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MXGP 2025. Round 7. Portugal. MXGP Race 1
#RoadRacing #RoadRace #Motorbike #Motorcycle #Motorcross #Racing #Motorsport
#MXGP #MX-2 #MotorCrossWorldChampionship #MXGP2025 #MX2GP #MotoCrossGrandPrix
Transkrip
00:00So this is how they land at the number 96 of Lucas Kernan, third in the title race and of course with Geisa, Avsett has every opportunity here to try and close up and make himself a factor in the MXGP title race.
00:20There is Kevin Brunen, Kevin Brunen the Swiss rider on the MX handle Husqvarna running very strongly so far this weekend.
00:30He took a brilliant fourth in the qualifying race and there is Romain Febvre with the foam on top of the helmet and the extendable peak.
00:39You see the little piece of clear plastic on the edge of the helmet peak there just helping him to stay out of the roost as much as possible.
00:47Kevin Brunen who was quickest in the warm-up this morning, he was second in the qualifying race yesterday and the Bonster Energy Yamaha backtrider will have every opportunity to get a good result today.
01:00There is Geoffrey Hurlings nursing a suspected broken rib and elbow injury after that collision with Romain Febvre yesterday.
01:08A bit of an unfortunate one really, Febvre went straight to Hurlings after the race to apologise.
01:13Just a racing incident sadly, there is Jeremy Siwa who ran very well of course, got on the podium two weeks ago in Switzerland in front of his home fans and pretty much his hometown circuit.
01:23And how he would love to get Ducati back onto the podium once again in what looks said to be another tough mudder here at the first moto for MXGP.
01:35The start will be absolutely crucial as the fly racing 15 second board goes up again, much like the MX2 riders, the faster qualifiers opting to go for the inside line into this fast sweeping left-handed first corner.
01:50They can really get a good run up into that first corner.
01:52Here we go, we wait for the gate to drop and away they go.
01:55Conan with a brilliant jump on the inside and right alongside him is Ruben Fernandes, although it looks like Conan has got the jump on the field, Febvre in third place and round the outside into the slop on the outside there goes the 101 of Guabnini.
02:12But this is exactly where Lucas Conan needed to be, look out for Ruben Fernandes in second place.
02:20He's got a very important job to do here for the HRC Honda team to try and take points off those riders in front of him.
02:26He needs to get ahead, oh there's Koldenov, the factory Fantic rider, fourth in the championship standing so far and a rider who does tend to go well in the mud and the tough conditions but he is down on the first corner, he's got it all to do.
02:38But look at Lucas Conan at the front here, the young Belgian, the twin rider of Sacha Conan, fellow Red Bull, back to Ryder and look at them making their way through on this first lap, hunting their way through the corners looking for the smooth lines.
02:55What we said in MX2, they used to call this sport scrambling in the 1960s, it was the traditional British term for the sport and this is why you've called it scrambling.
03:04So it really is a fight against the conditions here but look at this brilliant ride here from Lucas Conan in the early stages, Romain Fevre.
03:14Could really take the red plate away from this Portuguese round with Tim Geisser absent.
03:21Ruben Fernandes trying to stay ahead here, Brian Burgers another rider on the injury comeback trail, Burgers looking very good on the Fantic.
03:28In these wet conditions, it really can be something of a lottery, just got to try to stay on the bike, stay, keep it smooth.
03:36And you do sometimes see some unexpected results.
03:40Looking through the rest of the field as they make their way through, Geoffrey Hurling's in the top ten, Bonacorsi, Carmen Vlandrin who looked so good this morning, he's going to be in tenth place.
03:48And there is Jeremy Siwa on the Ducati, and if he plays to the start of this motor, he's currently in seventh position, goes for the double jump.
03:58That would usually be an obstacle that the riders would face quite easily, but you can see how rutted and slippery the course is.
04:05Very difficult to get momentum out there, but there is the bullet, Geoffrey Hurling's, and Jeremy Siwa just ahead of him now gets ahead of Brooman.
04:12There's Hurling, he's currently in ninth, Carmen Vlandrin tenth, Bonacorsi, and it looks like Horkmo in there as well, the Norwegian number 24.
04:22So Kevin Horko on the Motor Blues Honda, as they fight for traction at the end of the first lap.
04:29The torrential rain washed out this agonist circuit this morning. Return with a vengeance this afternoon, led to a delay to the start of the MX2 race,
04:39whilst the organisers scraped as much of the slop and the wet tops all away from the circuit, so at least had a track that was rideable.
04:46But the conditions are very tough indeed, there is the number 41, Pauls Jonas on the factory Kawasaki, looking good so far.
05:02And Jonas currently in fifth place, 9.2 seconds of drift at the start of the moto.
05:06So it's Conan leading, February 2nd, Bogus third, Fernandes, Jonas, Guadini, Siwa, Hurlings, Flandrin, and Kevin Brooman running up the top ten.
05:16Jonas, last year's winner at Portugal, and the 2017 MX2 World Champion.
05:24He's had his injury worries, but certainly looking good at the front at this opening stage of the moto.
05:32But Lukas Koenern, third in the series, 237 points, he got past Kolganov into third in the title race.
05:41And a rider who wasn't just the way he, wasn't just the fact that he took the victories, the way he did it as well.
05:49Last week, last time out in Switzerland, Koenern getting to the front and controlling the race.
05:55Don't forget, of course, that when Geiser went down, he was looking to try and find a way to put Koenern under pressure, and ended up going down in the process.
