111 GP wins for Jeffrey Herlings as MXGP lands in Turkey
By Team TMX on 8th Sep 25
In cool, overcast conditions at the Afyon Motor Sports Center, Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings turned back the clock with a vintage display to claim his 111th career GP win at round 18 of the FIM World Motocross Championship – keeping himself firmly in the mix as the series hurtles toward its final two rounds.
It was a perfect day for the Austrian factory outfit, who swept all four races across MXGP and MX2 with four different riders, but it was the Dutch legend Herlings who grabbed the overall in MXGP with 2-1 scores after a thrilling second race battle with title leader Romain Febvre and Belgian hotshot Lucas Coenen.
Coenen had taken the win in race one after another blistering Fox Holeshot and a measured ride at the front, but Herlings wasn’t letting the youngster have it all his way. The second race saw ‘The Bullet’ pull the pin late in the moto, using a bold line through a technical double to snatch the lead from Febvre – a move that may go down as one of the best of the season.
Despite a late charge from Coenen, who very nearly grabbed second on the final lap, Febvre held on to salvage vital points in his championship push. Coenen took second overall, ahead of the Kawasaki man, but Febvre’s lead stretches back to 26 points heading into China next weekend.
Behind the leading trio, Tim Gajser and Ruben Fernandez were consistently solid with fourth and fifth in both motos, while Maxime Renaux and Calvin Vlaanderen brought their factory Yamahas home in sixth and seventh. Pauls Jonass, battling hard all day, went 8-8 for eighth overall, edging out Glenn Coldenhoff and Jan Pancar.
There was frustration for Isak Gifting, who claimed his first career MXGP Holeshot in race two, but couldn’t convert it into a top-10 finish, while Ducati’s Mattia Guadagnini and Fantic’s Andrea Bonacorsi showed flashes of speed but couldn’t break through to the sharp end.
In the chaotic and fiercely competitive MX2 class, it was Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder who emerged victorious after two hard-fought motos, reclaiming momentum in the title battle with Kay de Wolf.
Laengenfelder went 3-1 across the two races, sealing the deal with a gritty second moto performance that saw him hunt down early leader Guillem Farres and hold off a late charge from De Wolf to bag his sixth GP win of the season and ninth of his career. With it, he regains a 12-point lead in the championship standings.
Sacha Coenen looked like he was going to be the man to beat after a dominant win in race one – his third of the season – but an early mistake in race two allowed Farres to slip through, and the Belgian couldn’t claw it back. He still finished third overall with a Fox Holeshot in each moto – taking the season title in that category with two rounds to spare.
De Wolf, meanwhile, left everything on the track. Coming through from fifth in race two, he made slick passes on Coenen and Farres and very nearly caught Laengenfelder in the dying moments. A moto win might have tipped the overall his way, but second on the day keeps his title hopes well and truly alive.
Liam Everts and Mathis Valin battled hard all day, with the French rookie impressing in fourth overall. Farres took his joint-best finish of the year in fifth, while Camden McLellan and Thibault Benistant had their usual rollercoaster rides, each showing speed but lacking consistency.
Andrea Adamo had another off-day – 8-10 in the races left him 62 points adrift in the standings, and all but out of the title picture with just two GPs remaining.
With China up next followed by the all-new finale in Australia, both championships are finely poised. Febvre leads Herlings and Coenen in MXGP, while Laengenfelder and de Wolf look set to take MX2 all the way to the wire.
More like this…
Motocross Events September 2025
Find motocross events near you with our what's on guide for September.
