Febvre and Längenfelder crowned World Champions in stormy Darwin finale

2025 FIM Motocross World Championship

Round 20 – MXGP of Australia, Darwin

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The 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship reached a dramatic climax at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex, with both the MXGP and MX2 world titles decided in chaotic fashion as storms rolled through the Northern Territory.

For Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre and KTM’s Simon Längenfelder, it was a day of career-defining triumphs.

Febvre Delivers Kawasaki’s First MXGP Title Since 1998

Heading into the weekend, all eyes were on Romain Febvre, who carried the weight of Kawasaki’s decades-long title drought. The Frenchman’s task was simple: finish safely inside the top ten.

In the opening moto, Febvre did exactly that, running consistently behind Lucas Coenen, Jeffrey Herlings, and Tim Gajser. Coenen stormed to victory for Red Bull KTM, Herlings followed in second, and Gajser brought Honda onto the podium. Febvre brought his Kawasaki home in fourth, enough to seal the world championship.

It marked Febvre’s second career world title, ten years after his first, and Kawasaki’s first premier-class crown since Sébastien Tortelli in 1998. With heavy rain forcing the cancellation of race two, the celebrations began early. Team manager Antti Pyrhönen and the Kawasaki crew broke into an impromptu champagne party on the start straight, the emotion of ending a 27-year wait impossible to hide.

“This took me 10 years,” Febvre admitted, tears in his eyes. “The injuries, the setbacks—it makes this moment even sweeter. We’ve all sacrificed a lot for this.”

Behind Febvre, 18-year-old Coenen capped off a sensational rookie season by finishing second in the championship, while Fantic’s Glenn Coldenhoff locked in third overall after a year of consistency.

Längenfelder Holds Nerve in Chaotic MX2 Finale

If the MXGP title was decided with composure, the MX2 championship ended in complete chaos. KTM’s Simon Längenfelder and Husqvarna’s Kay de Wolf entered the final round separated by single digits, and both left everything on the line.

Race one set the tone: Längenfelder grabbed the holeshot but was harassed relentlessly by De Wolf. The Dutchman eventually muscled through, taking the moto win, while Längenfelder salvaged second to keep the points gap razor thin.

Then the storm hit. In race two, Sacha Coenen grabbed the early lead with De Wolf and Längenfelder battling directly behind him. The intensity boiled over when De Wolf made contact, sending Längenfelder sprawling. Just as the KTM rider remounted and clawed back into the top ten, torrential rain turned the circuit into a swamp. Bikes began to fail, riders crashed in standing water, and finally the red flag came out.

De Wolf’s machine sputtered to a halt just as Längenfelder surged past, effectively handing the German his long-awaited world title.

For Längenfelder, who had finished third in each of the last three MX2 seasons, the breakthrough was emotional. “It’s been such a tough year,” he said, voice breaking. “To finally win this championship it feels incredible. I’ll never forget this day.”

Despite heartbreak, De Wolf remained defiant: “No regrets. I gave it everything. I’ll come back stronger.”

The surprise of the weekend came from Valerio Lata, who thrived in the storm to secure his first MX2 podium for Honda.

Next stop for the world’s best? The Monster Energy Motocross of Nations at Ironman Raceway in Indiana, where the momentum, heartbreak, and triumphs of Darwin will no doubt carry into another unforgettable showdown.

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MXGP Race One

Lucas Coenen exploded out of the gate to take his 13th holeshot of the season, complete with wheel lofted down the start straight.

Jeffrey Herlings tucked in behind for second, with Romain Febvre third until Tim Gajser dived inside the Frenchman at Turn 3 to grab P3 as the field charged into the sunshine.

Just behind the lead quartet, Ducati’s Mattia Guadagnini picked off Calvin Vlaanderen for fifth on lap one. Vlaanderen then lost another spot to Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez.

Glenn Coldenhoff ran eighth for Fantic, while chaos erupted behind: a clash through the waves between Maxime Renaux and Pauls Jonass left Renaux on the deck and out, Jonass remounting to hold ninth ahead of Jago Geerts.

Isak Gifting was on the move, slipping past Geerts on lap one and leaping by Jonass for ninth on lap five. Geerts tried to respond, clipped the back of the Kawasaki, and only just saved it, until a later high-speed crash on a rutted downhill ended his race on lap 15.