06:03So Lukas Koenern able to deal with pressure from the best in the field.
06:06And when he spoke after the race, he was, um, he was quite, uh, quite strong in his words in some ways.
06:14He was saying, well, this is for the people who were saying I was too young to go to MXGP.
06:18I was just going to make mistakes, and it was too much for me.
06:21Well, I'm sure that I can do it here, and he's building on that form right now.
06:24He's increased the gap to 3.9 seconds from Canberra.
06:28There's Hurlings nursing that rib injury from the qualifying race.
06:34You do have to feel for Geoffrey Hurlings, really, as a rider who's the, um, most wins in MXGP history.
06:41107 Grand Prix victories. He absolutely blitzed the MX2 category earlier in his career, but also had a lot of injuries quite often due to his all-or-nothing approach.
06:51Later in his career, Geoffrey Hurlings, he openly said he's looking just to grab points and stay out of trouble,
06:57but sometimes the trouble seems to find him, much like he did yesterday.
07:02He's still running well in eighth place.
07:04As we look down there at Calver Vlaundren.
07:09Vlaundren going bar to bar with Jeremy Seaward down the inside, and recovering well there.
07:13So, Vlaundren moving up into the top ten, and putting Hurlings under some pressure.
07:19There he is, the number ten Carver Vlaundren.
07:23South African-born rider, but rides under the Dutch license.
07:28Incredible to think now. He's been on the Grand Prix scene for well over 11 years.
07:32He was a member of the former HSF KTM team back in his earlier MX2 career, and really has established itself quite neatly on the factory Yamaha team nowadays, but not the start of the season that he would have necessarily wanted.
07:46He's had some inconsistent results, some DNFs in there, and currently only tenth in the title race.
07:52So, if you're looking to try and get up towards the front of the field as his first moto goes on, but look at this, though.
07:58Brilliant ride from Kernan, but Vlaundren hanging on in there in second place.
08:01Roman Fevre, who has proved equal on 22 Grand Prix wins in his motocross career.
08:10He's up there now with Sten London, Roth Tivlin, and notably for the British fans, an equal number of Grand Prix victories as Dave Thorpe.
08:18The three times 500cc world champion, but Fevre will be looking to add to that Grand Prix tally is here.
08:29He'll need to stay there with Kernan in this stage, though, as he had 23 minutes to go in this moto, the track drying out.
08:36But it's getting gnarly, it's getting some big ruts there on some of the corners, and you'll see the riders constantly trying to change their lines as the moto goes on.
08:43We saw on some of the start line picks at the beginning of the moto, some of the tactics the riders use in the mud conditions.
08:51It's all about keeping that mud away from the bike as much as possible.
08:54So you'll see the riders, they have foam on top of the helmets, they have extendable peaks to, they just tack that onto the regular helmet peak to try and keep the roost out of the goggles.
09:03We saw Simon Lengenfeld in MX2 have to ditch the goggles, and the riders can ill afford to do that really because they'll get filled in.
09:12There is the potential of injuries as well. I remember Calvin Vlandrin a few years ago at the Motocross of Nations at Assen in Holland, got filled in, picked up an eye injury and had to sit out the rest of the day.
09:22So it just goes to show, they really do need to try and keep those goggles on as much as possible.
09:31So Koen is still leading, but Fevre keeping that pressure on in second place.
09:34Fevre knows of course this is his real opportunity to try and take the red plate away from Tim Geiser.
09:39Geiser, who was hoping to ride after that shoulder injury, picked up a fortnight ago in Switzerland, but opting to sit this one out.
09:50No word yet as to when he'll be back. We certainly hope he'll be back for Spain in a week's time as he looks to try and pick up the MXGP title fight.
10:01Koen at the moment looking absolutely brilliant in these early stages, coping with the gnarly, tough conditions quite well.
10:06Look at him up on the pegs, nice and smooth. Breathe is the word as he goes through, keep it cool.
10:13And the factory Kawasaki team quite happy with Romo Fevre's progress at this stage.
10:17He's currently second in the race, 2.1 seconds down on the race leader, looking quite good.
10:22Staying in the trouble, that's what it's all about, in the mud.
10:26And Brian Brogers in third, is only a couple of seconds behind Fevre at this stage.
10:30So Brogers, the number 189.
10:34You'll remember of course, two weeks ago in Switzerland, that Fantic narrowly missed out on the podium.
10:43With a late pass by Jeremy Siebert getting enough points to get himself onto the podium.
10:48At the expense of Fantic, so Brian Brogers, Guadagnini narrowly missing out on the podium last weekend.
10:56There he is battling with Calvin Vlandrin.
10:58So Brian Brogers at this stage, currently sitting in third place, still a long way to go here.
11:03And as we know in the mud, anything can happen.
11:06Brogers looking quite good and just keeping that pressure on Romo Fevre.
11:15The factory Fantic rider.
11:17He's only won one Grand Prix, he took the victory at Lommel no less in MXGP.
11:25Brogers handily placed in third position room.
11:29Fernandes in fourth, the HRC Honda.
11:31Moors Jonas up to fifth position now.
11:34Guadagnini Vlandrin, the riders we're looking at at the moment.
11:38There's Guadagnini on the Ducati.
11:41Another rider who's been impacted by injury in 2025.
11:46Has lost some points, lost some rounds in the championship.
11:50And he's looking good so far, currently staying ahead of Calvin Vlandrin.
11:53Geoffrey Hurling's a little bit further behind in eighth position.
