Final Round Of The 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship

MXGP of Great Britain, Matterley Basin, 23rd-24th September

This weekend we headed to Matterely Basin for round 19 (the last round) of the FIM World Motocross Championship. The best MX riders in the World were competing on the fast-flowing, hard pack track, which many have compared to the Promotocross tracks over in the US. Weather conditions were dry and windy, the latter proving a challenge for all riders, especially on Sunday. Over the weekend, we were treated to 4 race classes - EMX125, EMX250, MX2 and MXGP!

EMX125 Class

MJC Yamaha Official's Championship leader Janis Reisulis dominated Race 1 and with winning that race, the young Latvian clinched the EMX125 Championship with 1 race to spare. If this wasn't enough, he also took the win in Race 2 for a perfect GP! He was awarded the Gold Medal for winning the Championship on the podium after both races.

Janis Reisulis #413 before overtaking Mathis Valin #317

737 Performers GasGas's Mathis Valin would finish 2nd in the Championship after a 7th overall at Matterley basin, with Fantic Racing MX's German rider, Maximilian Werner, taking 3rd in the Championship. Werner had a strong British GP weekend with a 3rd overall. 2nd overall at Matterley and 11th for the Championship was Italian rider, Simone Mancini, on his Yamaha.

Simone Mancini #97 on his way to 2nd overall

EMX250 Class

Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team's Andrea Bonacorsi was competing in MX2 this weekend, as he had already won the Championship a round early, in Italy. He will move up to the MX2 class in 2024 so this was a perfect time to mix it with the rider's already in that class. Safe to say, he will be a rider to watch out for next season, taking 10th overall this weekend in his first MX2 race! Bonacorsi was also officially crowned EMX250 Champion at Matterley, receiving the Gold Medal on the podium. Husqvarna BT Racing Team's Kay Karssemakers would finish 2nd overall in the Championship, with Fantic Racing MX's Cas Valk in 3rd.

Andrea Bonacorsi #132 on his way to 10th overall in the MX2 Class

At the British GP, it was Team VRT KTM Factory Junior's Marc Antoine-Rossi who won the overall for his 2nd GP win of the season, in the EMX250 Class. In 2nd place was his teammate, Ferruccio Zanchi, with Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team's Karlis Reisulis in 3rd. Karlis is the older brother to EMX125 Champion Janis, the former taking his first podium of the season.

Marc-Antoine Rossi #282 negotiating a tight right-hand, off-camber turn for 1st overall

It was also good to see WMX Class Kawasaki rider, Lotte Van Drunen, competing against the boys in the EMX250 Class over the weekend too! Van Drunen came 3rd in the 2023 Women's Championship in what was her debut season.

Lotte Van Drunun #401 in EMX250 Class Free Practice

MX2 Class

With Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Andrea Adamo already clinching the Championship last weekend, it went down to the the wire for 2nd & 3rd in the MX2 Championship. There was no let up for the Italian Champion however, riding strong all weekend for 3rd overall and definitely proving he is a worthy Champion! Andrea was officially crowned MX2 Champion on the podium after both races and received the Gold Medal for winning the Championship.

Andrea Adamo #80 on the way to 3rd OA with the Gold number on his Championship Winning KTM 

It was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team's Jago Geerts who turned the screw this weekend, consolidating 2nd in the Championship by the winning the MX2 GP overall. Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing's German rider, Simon Längenfelder, went 2nd overall for the weekend for 3rd in the Championship. He took a dominant win in Race 1 and a 4th in Race 2.

Simon Längenfelder #516 on his way to a good 2nd overall for 3rd in the Championship

MX2 Class Top 10 For The Championship

1 - #80 - Andrea Adamo - KTM - 826 pts

2 - #93 - Jago Geerts - Yamaha - 759 pts

3 - #516 - Simon Lägenfelder - GasGas - 755 pts

4 - #72 - Liam Everts - KTM - 734 pts

5 - #96 - Lucas Coenen - Husqvarna - 577 pts

6 - #74 - Kay de Wolf - Husqvarna - 573 pts

7 - #24 - Kevin Horgmo - Kawasaki - 656 pts

8 - #39 - Roan Van Der Moosdijk - Husqvarna - 560 pts

9 - #198 - Thibault Benistant - Yamaha - 533 pts

10 - #44 - Rick Elzinga - Yamaha - 394 pts

MXGP Class

Like in the MX2 Class, the MXGP Champion; Jorge Prado, had already been crowned in Italy, at the penultimate round. The Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing rider's final race weekend wasn't great by his standards, however. After winning the qualifying race, he went 4th in Race 1 then 18th in Race 2. In Race 2, he fell from 2nd place at turn 2 on the first lap, putting him at the back of the field and he could not come up through the field as he would have liked. He was, however, officially crowned as Champion on the podium after both races, receiving his Championship Winning Gold Medal and Trophy.

Jorge Prado #1 on a rolling hill showing off his Gold Championship Winning number on the GasGas MC 450 F

This weekend, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team rider Glenn Coldenhoff got the holeshot in each race. He couldn't convert it to a win, nor an overall podium though, unfortunately. It was Team HRC Honda's Tim Gajser who went 1-1, for an incredibly strong GP win! It showed he is pretty much back to his best, after the horrific crash and injury that kept him out most of the season.

Tim Gajser #243 (middle) on a Sighting Lap before his Race wins

2nd overall for the weekend and clinching 3rd in the Championship, Yamaha's Jeremy Seewer beat his soon-to-be teammate, Romain Febvre. The Kawasaki Racing Team's French rider took 3rd overall for the weekend on his 450 machine, sporting decals marking the 50th anniversary of KX. The Frenchman also clinched 2nd in the Championship with yet another GP podium. It looks like the Kawasaki Racing Team will have a very strong showing next season with these two riders on board!

Romain Febvre #3 on his way to 3rd OA at Matterley & 2nd for the 2023 Championship

You can click here to watch a video of Romain Febvre's Start Practice at the 2023 MXGP of GB, Matterley Basin.

Home Hero

MRT Racing Team Beta's British rider, Ben Watson, went 13-11 for 13th overall before he heads to the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) with Team GB. He also finished the 2023 Championship in 13th position. Click here to see a video of him heading to the Race Start from the Paddock.

MXGP Class Top 10 For The Championship

1 - #61 - Jorge Prado - GasGas - 921 pts

2 - #3 - Romain Febvre - Kawasaki - 854 pts

3 - #91 - Jeremy Seewer - Yamaha - 759 pts

4 - #259 - Glenn Coldenhoff - Yamaha - 695 pts

5 - #70 - Ruben Fernandez - Honda - 654 pts

6 - #10 - Calvin Vlaanderen - Yamaha - 599 pts

7 - #303 - Alberto Forato - KTM - 490 pts

8 - #84 - Jeffrey Herlings - KTM - 456 pts

9 - #92 - Valentin Guillod - Honda - 363 pts

10 - #959 - Maxime Renaux - Yamaha - 314 pts

MXGP of Great Britain Video Footage

In addition to our short videos on Instagram & TikTok, you can also click here for extended video footage from the Paddock, Practice & Racing at Matterley Basin on the Saturday.