With the podium pace set up front, Coldenhoff kept it tidy to bank eighth, followed by Gifting and Jonass. Guadagnini eventually ceded to Fernandez on lap 10 and to Vlaanderen on lap 17, but still claimed seventh, his best Sunday result in nearly six months. Fernandez locked in fifth ahead of Vlaanderen, positions that would stand as their overall results once the day was done.

Up front, Febvre edged toward Gajser and Herlings in the closing laps, but yellow flags for the stricken Geerts blunted his charge.

Coenen, meanwhile, controlled it to the flag, four seconds clear of Herlings and Gajser, to claim his 16th career GP win. Febvre brought the Kawasaki home in fourth, enough to clinch his second world title a decade after his first.

For Kawasaki, the wait had been even longer: their last men’s world crown came with Christophe Pourcel in 2006, and their previous premier-class title dates back to 1998 with Sébastien Tortelli. Emotions overflowed at the start straight as the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP popped an impromptu champagne cork as team boss Antti Pyrhönen and crew rightly let the moment spill over.

A violent storm then hammered the circuit during MX2, forcing a red flag there and ultimately cancelling MXGP race two. With the weather calling time, the celebrations could begin in earnest.

Romain Febvre – 2025 MXGP Champion (P4)

“I really don’t know what to say; this is such an emotional moment. My ultimate goal for the last ten years has been to be champion again and now I have achieved my goal with Kawasaki. It’s been a tough year but we were prepared and we brought it home; my thanks to Kawasaki, the entire KRT team, Monster Energy and all of our sponsors.”

Lucas Coenen – 2025 MXGP Runner-Up (P1)

“Coming into this year people thought I would crash out rightaway. As an 18-year-old you hate to hear that, and you want to ignore it, but you also keep in your head. Proving people wrong was a challenge for me and I was trying to do my best and keep consistent because I know I was going against guys with a lot of experience of how to handle a championship. I kept believing in myself and never gave up and I want to thank the team and the people close to me because this 2nd position in the championship wouldn’t have been possible. I made mistakes, I made changes and I learnt a lot. Next year I will be even more ‘boosted’ and will try to get on top, like Romain did this year.”

Jeffrey Herlings – MXGP Fifth Overall (P2)

“An up-and-down weekend. I made a mistake in the first turn of the qualifying race and that meant I had to work to come back to 7th. Today, the last GP of the year, I was really motivated. A good start in 2nd and I stayed there the whole moto, four seconds behind the winner. I wanted to put all my cards on the table for the last moto but due to the heavy rain and the conditions it never came, so, P2 overall. The last five GPs have been very good to me, top two all the way. We can look back on the year in a good way, despite the injuries. P5 in the championship is still quite decent and we were very close to 4th.”

Ruben Fernandez – MXGP Fourth Overall (P5)

“I’m happy to end this campaign with a strong moto, even if the final moto didn’t take place. The result yesterday and then today, meant that I finished fourth place in the championship and that is a good effort after some tough rounds. It was definitely and up and down season, but I felt that finished strongly and it was nice to be on the podium in China. Hopefully next year we can come back here and do even better.”

Calvin Vlaanderen – MXGP Sixth Overall (P6)

“It’s a shame the season ended early with Race Two cancelled. In the first one I had a good start but I lacked a little bit of speed early on. When I found my rhythm, my riding was good and I managed to move up to sixth, but after this the guys in front were too far ahead. So, I finished sixth in the race and also sixth in the championship.”

Maxime Renaux – MXGP Seventh Overall (DNF)

“Tough day. Unfortunately, my first race was over quite soon as I collided with another rider through the waves. In the crash, my bike was really damaged, so it was impossible to continue. Then the second race was cancelled. The focus is now on the Motocross of Nations and the goal is to make the best of it and end the season with a positive result.”

Tim Gajser – MXGP Ninth Overall (P3)

“Not quite the ending of the season that I would have liked, with the race two being cancelled, but it was probably the right decision given the conditions that were on track. My first race with a third was good, I just couldn’t quite get close enough to make a move on the rider in second for the entire race. And obviously, overall, this season wasn’t how I wanted it to go but there were still some positives and it was nice to comeback after injury and compete with the top guys again.”

Jeremy Seewer – MXGP 10th Overall (P12)

“We did some improvements this weekend. I struggled a lot on Saturday morning and in timed practice. But then for the qualifying race, we found something which helped a lot, and I could ride quite okay. The result didn’t really show it, but my riding was good. And today, in the first moto, I was nearly last on the start because I got squeezed, tangled and nearly crashed. And then I had a good fight back to P11. Then a little mistake cost me and I finished 12th. But I had a good pace. If I got a start, I would say finishing seventh or eighth could be possible, and that’s already a step from where we come from. I take the positives but unfortunately, the weather didn’t help for moto two, but cancelling the race was the only decision.”

