Image: Supplied.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings delivered a double race win in Spain to secure back-to-back 2023 MXGP World Championship overall victories, drawing him closer to the red plate as Simon Laengenfelder stood tall in MX2.

Herlings delivered a convincing 1-1 scorecard to secure the overall, as a pair of third-place finishes for Mattia Guadagnini (Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) landed the number 101 second overall for the day.

Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez completed the top three thanks to 5-3 scores, leading red plate-holder and qualifying race winner Jorge Prado (Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) in fourth, the Spaniard notching 2-5 results, as Glenn Coldenhoff (Monster Energy Yamaha) rounded out the top five with 4-6 finishes.

Australia’s Mitch Evans continued to build in his comeback from injury, completing the event 12th overall thanks to 13-13 scores.

Notably, Romain Febvre (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Maxime Renaux (Monster Energy Yamaha) did not compete on Sunday after incidents in the qualifying race. Prado’s red plate advantage is now six points ahead of Herlings, with Fernadez third in the championship standings and 70 points from the lead.

A perfect 50 points on Sunday saw Laengenfelder (Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) claim the MX2 overall, delivering a commanding outing in Spain to secure the result.

Image: Supplied.

Laegenfelder stormed to the lead on lap two of the opening moto and charged to a 8.839s lead ahead of red plate-holder Jago Geerts (Monster Energy Yamaha), with early-leader Benistant (Monster Energy Yamaha) taking the chequered flag in third. Kay de Wolf (Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Andrea Adamo (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the top five.

Laengenfelder completed a perfect Sunday, again in front of Geerts – who notably won the qualifying race on Saturday, the number 93 finishing the event second overall. A third-place finish in race two for Adamo elevated the KTM rider to third overall for the round, ahead of De Wolf in P4 (4-4) and Benistant (3-5) who rounded out the top five on the day.

Geerts holds a comfortable 48-point buffer in the MX2 World Championship standings, with Adamo in second and de Wolf third, a further eight points back.

The third round of the 2023 Women’s Motocross World Championship also took place across the weekend in Spain, with Courtney Duncan (Kawasaki) taking the overall with a perfect 1-1 scorecard. Australia’s Charli Cannon (JK Racing Yamaha) completed the event fourth overall with 8-4 scores, and sits fifth in the championship standings with 89 points.

Of other Australians competing in Spain, Liam Owens (Bud Racing) finished 20th overall, crossing the line 16th in moto one and classified P22 in the second moto.

Detailed results