The Grand Prix of Latvia, round eight of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship, will always be remembered by the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing squad, as the three-man team dominated the MX2 division.
Kay de Wolf stormed to a perfect scorecard and has taken the red plate, signalling that he leads the championship, for the first time in his career.
The weekend started in fine fashion for de Wolf, who clinched the maximum numbers of points in the Qualification heat via pole position. It took him a few laps to claim the lead in moto one – he did that on lap seven – but he never looked back once out front and won in a commanding fashion. The second moto was made slightly more difficult after an early crash, but he executed well to move to the top of the pack and post a perfect scorecard on Latvian soil. 1-1 scores gave him his first overall victory, as well as the team’s first win of the term, and helped him gain possession of the red plate. Twelve points is his championship lead.
Roan van de Moosdijk joined his teammate on the overall podium in second, which put an exclamation point on the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team’s domination. A brace of thirds was enough for him to obtain his second trophy of the year. ’39’ actually started in third in each moto as well, but the second stint was made more difficult by a fall around the halfway point. Moosdijk has progressed to fifth in the championship standings now and is just sixteen points adrift of the rider in fourth.
Tenth overall is not an accurate representation of how strong Lucas Coenen was at the Grand Prix of Latvia. Number ’96’ showed race-winning speed on Saturday and Sunday, but was hindered by mistakes in the motos. Failing to finish the first moto gave him even more motivation for moto two and he led twelve of the seventeen laps, but had to settle for second after an unforced error. The twenty-two points that put him tenth in the overall classification also helped him maintain ninth in the standings.
The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing squad will travel south ahead of the ninth round of the current season, which will be run at the historic venue of Teutschenthal on June 11. The Grand Prix of Germany, a permanent fixture on the FIM Motocross World Championship schedule, is next.
+ Kay de Wolf: “This is amazing. I have the red plate and finally got my first overall win as an MX2 rider. We had to wait a while for this, but we kept on fighting. I need to give a lot of credit to the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team. It is an amazing team and we always push forward. I am excited to go racing again in Germany.”
+ Roan van de Moosdijk: “I had a little crash in moto two. 1-2 is amazing for the team though! The rain made it difficult in the second moto, but we finished on the podium and I am really happy with the way that things are going at the moment. We will try to keep the ball rolling like this in Germany next weekend.
+ Lucas Coenen: “I am happy with the speed and way that I feel on my FC 250. We are making a lot of progress, but it would have been great to join my teammates on the podium. I learnt a lot when out front in the second moto. It is just a shame about that late mistake at the end, but we will go for the podium again next weekend.”
++ MX2 Championship standings:
1. Kay de Wolf (HUS), 367
2. Andrea Adamo (KTM), 355
3. Thibault Benistant (YAM), 348
4. Jago Geerts (YAM), 319
5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (HUS), 303
6. Liam Everts (KTM), 273
7. Simon Laengenfelder (GAS), 259
8. Kevin Horgmo (KAW), 232
9. Lucas Coenen (HUS), 223
10. Jan Pancar (KTM), 160