MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina - MX2 race report from Round One of the FIM Motocross World Championship
By Team TMX on 11th Mar 24
Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf leads the MX2 class of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship following the opening round of the series which was held at Villa la Angostura – the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina.
The racing in the MX2 class was breathtaking with intense battles to the very end of each race – including Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race which carries world championship points.
Reigning champ Andrea Adamo (Red Bull KTM) had held the early advantage in that one until he came under fire from Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates De Wolf and Lucas Coenen who had started seventh and powered through the pack to take the win – and early series lead – ahead of De Wolf, Adamo and Simon Laengenfelder.
It was a short-held advantage though and a collision on lap one of race one put Coenen on the deck from where he returned to the pits with an injured thumb. In his absence, Red Bull GASGAS’ new boy Marc-Antoine Rossi took over at the front of the pack and he held the lead for 11 of the 18 laps before Thibault Benistant (Monster Energy Yamaha) took over for a spell until Rossi’s teammate Laengenfelder took over with five laps to go.
While the German GASGAS rider was able to secure victory, a last-lap charge from De Wolf saw him pass Rossi and Benistant to secure the runner-up spot with Benistant claiming third.
Race Two saw Monster Energy Triumph’s Mikkel Haarup take the holeshot and he kept the lead for four laps as Laengenfelder caught up to him and nearly wiped out his back wheel!
The German’s mistake allowed Lucas Coenen, fighting through the pain barrier, into second place, and then the Belgian launched his Husqvarna past Haarup’s Triumph to take the lead!
Lucas’ all-action style cost him dearly though as he ran off the track and lost those two places again, just after Laengenfelder had finally got around Haarup. Amazingly, the Belgian was back into the lead on lap 11 with a brilliant outside-to-inside move around the long and choppy second corner! The German faded, and for the fifth straight GP could not convert his first race win into an overall GP victory, finishing fourth in the race for second overall.
De Wolf was once more on the charge, pulling a stunning move on Haarup who did not give up easily! This made it a Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing 1-2, but Lucas Coenen dropped the bike in the same corner that he lost the lead on earlier in the race, and again dropped to third just two corners from the chequered flag!
This gave Kay de Wolf the race win, his second career GP win, and the championship lead to take back to Europe! “It was a good weekend,” said the Dutchman. “I felt really good actually and I’m really happy with the bike. So, I enjoyed it. And yeah, it’s a good weekend for me as I built up the whole weekend, so it paid off in the end.
“It's cool to have the red plate, but it doesn't mean anything at the moment. We still have 19 GPs to go, so a long time before then, so I'm just going to have fun and keep enjoying every single weekend. The Husqvarna Factory Team did a great job this winter on the bike and I feel really at one with it. So, I'm going to enjoy every single race from now on.”
.jpg)