11:58Monocorsi and Horkmoe rounding out the top ten.
12:04As Flandrin keeping the pressure on the Italian as they go up the hill.
12:13And at the moment Flandrin can't find a way through.
12:15That's the 101 at this stage.
12:17He's just looking for those lines, he makes his way through the runs.
12:19You can see the track getting more and more treacherous.
12:21It's drying out, there was the heavy torrential rain.
12:24Earlier on, they've really washed the circuit out.
12:28It has dried out a bit now, but that will present its own challenges here.
12:31The track will get more slippery as they make their way down to the drier,
12:36but slippery hard pack underneath.
12:40The racing lines will get more rotted.
12:43It'll get more and more difficult for the riders to use those drier racing lines,
12:47so they might need to switch their lines as the motor goes on.
12:50But certainly looking at some of the riders on the comeback trail in terms of the title race.
12:57Paul Jonas, who's been absent since Saint-Jean-d'Angelaide,
13:01but fighting back very nicely here in the winter last year.
13:05And he's currently fifth.
13:07Meanwhile, Romain Fevre looking to try and keep the pressure on the lung of Leon Lucas Curran.
13:12And there's his teammate Jeffrey Hurlings, who you would normally have expected to have been the Red Bull Factory KTM team leader for 2025.
13:21But fighting back from that knee injury, the ACL forced him out of the opening round of the championship.
13:27And Hurlings currently further down in the title race.
13:30He's down in 18th position. He knows the title has gone, but it's all about trying to fight his way back to the front.
13:35And still just on the edge of the top ten, nursing that rib injury.
13:41I've raced with a broken rib before, and I can tell you that that is very uncomfortable indeed.
13:46So Hurlings doing very well there to hold on.
13:48As Kevin Haugmo and another rider who's been nursing injuries.
13:53Maxime Renault sweeping through there and getting up another position.
13:59So Renault breaks into the top ten.
14:02As rider down, I think it might be one of the KTMs.
14:08Oh, that's John Adamson. No, it's a Honda.
14:11So that's the Scotsman there, John Adamson on the Lexer MX Honda machine.
14:16He was on the edge of the points just behind Adam Sterry.
14:20Ben Watson currently in 18th for the Brits, incidentally.
14:23And Josh Gilbert's bad start to the race for him.
14:26He's just outside of the points at this stage, just behind his teammate Adamson.
14:29As we watch Jeffrey Hurlings making his way towards the centre of the circuit.
14:34He's got the 91 of Jeremy Sea.
14:36We're right behind him. Oh, see if we have to look down the inside.
14:39Hurlings doing very well with that rib injury.
14:45A small mistake on the downhill jump in the qualifying race was rammed by Romain Febvre.
14:51It was blindsided over the jump. It was a little bit too late.
14:54The yellow flags were out, but a bit too late for Febvre to take avoiding action.
14:58It was so close behind Hurlings.
15:03He's doing well then just to stay ahead of the challenger.
15:06Oh, look at this. Speaking of challenges here.
15:08Febvre going for the lead. Oh, tries to block pass on the inside of Koerner.
15:12But look at that. Koerner saw it coming.
15:16Backed out of it. And managed to get the trial on the inside and back into the lead.
15:20So Lucas Koerner certainly showing here that he's made of some strong stuff.
15:24And looking very impressive as he looks to hold on to the lead.
15:28From what he could say here at the moment is the virtual championship leader in Romain Febvre.
15:33He's still second of the championship, of course.
15:35But in essence with Geiser absence, Febvre, if things stay as they are in this moto,
15:42he would take the lead in the MXGP title race coming into this round.
15:46Geiser on 305 points. Febvre on 286.
15:53And it'd be 22 points for a second place moto finish.
15:57I'm sure that Febvre will be determined to try and get back through into the lead.
16:05Leading the race so far is Lucas Koerner, the number 96.
16:11The Belgian born rider who, a lot of his early influences were very much from the Americans.
16:18The likes of James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael.
16:23And was a rider who was very keen on making the move to America.
16:26But seems to have gone a bit quiet. He's focusing on his MXGP career one would say.
16:30And some brilliant riding there to hold on to the lead.
16:33We saw Febvre steaming down the inside, trying to go into the lead.
16:36But Koerner, very intelligent riding there from the un-Belgian.
16:40Still only 18 years of age.
16:44And went into the history books two weeks ago.
16:48The youngest ever MXGP winner.
16:50Seems to be gelling to the 450 KTM quite nicely at this stage.
16:56He had some difficult rounds at the start of the season.
17:02Towards the edge of the top ten.
17:04As we look at the start once again.
17:06As we see Koerner, this is how he got to the lead early on.
17:08He got a jump on the inside.
17:10Cold enough hitting trouble on the start straight.
17:12But it was Koerner that got the hole shot.
17:14With Febvre right on his tail.
17:18I saw Ruben Fernandes trying to fight through and get through to the front as well.
17:22Determined to try and stay ahead of Febvre.
17:24To try and snatch some points back for the Honda team.
17:26But Lucas Koerner it was that grabbed the Fox Racing hole shot.
17:30And he has stayed there as the track starts to dry out.
17:32It's changing lap by lap here.
17:36But he's doing very well to hunt out the smooth lines.
17:38Keep it nice and calm at the front.
17:41Maintain that gap from Febvre.
17:44And Roman Febvre.
17:46Still charging, keeping the pressure on the Belgian.
17:49Going on to the podium in the third round of the championship.
17:53But Sam-Jean-d'Ange will lead.
