Prado & de Wolf crowned 2024 MXGP Champions

2024 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round 20 – MXGP of Castilla la Mancha

The FIM Motocross World Motocross Championship came to a scorching conclusion in southern Spain at the MXGP of Castilla La Mancha with reigning World Champion Jorge Prado retaining his crown for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, pushed all the way to the very last race with a winning margin of just 10-points, fighting off the challenge of Tim Gajser.

Jorge Prado – 2024 MXGP Champion

“I almost don’t know what to say – I’ve got the title here in Spain, and it’s just incredible! It’s been a great year, and I think the team and I truly deserve this title after all the work we’ve put in. At the start of the season, I never imagined being in this position, but today everything just clicked. That second moto felt super long, but crossing the finish line was the best feeling. So much goes on behind the scenes with the team to get results like this, and I’m so grateful to take home my fourth world title here in front of family, friends, and fans. Thank you to everyone for the amazing support – it’s been an awesome year, and I’m proud we did it together!”

The FIM MX2 World Motocross Championship was also decided, the year-long battle between Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates Kay de Wolf and Lucas Coenen reaching its conclusion with a day to remember for both riders.

Ultimately it was Dutch flyer De Wolf who became the new MX2 World Champion, but his day was not straightforward as Coenen did everything possible to take the title away with two commanding race wins, getting to within just 20 points at the end of 20 Grands Prix. With sensible riding, the red plate holder deservedly claimed the title on his 20th birthday, after a season of sustained and consistent brilliance.

Kay de Wolf – 2024 MX2 Champion

“It’s amazing! And on my birthday! I just have so many emotions about this result. This team has believed in me from the very beginning – back in 2018 when they signed me for the 85cc. They have continued to support me every single day. From the 125cc, to the EMX 250, and now in MX2, it’s been absolutely unreal. I couldn’t have done it without all the hard work from this team – they have done an amazing job! I did what I had to do today to make sure the result was secure. I got a good start in the second moto, grabbed the holeshot, and then just rode smoothly to reach the final flag. Thank you so much to all my friends, family, and the entire team around me – I’m super grateful. Thank you so much! I’ve got this gold plate finally in my hands – we are definitely going to celebrate this one for sure!”

MXGP of Castilla la Mancha Video Highlights

MXGP Race One

The sheer speed of Prado into the first corner saw him cross the Fox Holeshot line on the exit with around five bike lengths on the next rider, Jeremy Seewer, in his last GP for the Kawasaki Racing Team.

Local fans had cause for concern, however, as Gajser immediately snapped past both Seewer and the fast-starting Andrea Bonacorsi to get himself into second place, the Slovenian hounding the rear wheel of the Spanish hero.

Coming out of the second corner, Herlings ran wide off the track, and was judged to have gained an advantage as he rejoined, resulting in a three-position penalty. Regardless, he charged through to third position on track by the close, relegated to sixth by the penalty.

One of the riders he passed was Alberto Forato, who fought forward throughout the race, passing Seewer with a strong move at the end of the start straight on lap 14.

Sadly for the Italian, he tipped over in a corner on the following lap, allowing Seewer and his Kawasaki Racing Team stablemate Romain Febvre into what was ultimately third and fourth. Forato recovered to be classified in fifth.

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Behind the top six were Bonacorsi, Valentin Guillod, then Maxime Renaux in ninth after a nasty crash in the early laps. Jan Pancar rounded out the top ten.

At the front, Prado did what he does best, and despite Gajser’s best efforts the Spaniard edged away to build a seven-second lead before easing off in the closing laps to secure his 17th Sunday race win of the campaign and take a 12-point lead into the final race of the year.

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Race Two

The final race began in usual fashion for the Champ, with another clinical Fox Holeshot Award, his 18th for the season. This time it was Gajser who ran off the circuit, exiting turn one and rejoining between some advertising boards. He was judged not to have gained an advantage and was allowed to race on without penalty.

Seewer was right at the sharp end, but Herlings blasted past him into the third corner and looked to be racing with intentions on a race win. Febvre and Gajser also advanced past Seewer before the start of the first full lap.

Behind the top five, the drying circuit was at its toughest, and most of the top ten held their positions until the end, including Guillod in a solid sixth, Glenn Coldenhoff, home rider Ruben Fernandez in eighth, with Renaux and Pancar again finishing ninth and tenth after Bonacorsi suffered a fall down the order. Guillod would take sixth overall ahead of Forato, Coldenhoff, Renaux, and Pancar.

The big moment occurred on lap seven, as Prado’s rear wheel suddenly stepped out on a downhill and he was forced to run off the circuit. Under pressure from Herlings at the time, “The Bullet” immediately led, and the fans looked worried as Prado seemed to cruise for a few corners, allowing Febvre and Gajser into second and third.

Fortunately for the #1, there was no issue with his machine, and he took it easy to the flag. Gajser did all he could but couldn’t close on the leading pair, and Febvre tipped over in a corner as he tried to pressure Herlings, but kept hold of second place.

