Lucas Coenen (KTM) wins Race 1 in Agueda ahead of Jeffrey Herlings (Honda)

First race of the MXGP premier class in Agueda, Grand Prix of Portugal: French HRC factory rider Tom Vialle took the holeshot ahead of pole-sitter Lucas Coenen (KTM). The Belgian World Championship leader took the lead on the very first lap ahead of the three HRC factory riders, Vialle, Fernandez and Herlings. They were followed by Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser.

Coenen controlled the race despite a mistake

Lucas Coenen attacked from the outset to pull away from the field, but he crashed in a hairpin bend, allowing Ruben Fernandez to briefly take the lead. Lucas reacted in a flash, was back on his bike immediately, cut across Fernandez’s line in the following right-hand hairpin and retook the lead. Fernandez then had to fend off attacks from Jeffrey Herlings. It was not until the 8th lap that the Dutchman managed to overtake him. After that, ‘The Bullet’ tried to close the gap on the leading Lucas Coenen.

Coenen and Herlings pulled away

Lucas Coenen and Jeffrey Herlings were in a league of their own in this race. They pulled away by over half a minute from the rest of the field. Herlings closed the gap to Coenen to 3.6 seconds, but remained out of striking distance. In the end, defending champion Romain Febvre crossed the finish line 28 seconds behind.

The overtaking manoeuvre of the race

The manoeuvre of the race was the duel between Ruben Fernandez and Romain Febvre in the battle for third place. Febvre had already overtaken the Spaniard but didn’t have enough momentum to take the double jump into the rhythm section fully. He cleared the bumps one at a time, whilst Fernandez, who was behind him, took the jump in full and overtook the Frenchman. Febvre was then several bike lengths behind again and it took him half a lap to finally get the better of the Spaniard on lap 9.

Fernandez in 5th place

Tim Gajser managed to overtake Ruben Fernandez on lap 13, meaning the highly motivated Spaniard finished the first race in 5th place.

Situation at the top of the standings

With Lucas Coenen winning the race and Jeffrey Herlings finishing second, the Belgian was able to extend his lead in the World Championship standings by 3 points, from 57 to 60.

MXGP Race 1 results, Agueda

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 35:12.425

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, +3.672

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, +28.435

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, +30.512

5. Ruben Fernandez (E), Honda, +37.194

6. Pauls Jonass (LV), Kawasaki, +52.973

7. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, +1:02.418

8. Andrea Adamo (I), KTM, +1:10.489

9. Oriol Oliver (E), KTM, +1:13.153

10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NL), Ducati, +1:17.288

11. Jan Pancar (SLO), KTM, +1:20.181

12. Kevin Horgmo (N), Honda, +1:21.260

13. Alberto Forato (I), Fantic, +1:23.538

14. Brent van Doninck (B), Fantic, +1:30.042

15. Tom Vialle (F), Honda, +1:38.459

16. Jago Geerts (B), Beta, +1:41.835

17. Ben Watson (GB), Triumph, +1:47.781

18. Kevin Brumann (CH), Husqvarna, +1 lap

19. Adam Sterry (GB), KTM, +1 lap

20. Rick Elzinga (NL), KTM, +1 lap

World Championship standings after Round 1:

1. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 484

2. Jeffrey Herlings (NL), Honda, 424 (-60)

3. Romain Febvre (F), Kawasaki, 374 (-110)

4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Yamaha, 353 (-131)

5. Maxime Renaux (F), Yamaha, 322 (-162)