17:55But not really a factor in terms of race victories.
17:59Until the previous round.
18:01Switzerland, there's Febvre.
18:07My apologies, that's Pauls Jonas.
18:09The other factory Kawasaki rider.
18:13The former MX2 champion just hitting a bit of trouble.
18:15So happens even to the best of them.
18:17Which means Fernandes is comfortable in fourth place right now.
18:20Brian Bogus still in third position on the Fantec.
18:24Which is a great result for the Italian manufacturer Brian Bogus.
18:27Another rider who is very much on the injury comeback here, you would say.
18:36He's been absent for quite a few rounds.
18:39And no score in Switzerland.
18:43But this is by far his best result.
18:45Erling's hitting some trouble there over the jump.
18:52So what a brilliant rider.
18:53Brian Bogus is in third place right now.
18:55Can he get Fantec onto the podium?
18:57They narrowly missed out at Switzerland to Jeremy Siwa.
19:00They got the Ducati on the podium last time out.
19:02He's 14 seconds adrift off his battle for the lead though.
19:07As Lucas Conan holds onto the lead.
19:09Makes his way over the liquid Molly jump.
19:14And maintains that gap for 1.6 seconds at the front.
19:17Conan who was second in MX2 last year.
19:21And it was a rather unprecedented move, you would say, for him to go into MXGP.
19:26But he's certainly answering the critics here by taking that victory last time out of Switzerland.
19:36It means he now sits on 11 Grand Prix victories in his career already.
19:40He's only 18 years of age, of course.
19:42Puts in level with none other than Josh Coppins and the Formula 125 world champion Jamie Dobb.
19:50Also sitting on 11 victories.
19:52So Conan's certainly in some established company despite his young age.
19:58Can he make it 12 for his career?
20:00Well, there's still a long way to go here, but he's certainly looking very good at the start of this moto.
20:04This is much like he was two weeks ago in Switzerland where he was controlling the race at the front.
20:09He had pressure from behind.
20:13But didn't seem phased by it.
20:14Federer's gone away very well.
20:15There's Jonas who's recovered into 5th position.
20:18He's trying to put the pressure on Ruben Fernandes, but he's quite adrift at the 4th position.
20:24Carbon Valandrin just a little bit further behind.
20:26And there he is.
20:30So Valandrin on the Monster Energy Factory Yamaha running.
20:33Strongly in sixth though far.
20:35Second in the qualifying race yesterday.
20:37Fastest in the morning warm-up.
20:39Still running well in the top ten.
20:43Juanini still seventh.
20:44Bonacorsi.
20:45Maxime Renault currently in ninth place.
20:47You may remember that Renault had a big crash in Switzerland two weeks ago.
20:50And we were told he was not going to be riding this weekend in Portugal.
20:55But the narrative changed a few days ago.
20:58He decided he went out training.
21:00Felt good.
21:01He had another medical evaluation in quite some detail to make sure he was fit to ride.
21:05And they decided that Maxime Renault could indeed take to the track.
21:09Which he has done.
21:11And he's running well in the top ten.
21:13As we look at Carbon Valandrin making the move down the inside of Matteo Guarnini.
21:19Running strong as the race goes on.
21:21The rain has subsided.
21:22But the track is still muddy and gnarly as ever.
21:25These big 450s carving out the runs here.
21:28Look at that inside line.
21:29It's almost impossible on the inside.
21:31The riders now switching to the outside lines.
21:33And the take-off ramps to the jumps there.
21:37Quite twisty and gnarly there.
21:39The bike will just go when it wants to in effect.
21:41So the riders have got to be careful through those ruts.
21:43Fever settling into the second place so far.
21:47Bogers a distant third.
21:51They're already starting to lap some of the tail-enders.
21:53Carbon Valandrin making his way through.
21:56He's currently there in sixth place.
21:57There's Jonas in fifth position.
21:59Just looking at the lap chart.
22:02Some of the leaders beginning to close up off the tail-enders.
22:05As Brian Bogers still comfortable in third position.
22:09Makes his way down the bank.
22:13And heading up towards the Monster Energy.
22:15Finish line jump.
22:16Bogers still third.
22:19Louis Fosters.
22:20First off, let's talk about Brian Bogers.
22:22He seems to be making light work of these conditions.
22:25And actually appears to look quite comfortable out there.
22:27Yes.
22:28Like I said before, Brian had, let's say, a tough period.
22:31He was struggling with his health quite a lot.
22:33But he's feeling better and better.
22:35And actually these kind of conditions, yeah, he likes a lot.
22:39We saw Glenn Koldenhoff go down at the start.
22:41He's working his way up.
22:42He's currently 10th.
22:43So far, so good for him.
22:45Yeah, Glenn, he stole the bike in the start.
22:48And now, yeah, he's coming back.
22:50He's 10th at the moment.
22:51So let's see what comes out.
22:53Okay, thank you.
22:55And with cruel timing there as you went to the pits to look at the fancy team, Brian Bogers has gone down hard.
23:05And he is holding his wrist.
23:08So from the satisfaction of seeing him running well, let's have a look at what happened to Bogers.
23:18Oh, no, he got cross rotted up the hill.
23:20And didn't even hit the ground.
23:21It was just the bike snatched out of his hands there.
23:23And he immediately walks away from the track holding his wrist.
23:28He knows he's done something.
23:30What a shame for Brian Bogers.
23:32He's a rider who's had such a difficult season with his health issues and injuries so far.