Jago Geerts – MXGP 12th Overall (DNF)

“Not the best day. I had a really good start in Race One but got pushed back to 11th. I started picking up the pace and I was catching Pauls Jonass, but then I hit a big braking bump and it pitched the bike sideways and I crashed. I was badly winded for quite some time and my race was over. Looking back on the season, I made some progress towards the end so it was a shame to end the season the way it did.”

Mattia Guadagnini – MXGP 17th Overall (P7)

“My adventure with Ducati is over, and I’m happy it ended with a positive result. Yesterday’s qualifying went really well, with a good start and an excellent race. Today we only had one race due to the rain, but we made the most of it, with a good start. I was fifth for most of the race, but towards the end I dropped the pace a bit and lost two positions. I thank everyone at Ducati and the Aruba.it – Ducati Factory MX Team. It’s been a difficult year at times, but I’m happy and have no regrets.”

MXGP Race One Results

MXGP Championship Points – Top 30

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MX2 Race One

Simon Längenfelder nailed his eighth Fox Holeshot of the season, rubbing elbows with teammate Sacha Coenen on the way through turn one.

Kay de Wolf immediately latched onto the German’s rear wheel and wasted no time showing his intent, cutting aggressively across him on the first downhill. The move didn’t stick, and in the melee Guillem Farres seized the chance to sneak inside both of them to briefly lead.

Coenen regrouped from that early contact to settle into fourth, just ahead of Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin and Husqvarna’s Liam Everts. De Wolf kept pressing Längenfelder, nearly sending himself over the bars on the finish line jump as he tried to close the gap.

By lap six, Längenfelder muscled his way past Farres to retake control, while De Wolf followed him through. The tension between the title rivals was unmistakable.

Further back, Triumph’s Camden McLellan moved into seventh, while Yamaha’s Rick Elzinga and Karlis Reisulis ran inside the top ten behind rookie Valerio Lata.

Up front, Coenen’s charge came unstuck when he clipped Farres mid-air, crashing heavily and remounting in 13th. That allowed Andrea Adamo into sixth and Valin up to fourth behind Farres.

But the drama was still to come. On lap 14, De Wolf lunged down the inside of Längenfelder in a right-hander, clattering the KTM rider to the ground. Remarkably, Längenfelder remounted quickly enough to keep second place behind De Wolf, keeping the championship gap at ten points heading into the finale.

MX2 Race One Results

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MX2 Race Two

Race two began under looming storm clouds with Coenen taking his 17th holeshot of the season. Längenfelder slotted in behind, while De Wolf again made his intentions clear, lunging hard on lap one and then brake-checking the German around pit lane. Both went down, but Längenfelder remounted in sixth, still very much in the game.

Then the skies opened. Within minutes, the track turned into a swamp, claiming Farres, McLellan, Everts, Adamo and others. Längenfelder, already recovering from his fall, slipped back to 13th after another crash but clawed his way forward as conditions worsened.

De Wolf, meanwhile, suddenly slowed with a sick-sounding Husqvarna. By lap eight, he was pushing the stricken bike off track as rivals streamed past, including Längenfelder, who suddenly realised the title was within reach. Moments later, the red flag flew as lightning and flooding forced organisers to call it.

Coenen was credited with the win, Lata in second for his first podium of the year, while Elzinga and Reisulis rounded out the top five. The revised countback gave De Wolf the overall GP victory, but Längenfelder’s sixth place was enough to seal the championship.

After three consecutive seasons finishing third overall, Simon Längenfelder finally reached the summit, becoming the first German MX2 World Champion since Ken Roczen in 2011. Tears flowed freely as he celebrated in the pouring rain, the weight of years of near-misses finally lifted.

The Darwin finale closed the curtain on a season of relentless battles in MX2. De Wolf had come agonisingly close, Coenen showed blistering speed, and young guns like Lata made their presence felt.

Simon Laengenfelder – 2025 MX2 Champion (P2-6)

“I’ve finished 3rd three times in this championship and the last two years were tough because of two injuries. I was not ready and the others were better prepared but this year I could keep myself together. Sometimes winning can feel easy while losing is the hardest part and when you learn the most. I’m just incredibly happy that the work has paid-off. Today was crazy. It was hard to understand what was happening and I never expected this much rain here.”