This left the top three in the series, Prado, Gajser, and Herlings to finish in that order overall, with Febvre and Seewer fourth and fifth in the GP.

MXGP Race Two Results

MXGP Overall

Prado had the crowd fully behind him all the way to the chequered flag, and the celebrations continued long into the night. His 49th career GP win levels him with Gajser, and he becomes the first back-to-back MXGP World Champion since the Slovenian’s successful title defence of 2020. It was a good day to be a Spanish Motocross fan in Cozar.

Jorge Prado – P1

“This is just unbelievable like at the beginning of the season I wouldn’t imagine to be sitting in this position right now and I was just enjoying it so much that second race was so long it just didn’t end and you know so much work goes behind this and all the fans came over they were supporting every single lap of every race and this is amazing to see this. Amazing to feel in that atmosphere over there when I was in the party and just unbelievably grateful to get the world title over here in Spain with my fans with my family my friends with everyone. Just thank you everyone, it’s been an awesome year again!.”

Tim Gajser – P2

“I mean we had a great season, you know, nice battle with Jorge and with Jeffrey. So, congrats to Jorge for winning the title. I was really close this year, I was giving my best and I think we had a really good championship. So, I want to say a huge thank you to all my team, the bike was amazing for the all year and everybody around me. So, a huge thank you. Thank you very much guys.”

Jeffrey Herlings – P3

“So first of all over the weekend, yeah, you know to finish 3rd in the championship I’m quite happy with. Coming out today with a podium it’s okay obviously had quite some bad luck with some decisions. But Jorge, he was the best for the whole year. Starts is one thing he was the king of that and furthermore he he’s a champion so big congrats to him. But I think today the result is and furthermore he was he’s a champion so big congrats to that. I’m looking forward to next year.”

Romain Febvre – P4

“I rode two strong races today; I made two good starts but at the first one the rider in front of me slid out and that cost me a few positions. I was twelfth and came back to fourth, then in the second moto I started in third position to finish second behind Jeffrey (Herlings) with a similar rhythm and speed to him but it was difficult to pass on this track. The result didn’t really reflect my riding, but I’m happy with my second moto, especially on such a track. Now I’m focused on the MX of Nations; Matterley is such a nice track and I feel confident for this last race of the season.”

Jeremy Seewer – P5

“I had good speed and rode solid with 3-5 motos for fifth overall; there were many positives and I again had three good starts. It was a tough season but I finished fourth overall in the standings. Now I’m looking forward to the Nations. Switzerland has a good team; we are not the favourites but I feel we can fight for top-five.”

Maxime Renaux – P9

“Today has been difficult. I struggled with the track and just wasn’t able to push like I know I can. But I did what I could and tried my best, like always. Up next, we have the Motocross of Nations, so I’m aiming for a strong result ahead of the off-season. With the team, we know what we need to work on for next year and I’m excited for 2025.”

Ruben Fernandez – P11

I never really had a good feeling with this track, which was a bit of a shame because I wanted to do well in front of my home crowd. It was still nice to have all that support around the track though and I’m excited to have Spanish GPs in the future. Overall, I am happy with how the season went after my injury, I had some good results and progressed well, and now I want to put everything into Team Spain for the Motocross of Nations.

Andrea Bonacorsi – P12

“That’s the last GP of the season done, and unfortunately, it was a bit of a mixed day for me. In the first race I had a good start and was battling for the top five, but then I had a little bit of arm pump so I couldn’t ride like I wanted to. I ended up seventh, so that was not so bad. I had a good race going in the second one. I passed Maxime early on and held ninth for a while, but then I had really bad stomach cramps, which made it really difficult to ride and I dropped back to 14th. But I managed to score enough points to move into 10th in the championship, so I’m really happy about that after starting the season in MX2.”

Mattia Guadagnini – DNF

“It’s not the way I wanted to end the season, but sometimes that’s racing. I had a tough time in the last round, crashing out of the first moto and unfortunately not being able to start the second moto. Overall, it’s been a season of ups and downs, and I have learnt alot, but I’m grateful for the team’s huge support throughout the season. Now, I’ll take the winter to heal and come back stronger and more prepared for next year!”

MXGP Round Overall

MXGP Championship Points – Top 20

MX2 Race One

Thibault Benistant took his third Fox Holeshot Award of the season for Monster Energy Yamaha MX2, and led until lap three as Coenen forced his machine towards an inside line on a rutted left-hander.

This left the Frenchman to deal with Simon Laengenfelder, with nothing to gain or lose for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing as he was already set for the series bronze medal. The German could not find a way through, and instead came under pressure from the outgoing World Champion, Andrea Adamo.

The lone Red Bull KTM Factory Racing warrior for the day had to pass Benistant’s Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Karlis Reisulis for fourth and dived past Laengenfelder on lap nine.

With a similar move along the start straight he also got past Benistant two laps later. Laengenfelder eventually passed Thibault on lap 14 to claim third in the race.

Meanwhile, Ferruccio Zanchi took his best finish of the year for Team HRC in fifth after a battle with Quentin Prugnieres, but the Kawasaki man dropped the bike to eventually finish tenth.