23:37And he was looking so good in third place, but got cross rotted coming out to the right-hander up the hill.
23:42And there he is staggering away from the track, still holding his wrist.
23:45He's going to go straight to the medical area for further attention.
23:49It just seemed the bike got traction out of the corner, spat him off the back.
23:54He's trying to hang on.
23:55And I wonder if he's even just pulled muscles in the forearm or the wrist,
23:59which is where the riders really need that control over the bike.
24:03Poor Brian Bogers, the rider from Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
24:09There, you can see, immediately made no attempt to get back on the bike,
24:12walking off the circuit, holding his wrist.
24:16What a real shame for him.
24:17He was in third place, of course, but that doesn't look good.
24:21As he walks off the track, they'll retrieve that fancy off the circuit,
24:25which means now that Bonacorsi,
24:29now only missing out on the podium last time out,
24:32is up to sixth place now.
24:33Ruben Fernandes into third position, so with...
24:36The Bogers hitting trouble and evidently out of the race,
24:41that means everyone else gets shuffled up an extra position.
24:45So Fernandes third, Jonas fourth, Blandrin up to fifth place now.
24:48Bonacorsi, the other Fantic in the race, is in sixth position.
24:51That's the rider who narrowly missed out on the podium two weeks ago in Switzerland,
24:56so he is up to sixth place at least.
24:57Blandini seventh.
24:58Maxim Renaud, the rider who wasn't supposed to be here this weekend,
25:01he's certainly vindicating himself by being fit to ride.
25:05He's up to eighth position from Blaine Koldenov,
25:07who's fought back well after that bad start.
25:09He's in ninth place.
25:10Kevin Horbo, another good ride from the Norwegian in tenth place.
25:13Jeremy Seaward just behind Jan Pankar,
25:16the lead Slovenian in the race.
25:18He's coming to the eleventh position.
25:20Did I just see, I saw a, I'm trying to work out,
25:25that's Bonacorsi, that must be Bonacorsi.
25:27The number just looked like the 1-8-9 there for Bogers,
25:30but surely not.
25:33We'll see, but Tiago Girtz just behind Geoffrey Hurlings,
25:35Kevin Brooman, 15th, Ben Watson for the Brits in 16th
25:39on the factory beta machine.
25:40Brent Vandonick, Adam Sterry and the Cornishman,
25:43Josh Gilbert rounding out the top 20 at this stage.
25:50Brian Bogers seemingly out of the race.
25:55And Tom Koch, the German rider,
25:58also a retirement as well.
26:00So as MXGP, Moto number one, draws to a close.
26:04Five minutes, plus the two laps remaining.
26:08Can Lukas Girtz hold on to take his third consecutive Grand Prix victory?
26:15Factoring into that, of course, as well,
26:16he won the qualifying race yesterday,
26:18so he has been unbeaten so far
26:21in the last two Grand Prix's.
26:24This is where it really matters, though,
26:25the Grand Prix, the race itself,
26:26and he leads February by 1.7 seconds.
26:29February not really pushing the envelope too much at this stage.
26:32I think he knows that second place will be very important for him
26:35in the title race.
26:36It will put him at the front of the MXGP title points total as well.
26:43So...
26:45Second place, not too bad for at the moment.
26:47He can ill afford to make a mistake here.
26:48He needs that second position.
26:51But nonetheless, he's still keeping that pressure on Koenern.
26:53Oh, we see him getting cross-rutted over the jump there.
26:55That's where his brother got it all wrong in MX2 earlier on.
27:01Remember, at the moment, two seconds of trip.
27:03So, if Koenern makes any kind of a mistake,
27:06he would be right in there.
27:07So he's just settling into that rhythm in second position.
27:12He knows that second place will give him the red plate.
27:15If nothing else happens at the end of this,
27:17he will lead the championship at the end of his first moto.
27:20But nonetheless,
27:21Lucas Koenern knows there's work to do here,
27:23and he knows that he's standing on the cusp
27:25of his third consecutive moto victory.
27:28And it's about, of course, the qualifying race yesterday.
27:30Oh, just taking his time there, Fevre.
27:32As he goes around the outside of Brent Vandonik,
27:34you just saw nice and easy avoiding tangling handlebars there
27:37with the 18th place Vandonik.
27:42Fevre nice and smooth as he makes his way through the waves.
27:47And of course, a former world champion.
27:49Another rider who had injury troubles in the years following that.
27:52So, this is, you would say, the...
27:55one of the first years where he's...
27:58Fevre's really looked like a real title contender.
28:05A few years ago, 2022 was a virtual washout for him, really.
28:09He came back strongly towards the end of the season,
28:11and last year's...
28:15another year that was really affected by injury.
28:17Missed five rounds of the 2024 season,
28:20only ending up fifth in the title race.
28:22Coming back to his best here,
28:24and they're really looking like a...
28:26one of the pre-season favourites.
28:28Struggled to live with Tim Geiser in the opening rounds of the championship,
28:31but the series dramatically turned on its head
28:33with that big crash for Geiser in the previous round in Switzerland.
28:35So, this could be Rome our famous moment to really steal a...
28:37a charge in the MXGP title race,
28:39but Lucas Conan, I'm sure,
28:41will be looking to make some title aspirations on its own.
28:42As we look at Hurling's going on the smooth inside line,
28:43a bit drier on the inside for him there,
28:44and he gets past Jeremy Siwa up into 12th position here,
28:45the bullet number 84.
28:47Most Grand Prix wins in history, of course,
28:52for Geoffrey Hurling's 107 in the history books.