Kay de Wolf – 2025 MX2 Runner-Up

“It is what it is – I have no regrets. I gave it everything and I’m proud of myself; I was 70 points back after Matterley Basin and didn’t put a wheel wrong after that to bring the fight right down to the last race. The first moto went exactly to plan – I felt strong, took my time, and once in the lead I managed the gap. In the second moto the rain made the conditions insane. At one point it looked like the title was coming my way, but then we had a rare technical failure with the bike. To lose it like that is heartbreaking, my dream literally fell apart. But I’ve already shown that I am a champion, and I wanted to end this season as one. Thank you to the team, my family, and everyone who supported me. Next year I’ll bounce back and try again.”

Andrea Adamo – MX2 Third Overall (6-14)

“P3 means a solid season but the only thing that really counts is winning. I felt good all season and kept fighting all season and when I had the red plate I then had two bad races: in the wrong places at the wrong moment and I lost too many points. I also didn’t make the best choices. 3rd for the year and it doesn’t feel much at the moment…but I know it’s still an achievement and many people would like this position. We’ll analyze and learn for next season.”

Guillem Farres – MX2 Fifth Overall (P3-10)

“That’s the last GP of the season done. The track here was really nice. Amazing dirt, a good layout, and some really fun jumps. I felt good all weekend on my bike, and led a few laps in moto one, so that was nice. I slipped back to third but it was still a strong result and a good start to the day. It was a shame about the rain in the second race. I was third for a little while, crashed, then finished 10th after the race was stopped early. So, I’m disappointed to just miss the podium today, but it’s been a great first year for me with Monster Energy Triumph Factory Racing, and a solid foundation to build from for next season.”

Liam Everts – MX2 Sixth Overall

“Race one was solid – I felt good on the bike and stayed close to the podium battle, which gave me confidence going into the second moto. I was running well there too, but a small mistake cost me a few places and I couldn’t recover the ground. It’s not the way I wanted to end the season, but looking back there have been some real highs – like my GP win in Spain and the other podiums we achieved. We also had some setbacks, which hurt in the final standings, but that’s part of racing and part of learning. Overall I feel I’ve made progress as a rider, and with the experience gained this year I know we can take another step forward next season.”

Camden McLellan – MX2 Eighth Overall (P7-15)

“The season is done and it’s been a great year. With a race win in Italy, and a couple more podiums, it’s been strong. With the team we’ve learned a lot, and that will only help us in our preparation for next year. This weekend wasn’t the best and I just didn’t get the best of starts in any race, so it’s a shame to end the season like this. I managed to hang on to fifth in the championship, and that was my main goal coming in. The rain in race two was crazy, and it was one of those races where it either goes your way or it doesn’t. Unfortunately, it didn’t go my way, but now it’s onto the Nations in the USA.”

Valerio Lata – MX2 Ninth Overall (P9-2)

“A crazy way to end the season, but I’m delighted to be standing on the podium at this final round in what were some awful conditions. The first race didn’t go as well as I hoped, but I think I proved that I keep fighting, whatever the track is like and in race two we started in sunshine and ended in a swamp. It was really bad, but I kept pushing and fought my way into second place. Then we had a nervous wait before they finalised the results, so that was tough but I’m really happy with the day.”

Mathis Valin – MX2 10th Overall (P4-11)

“I had a good start in the first moto and had good pace for P4, but the second moto was crazy. There was so much water and suddenly I had no brakes on a downhill; I was physically OK but I needed to stop at the pits. I was riding well again in the mud but I was too far behind after the crash to make a result.”

Karlis Reisulis – MX2 11th Overall (P10-4)

“The last round of the season was really good. Although my start and riding in Race One weren’t the best. In the second race it started raining on lap two and then from there I struggled to see but I just kept going. I had no idea where I was, so to finish fourth in that race and seventh overall is a good way to end the season.”

Rick Elzinga – MX2 13th Overall (P8-3)

“My riding was really good this weekend and I really liked the track. My start in the first race wasn’t the best and by the end I got up to eighth, and sixth wasn’t too far ahead. I was close to the top guys at the finish so I was happy with that. My start in Race Two was much better, and then it rained so heavily. I’ve never seen rain like that before in my life! There was water everywhere and it was just crazy. I finished third, so I was really happy with that and I just missed the overall podium. So it’s been a strong end to the season for me.”

