that made a big difference. I was freer, could follow Tim for a while, and just felt much better. It’s my third podium in five rounds—that’s crazy. Big thanks to the team, they’ve been amazing. Hopefully we can keep this going."
Main Photo: Tim Gajser Podium
Top Photo: Tim Gajser
Bottom Photos: 1. Romain Febvre; 2 Glenn Coldenhoff
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:50.568; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.678; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:34.468; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.879; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:44.042; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Ducati), +0:45.141; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:45.540; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +1:04.347; 9. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:10.324; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:12.767
MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:52.569; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.958; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:08.216; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:17.086; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:21.747; 6. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:38.862; 7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:43.142; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:44.644; 9. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:47.053; 10. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:48.613
MXGP Overall - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 44 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 36 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 32 p.; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 23 p.; 9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 18 p
MXGP - World Championship - Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 274 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 235 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 196 p.; 4. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 176 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 164 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 148 p.; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 137 p.; 8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 122 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 102 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 99 p.
MXGP - Manufacturers Classification: 1. Honda, 274 points; 2. Kawasaki, 241 p.; 3. Yamaha, 209 p.; 4. Fantic, 199 p.; 5. KTM, 192 p.; 6. Ducati, 137 p.; 7. Beta, 85 p.; 8. Husqvarna, 26 p.
Qualifying Race winner Liam Everts carried the feel-good factor into a damp morning warm up session with the fastest time for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider Rick Elzinga and De Wolf.
McLellan shot out of the centre of the start gate to earn his first career Fox Holeshot Award, and began to streak away from fast-starting Valerio Lata, the Honda HRC rider getting the local supporters, who have seen plenty of success for him in EMX racing at this circuit, behind him as he held second for the first half of the race!
Adamo and Everts gave chase in third and fourth, while De Wolf had to battle from outside the top ten initially. After five minutes he had worked past the JM Racing Honda of David Braceras for fifth, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammates Sacha Coenen and Simon Laengenfelder were battling from further back still.
To the roar of the home crowd, who maybe sensed that a home win was more likely to come from the former World Champion, Adamo squeezed past Lata on lap nine, with Everts and De Wolf following suit quickly. Lata was able to hold onto fifth to the flag, ahead of the Venrooy Racing KTM of Cas Valk, while Laengenfelder was able to make a pass on Elzinga for seventh three laps from the end, hurting his Championship challenge at a track where he was expected to do well. Coenen took ninth ahead of disappointed Honda HRC rider Ferruccio Zanchi, while Benistant suffered a late crash and could only salvage twelfth.
As has often been the case in MX2, the top positions changed hands in the later laps, with De Wolf passing his teammate for third on lap 12, then setting about Adamo with intent, the home rider struggling with lapped riders. Finally, the reigning Champion took advantage of his predecessor’s confusion and charged around the outside of a tight left-hander!
There was no catching McLellan however, as he controlled the nerves to claim his first career race win by just over three seconds, and the first for the British manufacturer Triumph since its entry into MX2! He also became the seventh race winner of this wide-open MX2 season!
Those who suffered with poor starts in race one largely made amends second time out, as Coenen dived across the Fox Holeshot Award line for his third black plate of the year, just ahead of Laengenfelder and Adamo in a factory KTM 1-2-3! Benistant was next, but there was disaster for Everts, just a few places behind, as he clipped his teammate’s rear wheel and fell on the exit of turn two, causing enough damage to stop him from restarting his machine!
Another title challenger, Laengenfelder, dropped back to fourth as Adamo and Benistant got past him on the opening lap, with McLellan passing the Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors machine of Oriol Oliver to run in fifth, keeping his chances of overall victory alive.
As has happened so often this season, Coenen crashed out of the lead, this time right in front of the local fans who roared as Adamo took the top spot! The young Belgian restarted in eighth behind Valk, who climbed to fifth on lap five at a circuit he genuinely looked good on all weekend. Oliver claimed sixth in race two after only managing 15th in the opener.
That move upwards for Valk was partly down to a big crash for McLellan, smashing any chance of the overall win for both him and Triumph. He looked to be struggling to restart, but eventually got back on and would see out the race in 16th, putting him sixth overall behind Valk. Lata was unable to advance beyond 14th this time, leaving him tenth overall, just a point behind his teammate Zanchi. Elzinga took eighth overall behind Coenen.
De Wolf tried time and time again to get past Laengenfelder, but the German held strong to the close to at least keep De Wolf’s points lead down to 12. The crowd’s eyes were all on Adamo out front, however, as Benistant was at his flowing, flying best, and beginning to catch the Italian hero! Once again, Adamo’s frustration at lapped riders, on a difficult track to pass on, got the better of him, and the Frenchman struck at the end of Pit Lane, cementing the move by clearing the uphill triple jump while Adamo could not!
It was Thibault’s first GP race win since his home Grand Prix in May 2023, and knocked Laengenfelder off the podium in the process. De Wolf’s second place overall increased his Championship lead as Laengenfelder and Adamo both moved past Everts, who is now 28 behind his teammate in fourth. Benistant moved past Coenen into fifth in the series. Adamo’s fourth career GP win was a welcome one for his fans, and leaves him just 18 points down on the leader!
To glorious northern Italy we must say “Ciao”, and head further north to the green fields of Switzerland, as the Frauenfeld venue hosts round six of the World Championships. Join us there for the third weekend in a row to see how this enthralling series continues to develop!
Andrea Adamo: "It was a solid day. I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t win the second race because I led the whole way and had a good gap. But in the last two laps, the lapped riders made things difficult. But anyway, that’s racing. I finished second and took the overall win, and that’s what matters most. We’ll keep pushing and hopefully carry this momentum forward."
Kay de Wolf: "It was a good weekend overall. I showed great speed but had to come from the back quite a few times after some average starts. Had some close moments, but I stayed consistent and scored strong points for the championship. I’m really happy to keep the red plate, and I’m already looking forward to the next one."
Thibault Benistant: "For sure, it feels good to get the race win. I’ve had some struggles recently—like in the first race today, I just wasn’t riding well and couldn’t explain why. But in Race 2, I felt like myself again, physically strong and fast. I pushed really hard on the final laps and managed to make the pass, which was a nice payback for when Andrea (Adamo) passed me in France. That was cool!"
Main Photo: Andrea Adamo
Bottom Photos: 1. Kay de Wolf; 2. Thibault Benistant
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 - Top 10 Classification: 1. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), 35:08.624; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.027; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:04.610; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:11.910; 5. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:36.882; 6. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:39.842; 7. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:42.869; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:51.174; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:53.425; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:57.018
MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), 34:47.031; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:01.822; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:03.514; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:04.468; 5. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:32.127; 6. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:36.412; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:45.012; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:51.405; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:52.984; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:55.422
MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 42 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 30 p.; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 24 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 23 p.;
MX2 - World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 231 points; 2. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 219 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 213 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 203 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 171 p.; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 169 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 155 p.; 8. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 151 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 121 p.; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 111 p
MX2 - Manufacturers Classification: 1. Husqvarna, 263 points; 2. KTM, 263 p.; 3. Yamaha, 196 p.; 4. Triumph, 169 p.; 5. Honda, 158 p.; 6. TM, 64 p.; 7. Kawasaki, 46 p
All the photos from the Monster Energy MXGP of Trentino will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MONSTER ENERGY MXGP OF TRENTINO QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1570m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature:16°
Weather conditions: Cloudy
Public Attendance: 35.500
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