28:54Can he make it 108 this year?
28:55He's got some work to do, you would say,
28:56because he's really been on the injury line
28:57and he's going to make some title aspirations on his own.
28:59And he's going to make some title aspirations on his own.
29:01As we look at Hurling's going on the smooth inside line,
29:02a bit drier on the inside for him there,
29:03and he gets past Jeremy Siwa up into 12th position here,
29:05and he's going to make some points.
29:06Most Grand Prix wins in history, of course,
29:08for Geoffrey Hurling's 107 in the history books.
29:11Can he make it 108 this year?
29:13He's got some work to do, you would say,
29:14because he's really been on the injury fight back all season.
29:20Nursing, of course, that elbow injury and the damage rib
29:23after that qualifying moto crash yesterday with Febvre.
29:26He's doing well getting out there, getting those points.
29:30Let's see if Hurling's race has gone for him so far.
29:33You remember, earlier on, he got cross-rutted coming through the...
29:36This is what happened yesterday, of course.
29:40Got cross-rutted out of the corner.
29:42And Febvre...
29:44They were waved yellows, of course,
29:46but just unfortunate for Febvre.
29:48Hurling's was on the racing line.
29:50It was slippery. He couldn't avoid him.
29:52Notably, Hurling's said yesterday
29:54that Febvre went straight to him after the moto
29:57to apologise for that.
29:58Just bad luck, really.
29:59He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
30:01There's Brent Van Donick who's gone down.
30:02So, Van Donick who was in 18th position, the number 32.
30:07Gets back on the way on the GM Honda Racing.
30:11Jackie Martin's incident, the...
30:13One of the riders who was here at the first ever Grand Prix
30:16at Agata in 1985, the 125cc Grand Prix.
30:20One of the early years of Jackie Martin's career.
30:23Hard to think of him, really, is a 125cc rider when you think
30:27the big Belgian made his name in the 500cc ranks,
30:30but he was one of the frontrunners here at the first ever
30:34Portuguese Grand Prix Agata in 1985.
30:37Dave Stribos took the victory that weekend.
30:39Looks like he's going to be the Belgian.
30:42Lucas Kurnan, at the moment at least, looking to take picture here in 2025.
30:49In this first moto of the day, still stays 2.1 seconds ahead of Febvre in 2nd place.
30:57Incredibly the pace of the front two here.
30:59They are 42 seconds ahead of Ruben Fernandes in 3rd place,
31:03and Febvre still keeping that pressure on Kurnan.
31:08And we were saying, of course, that 2nd place will give him the red plate,
31:11so he's certainly not willing to throw things away here,
31:13but as we head towards the final two laps of the race,
31:16he is still keeping that pressure on the young Belgian.
31:19Lucas Kurnan with some work to do here,
31:21but he's certainly shown in the most recent Grand Prix
31:25that he can cope with the pressure from the big hitters.
31:28It wasn't just that he won at Switzerland,
31:32it was the manner that he did it.
31:33He had a lot of pressure,
31:35but he certainly weathered it very well.
31:37Last year's MX2 runner-up,
31:38there are some wave yellows on the Monster Energy finish line jumps,
31:41so the riders will have to slow down a bit here.
31:45Just look and see who that is as they make their way through.
31:51And they're getting through just before the clock goes down to zero,
31:54so that's one of the Lexer MX machines there,
31:56so that's either Josh Gilbert or John Adamson.
32:00That's either Josh Gilbert or John Adamson.
32:05I couldn't quite tell who it was,
32:07but it was one of the Lexer MX machines,
32:08so one of the Brits has gone down.
32:10Josh Gilbert was in 19th place.
32:12I'll keep an eye on the lap charts to see who that is.
32:14The bike's obscured with the mud,
32:15so impossible to tell at this stage.
32:17This is where we're so grateful to the modern age
32:23with the electronic live timing.
32:27Back in the days when it was all done manually by lap scorers,
32:30it would be very difficult in conditions like this.
32:34Used to have the yellow bibs to help to identify the riders,
32:37but when the riders get washed out of this,
32:39very difficult to pick up with the numbers.
32:41The front here.
32:45These two are absolutely riding superbly in these tough conditions.
32:49It's that tricky point of the race here.
32:51It's halfway between drying out and the full mud race.
32:55When it dries out that the mud gets sticky,
32:58those ruts get very gnarly.
32:59We saw early with Brian Bogers what happens sometimes
33:02when the bikes get cross-rutted,
33:03they just split the rider off.
33:07Getting very gnarly in these closing stages,
33:09but Cernan and Febvre really going toe-to-toe now
33:12in the closing stages here.
33:14Notably Cernan going through just before the clock went to zero,
33:17so we effectively are going for an extra lap here.
33:20Roman Febvre, fastest lap of the race earlier on,
33:23222.706, but he's really putting the pressure on Lucas Cernan
33:26at the front as we watch Ruben Fernandes in third.
33:2846 seconds of drift, but grabbing some points for the Honda team.
33:35Once again, he switches to the point of the HRC factory team leader
33:40in the absence of Tim Geiser.
33:42He's done that before when Geiser's been absent,
33:44but here we go back to the front.
33:46And Roman Febvre keeping that pressure on Lucas Cernan
33:49with two laps to go.
33:53So Febvre could afford to settle a second here,
33:55but he's certainly going to go and try and grab the victory.
33:57Let's have a look further back and come.
34:00Blandrin, oh, was taking a tumble just in front of him there.
