Andrea Bonacorsi and Glenn Coldenhoff secured a double top 6 in the premier class – a strong result after an eventful and brutal mud race at the MXGP of Portugal.
Before the rain hammered the track, turning the red soil of Agueda into a mud bath, Glenn Coldenhoff clocked the second-fastest time in free practice and backed it up with a seventh in time practice.
Things got complicated from the start, though, in an absolute mudder of a qualifying race, as the “Hoff” found himself buried at the back of the pack in turn one after a less-than-ideal launch off the gate. Amid the chaos of the opening lap – which included an early incident involving Brian Bogers – it was Andrea Bonacorsi who emerged as the lead Fantic rider in tenth. Coldenhoff fought his way up to join his Fantic Factory Racing MXGP teammate in the top 10, before Bonacorsi dropped a few spots after struggling in a corner. In the end, Coldenhoff secured eighth gate pick, Bonacorsi salvaged 11th, and Bogers fought back to finish 13th.
The heavens opened once again on race day, causing a delay to the schedule but not taking anything away from the action. It was Brian Bogers who seemed particularly at ease in the treacherous conditions, as he capitalised on a good start to move into third on the opening lap of race 1. He impressively held that position for the first part of the moto, until one small mistake proved very costly and resulted in a dislocated left shoulder. However, the Dutchman was able to quickly pop it back into place and continue his race, eventually finishing 18th and even picking up points despite the unfortunate incident.
Andrea Bonacorsi took over as the leading Fantic Factory Racing MXGP rider, finishing a solid sixth in extremely tricky conditions. Glenn Coldenhoff had even more work to do after a poor start, but managed to move up the order and take the chequered flag in eighth.
Race 2 got off to a better start for Coldenhoff, and he was joined by Bonacorsi in the top 6 from the beginning. The Fantic duo avoided any mistakes and maintained a solid pace, which allowed the Italian to take fifth place for another strong fourth overall, while the Dutchman secured sixth both in the race and in the overall classification. For Bogers, bad luck struck again, as he was forced to retire early due to a minor technical issue.
Despite receiving a five-point penalty for not respecting a yellow flag in race 1– which he hadn’t seen due to the brutal conditions – Coldenhoff remains fourth in the championship standings. Bonacorsi follows in seventh ahead of round 8 of the 2025 MXGP World Championship, set to take place in Lugo, Spain, in just one week.
Andrea Bonacorsi:
“Two solid races – sixth and fifth – and another fourth overall. I have to be satisfied with this result because I struggled a bit with the track on Saturday, but I knew I would find my rhythm in the races. It is not easy at all to be consistently in the top 5 in MXGP, so we have to be happy with that. We have made a big step forward. I want to thank the whole Fantic Factory Racing MXGP team and everyone at Fantic, because without them, I wouldn’t be here. We are doing an amazing job, and we are proving it.”
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“The rain wasn’t too nice, at least not for me. In race 1, I stalled the bike at the start and even crashed in the second turn. From last, I came back to eighth, which was quite okay. It’s a pity I lost five points due to the yellow flag – I didn’t see it, unfortunately. I got a good start in race 2 and had a solid ride. I pushed quite hard, but the conditions were difficult. An 8-6 for sixth overall is definitely not what I am aiming for, but I am happy to be healthy. Hopefully, next weekend the conditions will be better, so we can have some real racing again. I am looking forward to that because I am feeling strong.”
Brian Bogers:
“I felt good out on track, and it felt great to be riding in third in race 1 – I even had a gap to fourth. Then I made a mistake, my shoulder dislocated, but it popped back in and I finished the race, still in 18th. The shoulder felt fine in race 2, but we had an issue that forced me to retire. We learn to be tough and mentally strong. If you fall down seven times, you get up eight. But actually, nobody tells you what happens when you fall down again… It feels like every time I am there, something happens. So much bad luck isn’t easy to deal with mentally, but we try to stay strong.”