De Wolf was locked towards the edge of the top ten, fighting with the Monster Energy Triumph Racing duo Mikkel Haarup and Camden McLellan.

All three got past Reisulis, who finished in ninth, but with De Wolf needing fourth to seal the Championship even with Lucas winning, it was never on the cards as Haarup took sixth, and De Wolf only just held off McLellan to finish seventh.

With Lucas winning by over 22 seconds, the gap was 23 points going into the final race.

MX2 Race One Results

MX2 Race Two

With a complete change of strategy, De Wolf attacked the start of race two, and came out with a shock Fox Holeshot Award, only his third of the season. Again Benistant and Coenen were right at the front, with Haarup and Reisulis in tow. Laengenfelder and Adamo looked to have ruled themselves out of the podium places with dire opening laps.

De Wolf gave Coenen little resistance when the Belgian teenager made his move, but although Benistant looked close initially, the Dutch birthday boy was not in a mood to drop any further down the order.

Oriol Oliver had started well in his home Grand Prix, but Zanchi passed him on lap six for sixth position. The young Italian would finish there, but only after Adamo charged through to a brilliant fourth.

Reisulis dropped back to tenth position where he would finish overall, behind Laengenfelder who had fell down to 13th at one stage in the race but recovered to ninth for fifth overall.

Prugnieres rose through the order to claim seventh position and eighth overall, passing Oliver with five laps to go, leaving the Spaniard ninth overall. Adamo’s pass on Haarup came courtesy of a small mistake for the Dane with just three laps remaining, putting the Triumph man in sixth overall ahead of Zanchi.

Adamo’s brilliant ride left him second overall, with Benistant third, completing a decent return from injury with some podium pie.

De Wolf’s second left him fourth overall, nearly 22 seconds down on Coenen at the flag, but the more important prize was the MX2 World Championship, four years into his MX2 career and completing a seven-year run with the factory Husqvarna squad.

It is the brand’s first world title since 1999, and its first under its current Austrian ownership.

Coenen, with his tenth career GP win and ninth of the season, had closed the gap to 20 points at the end of the 20th round, but it was the man who turned 20 on Sunday that took his first World Championship, the perfect birthday present at the end of an incredible year of racing.

MX2 Race Two Results

MX2 Overall

Lucas Coenen – P1

“Of course the season was good, I got a lot of race wins, also got problems in the beginning of the season with the bike and with me. So, I mean, overall, it’s been a good end of the season, let’s say. We know the problems we had, so I mean, those problems are quite sorted out now so I’m looking forward to the MX of Nations and then let’s see what going to come next year.”

Andrea Adamo – P2

“I think my speed could have been better today but P2 overall was not a bad way to end the year. It was a tough season; we all worked so hard. We had some issues but we have ended it on a positive way. Now the Nations and it will be a lot of fun, as always, riding for Team Italy.”

Thibault Benistant – P3

“Not a bad day today. My feeling and enjoyment of riding the track were much better than previous rounds, so this is really positive. I was missing a little bit of speed, but overall, it’s been a good day. Being on the podium is a nice way to end the season, and it gives me a lot of confidence heading into the off-season.”

Kay de Wolf – P4 (2024 MX2 Champion)

“It felt pretty good. Lucas was on a good pace, so I let him go. I just controlled my own race and got this gold plate finally in my hands. Leading the whole season and finally getting this gold plate is unreal. I can’t do it without this team. They’ve been working so hard for me. Also my friends, family, all my private sponsors, they’ve been amazing. Big thanks to them and we’re going to enjoy this one.”

Simon Laengenfelder – P5

“I need to say it was a tough year. I started quite okay, but I never made it to the top seven of the podium, which is a bit of a shame, but yeah, another bronze medal I think, three bronze medals are not too bad, with another with a broken collarbone and coming back directly the weekend after I would say with another with a broken collarbone and coming back directly the weekend after I would say it was not it was not the best but was also quite good. Congratulations thanks a lot.”

“I’m happy with how my season went overall, finishing third overall in the championship. Of course I wanted to finish higher but it has been a tough year, but I managed to grab some big results and show what I’m capable of. The final round didn’t go as planned, but I’ve learned a lot, and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as a team. Huge thanks to Red Bull GASGAS and everyone who supported me – I’m already looking forward to coming back stronger in 2025!”

Ferruccio Zanchi – P7

It is great to get my highest points score of the year, at the final round. Putting in three solid results is what I’ve been aiming for all year and I think it is a good sign that I was able to keep trying and trying and finally get it done at round 20. A big thank you to the team because it hasn’t always been easy but together, we’ve worked through the difficulties and this result is down to all our work. I’m really happy with the year, but I’m also excited for the future too.

Karlis Reisulis – P10

“My day started good with a fast time in warm-up, but in Race One I had a little bit of arm pump after a really good start. I had a much better race going in the second moto, but then I stalled my bike while running in sixth. That was frustrating as I lost a lot of places, but my riding was much better, so I’m happy about that. Now, it’s onto the Motocross of Nations next weekend to end the season.”

MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Championship Standings