34:04That was Josh Gilbert that went down.
34:06Gilbert narrowly missing, being collected by Blandrin.
34:12So I think the fallen rider that was off the side of the track was John Adamson.
34:19I don't believe he's got back underway just yet.
34:21He was stuck on the side of the circuit, trying to get that machine back off the track.
34:24And Josh Gilbert's also went down.
34:27Very lucky there to avoid being collected.
34:30That's...
34:32I see who that rider is that's gone down.
34:36Josh Gilbert back.
34:37It's one of the Ducati's there.
34:38That's his seat where they went down.
34:39So he was in 13th position.
34:42I wonder if Jago Geertz may have gone through.
34:47Jago Geertz, the Belgian who recently celebrated his 25th birthday.
34:51Another rider who had a stellar MX2 career,
34:54but has been hit with injuries since moving up to MXGP.
34:57There's Koerlund still leading the way and increasing the gap now with 2 laps to go to 3.8 seconds.
35:02Jago Geertz, who was four times runner-up in MX2,
35:10very narrowly missing out on the 2023 title to Andrea Adamo,
35:15and pretty much missed the entire 2024 season with injury.
35:20He's struggled to get up to the pace in 2025,
35:24but he's still plugging away, getting those results.
35:27At the moment for Belgium, the mantle has been taken up here by Lukas Koerlund.
35:34Belgium.
35:36That's a world champion since Sven Brugelund in MX3 back in 2008.
35:42The most recent MXGP champion being Steve Ramon in 2007.
35:49Lukas Koerlund would dearly love to add his name to that illustrious list of Belgian world champions.
35:56Going back through the years, I mentioned Jackie Martins earlier in the race.
35:59The likes of Georges Robe, Eric Gabors, Andre Miller,
36:04amongst many others.
36:05He can go right the way back into motocross history,
36:07all the way back to the likes of Jean-Robert.
36:10Philippe Gabors amongst many others, Roger De Costa,
36:13and the list goes on and on for the Belgians as Calvert-Blandre goes down.
36:16And he was in 10th position, so this might get Hurlings back into the top 10.
36:21So many top riders hitting trouble in this race,
36:24but pretty much the youngest one of all here, Lukas Koerlund,
36:27making it all look so easy.
36:30Two laps to go, including the one that he's about to start now.
36:33He's on to the final lap.
36:36We really don't want to speak too soon with these sorts of things,
36:39but so far at least, Lukas Koerlund has been absolutely faultless in this race.
36:44The youngest rider out there.
36:46And coping with the conditions so easily here with consistent pressure from Romain Fevre.
36:52Kernan grabbed the lead, grabbed the foxhole shot, of course,
36:55and controlling the race from the front.
36:57Fevre has been constantly pressurizing him for the entire moto.
37:01You see them hitting that rotted inside line.
37:05That's the one that claimed Brian Bogues early in the moto.
37:10As they make their way around the final half-lap.
37:12Unfortunately, I think that's incident for John Adamson going up to the side of the circuit.
37:15Looks like he is out of the race.
37:17Adam Sterry still in the points.
37:19He was, but I think Ben Donick has gone through to 20th place now.
37:23And Josh Gilbert, despite that fall a couple of laps ago,
37:26is still in 19th position.
37:28Ben Watson in 14th on the factory meter.
37:33Lukas Koerlund leading the way.
37:36And, of course, with Tim Geiser-Hapsund.
37:39He'll be saying here, I could be a potential championship contender here.
37:43He's been absolutely faultless so far.
37:45He just needs to bring it home on the final half-lap.
37:47You see so many riders hitting trouble in this moto.
37:49The track drying out that makes it more and more gnarly and rotted.
37:53Plenty of incidents for the riders to go down.
37:55There's the incident of McLean-Vlandrin.
37:58Look how sticky that mud is.
37:59Look how it sticks into everything on the bike.
38:01It just adds to the weight.
38:05And Geoffrey Hurling says,
38:07Vlandrin again, you just see, even to the world's best.
38:09He gets very tough when he gets down in the mud.
38:11And Hurling says, thank you very much.
38:13He goes up into 11th place.
38:15But Lukas Koerlund looking to take his third consecutive MXGP Moto victory.
38:23Around the final few corners.
38:25It's been another brilliant ride for him here.
38:27And he could yet be a title contender in MXGP this year.
38:31With the title race blown wide open.
38:33Geiser absent.
38:35Lukas Koerlund will claw back some very important points here as he comes around the final few corners.
38:39Just needs to stay ahead of Romain Fevre.
38:43Makes his way past the spectators for the final time.
38:47On the uphill sweep heading towards victory.
38:49Fevre is still keeping the pressure on though.
38:51Koerlund can't afford any mistakes on the final few corners.
38:53Quick glance behind as he makes his way down towards the Monster Energy finish line jump.
38:57And it's another brilliant ride for Lukas Koerlund who makes his way over the line to take the chequered flag.
39:04And the Red Bull KTM factory team will be very happy with that indeed.
39:10Romain Fevre over the line in second position.
39:14And he will take the lead in the MXGP title race after this first moto.
39:19Romain Fernandes flying the flag for HRC factory Honda.
39:23He will cross the line in third position.
39:24There he is the number 70.
39:26Such was the pace at the top two that Fernandes is a distant third place.
39:31It was over 40 seconds back when the last that flag went out.
39:35But what a brilliant ride for Lukas Koerlund.
39:38Fevre second and it's going to be Fernandes almost certainly taking third.
