Camden Mc Lellan (Triumph) wins the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Guillem Farres

Round 18 of the MX2 Motocross World Championship in Shanghai (China): Defending champion Simon Längenfelder (KTM) took the holeshot once again, his ninth of the current season. Right behind the German were championship leader Guillem Farres (Triumph) and Liam Everts (Husqvarna).

A bitter pill to swallow for Sacha Coenen

Belgian Red Bull KTM factory rider Sacha Coenen was running in the top six, but he was forced to retire with a wrecked bike following a collision with Guillem Farres. This effectively ended his title hopes.

Guillem Farres took a big risk

Although Guillem Farres had a comfortable lead going into the final Grand Prix of the season, he did not play it safe but continued to go on the attack. The Spaniard overtook a string of riders on lap 2 to take the lead. On lap 7, Liam Everts (Husqvarna) and Camden Mc Lellan (Triumph) overtook the German, causing Simon to drop back to 4th place. As the race progressed, the German was overtaken by Kay Karssemakers (Kawasaki), Karlis Reisulis (Yamaha) and Maxime Grau (Honda). On lap 12, the Australian wildcard rider Byron Dennis (KTM) overtook Simon, causing him to drop back to 9th place. However, Maxime Grau’s Honda failed the post-race noise level test, meaning the Frenchman was demoted by two places. As a result, Längenfelder was ultimately classified in 8th place.

Längenfelder: Valuable points lost

Following Sacha Coenen’s retirement, Längenfelder would have had a good chance of finishing the MX2 World Championship on the podium. Finishing 8th, he could only secure 13 points this time and thus remains in fourth place in the standings. However, he is just 7 points behind ahead of the final round in Australia, meaning he could still finish the World Championship in 3rd place after all.

Race win for Farres, GP win for Mc Lellan

Camden Mc Lellan, who started the race in China feeling under the weather due to jet lag, pushed hard right to the end, but Guillem Farres ultimately won the second race by a narrow margin of one second ahead of Mc Lellan. Liam Everts finished third, 1.9 seconds behind. A completely exhausted Mc Lellan won the Grand Prix with a 1-2 finish ahead of Farres and Everts.

Situation at the top of the standings

The title decider was postponed once again in China. Guillem Farres heads to the finale in Australia with a 48-point lead. Only the two Triumph works riders now have a mathematical chance of winning the title. Sacha Coenen is out of the title race, trailing by 84 points, as a maximum of 60 points can still be awarded in the final Grand Prix of the season.

MX2 results, Shanghai

1. Camden Mc Lellan (ZA), Triumph, 1-2, 47 points

2. Guillem Farres (E), Triumph, 4-1, 43, (-4)

3. Liam Everts (B), Husqvarna, 3-3, 40, (-7)

4. Simon Längenfelder (D), KTM, 2-8, 35, (-12)

5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, 7-4, 32, (-15)

6. Kay Karssemakers (NL), Kawasaki, 6-5, 31, (-16)

7. Byron Dennis (AUS), KTM, 8–7, 27, (-20)

8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, 11–6, 25, (-22)

9. Ferruccio Zanchi (I), Ducati, 10–9, 23, (-24)

10. Maxime Grau (F), Honda, 9-10, 23, (-24)

11. Sacha Coenen (B), KTM, 5–17, 20, (-27)

12. Manuel Carreras (E), GASGAS, 13–11, 18, (-29)

13. Brian Gyles (GB), KTM, 14–12, 16, (-31)

14. Julius Mikula (CZ), KTM, 12–15, 15, (-32)

World Championship standings after round 18 of 19

1. Guillem Farres (E), Triumph, 859 points

2. Camden Mc Lellan (ZA), Triumph, 811, (-48)

3. Sacha Coenen (B), KTM, 775, (-84)

4. Simon Längenfelder (D), KTM, 768, (-91)

5. Liam Everts (B), Husqvarna, 742, (-117)

6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, 644, (-215)

7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, 528, (-331)

8. Valerio Lata (I), Honda, 414, (-445)

9. Julius Mikula (CZ), KTM, 401, (-458)

10. Kay Karssemakers (NL), Kawasaki, 353, (-506)