Gajser, Coenen Fastest at French MXGP
R
ound seven of the FIM Moto-
cross World Championship
took to the iconic hillsides of St
Jean d'Angely for the Monster
Energy MXGP of France. Varying
conditions tested the riders and
fans as they witnessed Tim Ga-
jser claim the overall win and the
points lead, and Lucas Coenen
take another overall in MX2.
MXGP
Despite a thumb injury sustained
earlier in the weekend, France's
own Romain Febvre grabbed
a big holeshot in the opening
moto. Gajser started second
but quickly made the move to
the lead on the opening lap. The
Honda rider went uncontested
in all 18 laps while champion-
ship leader Jorge Prado stalked
Febvre for second. With just four
laps to go, Prado made the pass
on Febvre, who was nursing his
injured thumb late in the race.
Gajser claimed the race win, six
seconds clear of Prado and 19
seconds up on Febvre.
Race two saw rains flood
the track, causing unfavorable
conditions for everyone on the
grid. Febvre again struck first as
he led the field over his Kawa-
saki teammate Jeremy Seewer.
Both front-runners in race one
found themselves buried behind
and working their way forward.
Gajser eventually made his
way to third and battled Jeffrey
Herlings for most of the moto.
Later, a big crash in the mud saw
the moto-one winner drop from
third to sixth. Herlings continued
to close on the leader, Febvre,
and made the pass for the lead
on the final lap of the race. This
move gave Herlings the race win,
with Febvre looking at the overall
victory. However, after review-
ing race footage, the officials
docked both Seewer and Kevin
Horgmo for jumping on a yellow
flag. This bumped Gajser and
Prado up two spots, ultimately
giving Gajser the overall win with
1-4 scores. Febvre therefore lost
WIND
IN THE
P32
Tim Gajser came away
with the overall win
at the Grand Prix of
France.