39:42Pauls Jonas on his comeback will finish in fourth place the Latvian the former MXGP champion.
39:48Finishing in fourth place.
39:51And at the moment Maxime Ramon the rider who we didn't think was going to be racing here in Portugal.
39:58He will take fifth position.
40:00So there's Fernandes over the line.
40:02Good ride for him.
40:03Look at the time in Charleston and look at the gap almost a minute adrift of Lukas Koerlund the race winner.
40:09And that looks like it's going to be Pauls Jonas in fourth position.
40:16Maxime Ramon making his way around the final few corners just ahead of Andrea Bonacorsi.
40:23There's Ramon in fifth.
40:25Bonacorsi.
40:26And Kevin Hogmo another great ride for the Norwegian rider.
40:30He moves up to 16th place on the Motor Blues Honda.
40:34Seventh place for Hogmo.
40:36Koldenov recovering from that fall on the first corner.
40:39He comes up to eighth position.
40:41Mati Guarnini and Jan Pankar will round out the top ten just ahead of Jeffrey Hurlings.
40:47And the bullet makes his way over the line.
40:52He got past Pankar on the final lap.
40:54So Jeffrey Hurlings into tenth position and Jan Pankar the Slovenian in eleventh position.
41:01But what a brilliant ride for Lukas Koerlund.
41:04Took the qualifying moto yesterday and he takes the victory.
41:08Lukas Koerlund congratulations.
41:09That's three race wins in a row for you.
41:11You dealt well with the threat of Fredra behind you.
41:13You looked in control.
41:15But how were you feeling?
41:16Honestly it wasn't control.
41:18I was going everywhere over the place.
41:21Because with the rain it's so sketchy the track.
41:23And I tried my best.
41:24Because you know,
41:25I have a lot of experience also in mud condition.
41:27And he's really fast.
41:28So, yeah.
41:29I hear him from left to right.
41:30But I was wondering where last time he passed me.
41:33And I immediately took back and...
41:35No.
41:36It was positive.
41:37Good start.
41:38And just controlled the race.
41:39Tried to be smart.
41:40Because the track is brutal.
41:41So, yeah.
41:42Coming up to our best.
41:43And we see.
41:44How were the conditions when the track started to dry out in the end?
41:46Yeah, it was good.
41:47But there were coming edges, you know.
41:49So, with the 450 it's really difficult to handle.
41:52But I mean, handled good.
41:54Learned every step of the way.
41:56So, I love it.
41:57Good luck for the second race.
42:04So, another fantastic victory for Lukas Koerlund.
42:08That is his fourth of the season.
42:11And third in succession.
42:12And third in succession.
42:13So, as we say with Geisel absent.
42:15Lukas Koerlund saying I could yet be a factor in the title race.
42:18So, he had trouble out there.
42:20And when we watch him close up.
42:22You can really see how difficult it was.
42:24That factory Red Bull KTM moving all underneath him.
42:26Side to side.
42:27But doing very well to control the machine.
42:29And maintain a good pace.
42:30And maintain a good pace.
42:31To take the first moto victory.
42:33From Romar Fevre in second place.
42:38Fevre pushed him all the way.
42:40Through that first moto.
42:42And of course will take the lead in the MXGP championship race.
42:46Let's have a look at the start once again.
42:48And how it all panned out.
42:50So, Koerlund was determined to get the start.
42:52Absolutely crucial in muddy conditions.
42:54And it was Koerlund who led the way.
42:56Fevre immediately getting to the inside.
42:58Grand Rune Fernandes.
43:00As the rest did battle.
43:03The unfortunate Maxime Runeau went down.
43:05Colliding with his teammate on the second corner.
43:07But he recovered very strongly of course.
43:10Finishing Finn at the end.
43:12But he had to play catch up.
43:13Almost immediately though.
43:15The start of the first lap.
43:16The narrative was set with Koerlund and Fevre breaking away.
43:19Brian Bogus with a brilliant start.
43:25Trouble earlier on.
43:26But we saw Fevre going for the lead.
43:29Trying to go for the block pass.
43:31But Lucas Koerlund with a very wise move there.
43:33Sticking to the outside.
43:34And squaring the turn off as he went through.
43:36To go back through into first place.
43:40Arti Guadagnini had his moments in the first moto.
43:42And then this dramatic incident here for Brian Bogus.
43:44Who went down.
43:46Seemed to pull a muscle in the wrist or the hand.
43:49Staggered off the circuit.
43:51And even Calvin Vlaundren looking like a junior rider in the mud.
43:58Just showing how tough the conditions were.
44:00Brian Bogus incidentally looked like he was getting medical attention.
44:03But managed to complete the race.
44:05But it was Lucas Koerlund who took a brilliant first moto victory.
44:09As the diggers get back to work.
44:11To get this rapidly drying track.
44:14Back ready for moto number two.
44:21Let's have a look at how they finished in MXGP moto number one then.
44:26So Koerlund taking the victory from Fevre.
44:28Fernandez third.
44:29Paul Giannis fourth.
44:30Maxime Renault.
44:31Brilliant fight back for him.
44:32To get into fifth place.
44:33Andrea Buonacosi.
44:34Another good rider for the Italian sixth on the Fantic.
44:37And Kevin Haugmo.
44:38The Honda privateer of the Norwegian.
44:40With another brilliant result.
44:41Seventh position.
44:42Many people saying he is deserving.
44:44My life be like...
44:51My life be like...
44:53My life be like...