Herlings hits 121, Coenen's roar and a slight scare: a red-hot show at the MXGP of Sweden

Double victory in Sweden for the unstoppable Jeffrey Herlings in MXGP and the resurgent Sacha Coenen in MX2. Race report and standings.

We’re up to 121: a number that’s been outrageous for a while, yet Jeffrey Herlings keeps pushing it higher, winning unchallenged again at the Swedish GP just concluded in Uddevalla. “The Bullet” pulls away—who can stop this extraordinary talent? A premature finish due to a red flag two laps from the end was caused by a terrifying crash between Jago Geerts and Kevin Brumann... To everyone’s relief, both walked away under their own power after the initial scare. “I’m back” is the liberating shout from Sacha Coenen, who, after shoulder troubles picked up in AMA Motocross, returns to winning ways in the MX2 World Championship in emphatic fashion. Here’s how the event in the Scandinavian peninsula unfolded.

Vialle grabs the holeshot, but within a few corners here’s Herlings taking the lead, with an excellent Jonass—just back from a physical issue—also capitalizing. At the front, that’s all she wrote: Jeffrey Herlings is simply untouchable, he flies away and takes the win in this first moto in Sweden, keeping Pauls Jonass and Tom Vialle well at bay. Fifth place for reigning champion Romain Febvre, ahead of Italian rookie Andrea Adamo, with Tim Gajser only 7th after his excellent qualifying yesterday. But there’s always Race 2...

Romain Febvre gets the best start in Race 2, leads for almost a lap, but containing this Jeffrey Herlings is incredibly difficult... Sure enough, he takes the lead and repeats what we saw in the previous moto: a solo escape to victory. Febvre and Tim Gajser can do nothing against the dominance of the Honda ace, who bags another double and extends his overall lead. A nasty crash for Calvin Vlaanderen is recorded; let’s hope there are no consequences for the Ducati rider. Chills and a red flag for a bad crash between Jago Geerts and Kevin Brumann, but fortunately there are no serious consequences. Jeffrey Herlings wins, victory number 121, ahead of Romain Febvre and Tom Vialle.

Sunday’s racing begins with a rocket start from Sacha Coenen, who leads Everts, McLellan, Janis Reisulis, with polesitter Laengenfelder in sixth. Championship leader Farres, needing to climb after scoring zero in qualifying, is soon 7th, but things get trickier: after two laps he makes a mistake—another setback for the MX2 points leader as he drops a few spots... Up front, Sacha Coenen cruises away unbothered and takes the moto win. Keep an eye on the young Belgian, who finally seems to be on the mend after his shoulder injury in the USA wild card (his last win dates back to June 7). Liam Everts and Camden McLellan complete the podium in this first Uddevalla race, with Guillem Farres 6th.

At the start of Race 2, Sacha Coenen shines again, quickly taking the lead ahead of Liam Everts and polesitter Simon Laengenfelder. As before, Farres has to fight back, but in short order he’s up to 6th, more determined than ever. He climbs to 4th, but then comes a crash he didn’t need! Even though he doesn’t lose positions... Up front nothing changes: Sacha Coenen dazzles, sealing a superb 1-1 in this Swedish round and picking up the thread after the injury that hampered him for several GPs. A lapped local rider, Korsbeck, caused a bit of trouble, but Coenen’s triumph was never in doubt. Same podium as Race 1, with Everts and McLellan following.

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