Kay Karssemakers – MX2 21st Overall (P14-7)

“I crashed big-time with another rider on the first lap of race one and hit my knee. I was so far behind after that but I kept pushing to the end and came back to P14. I made a good decision for race two to choose roll-offs; I crashed one time but I could keep riding to the end. I was sixth when the red flag came out and that would have been good for tenth overall but on countback I was P7 and twelfth overall. Anyway it was nice to finish the season on a high; I can’t wait for next year and we will see where we are after a lot of work during the winter.”

MX2 Race Two Results

MX2 Round Overall

MX2 Championship Standings

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WMX

De Baets Yamaha Supported MX Team’s Lotte van Drunen is now a two-time WMX World Champion after securing the 2025 title in Australia. The talented Dutch racer finished third overall at the MXGP of Australia in Darwin to successfully defend her 2024 crown, with both championships secured aboard her GYTR-kitted YZ250F.

Since winning the opening Grand Prix of the season with a dominant 1-1 performance in Sardinia, van Drunen led the series through all six rounds, ensuring the championship leader’s red plates remained on her Yamaha machine all season long.

Throughout the year, the 18-year-old demonstrated her ability on a variety of racetracks to only miss the overall podium on one occasion – a feat which also underlined her unmatched consistency.

The now two-time WMX World Champion arrived in Darwin, Australia, with a 16-point lead. Knowing that two strong finishes would secure the title, van Drunen charged to a third-place result in the opening race, behind Fontanesi and Guillen, her main title rivals.

In Race Two, she executed a perfect start to take the holeshot. She briefly lost the lead on lap two, but regained control a few corners later. At the conclusion of the race, van Drunen had dropped to fourth, which was more than enough to secure her second consecutive WMX World Championship, by seven points over Fontanesi, with Guillen third trailing a single-point behind.

Topping race two was Guillen, followed by Fontanesi, with local Australian talent Charli Cannon rounding out the podium. Guillen took the round win on 47-points, tying with Fontanesi, with Van Drunen third, four-points ahead of Cannon.

Across her championship-defending year in 2025, Lotte secured one Grand Prix victory, four race wins, and five overall podium finishes from six rounds.

Lotte van Drunen

“This is incredible! To be a two-time world champion at just 18 years old is amazing. I can’t thank my team, Yamaha, and the people around me enough. My friends and family have supported me all season long, and I’d especially like to thank my trainer, who couldn’t make it to this race, but I know he’ll be watching at home. Thanks again to everyone.”

WMX Race One Results

WMX Race Two Results

WMX Round Overall

WMX Championship Standings

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MX3

In the MX3 class, Ky Woods (Yamaha, NSW) was imperious, winning all three motos, well clear of Riley Burgess (KTM, NSW) in all three races, while Sonny Pellicano (Yamaha, WA) took the final podium step in motos one and two, only for Kayden Strode to claim the final podium spot in moto three.

Ky Woods topped the overall with his 1-1-1 result and three points in total, leading Riley Burgess (2-2-2) on six-points, while Sonny Pellicano held onto third overall running 3-3-6.

Casey Wilmington and Hayden Downie rounding out the top five on 16 and 17-points respectively.

The MX3 State challenge went to NSW on 152-points, just under Western Australia’s 156, with Queensland a more distant third on 169-points.

MX3 Race One Results

MX3 Race Two Results

MX3 Race Three Results

MX3 Overall Individual

MX3 State Challenge

MX85

The MX85 class completed its full three-moto campaign on Friday, with Queensland (150 points) claiming the honours in emphatic fashion ahead of Western Australia (206) and New South Wales (224) in a Motocross of Nations-style points system where the lowest score is the winner.

Queensland set the MX85 tone early, and was leading by 40 points after the opening moto. From there it maintained an impenetrable lead to score a runaway victory.

Sidney Stephenson (GASGAS) did the heavy lifting for Queensland with his 3-3-2 scorecard across the three eight-lap motos, which placed him second overall in the individual standings behind the brilliant Ollie Birkitt (KTM, WA, 1-2-1).

Third overall was Declan Smart (GASGAS, SA, 4-8-5), while current MX85 champion in the ProMX Championship, Blake Bohannon (Yamaha, NSW), went 2-1 in the first two motos before striking trouble in the finale and finishing 19th.

Bohannon’s consolation was setting the inaugural MX85 lap record of 1m52.672s en route to a commanding 18-second victory in moto two.

MX85 Race One Results

MX85 Race Two Results

MX85 Race Three Results

MX85 Overall Individual

MX85 State Challenge

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M.A. State Challenge Outright

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