The 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship moves to the north-western corner of France this weekend as the legendary Circuit Raymond Demy venue of Ernée hosts round nine of the series.
The venue has hosted 12 MXGP events going back to 1990, when American Donny Schmit took victory on his 125cc Suzuki, topping an all-USA podium ahead of Mike Healey and Tyson Vohland.
The most successful rider here in terms of GP wins is Stefan Everts with five, helped massively by the 2003 event when he became the only rider ever to win three GPs in a single day.
Obviously, this is simply not possible with the revisited two-race format for just two classes, but he also won in 2001 here, and then took his last ever victory, a record 101st at the time, at the end of the 2006 season, the very last GP of his amazing career.
Just three riders lining up this weekend have won GPs at Ernée before.
Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer took victory here in 2022 with a 1-2 scorecard.
Pauls Jonass won in 2017 on his way to the MX2 world title, and Jeffrey Herlings, the one who would eventually break Stefan Everts’ win record, was victorious there in MX2 back in 2013.
Of course, Ernée is more famous for its amazing Motocross of Nations weekends in 2005, 2015, and in 2023, and it will host a fourth one in 2026 as well.
Both Romain Febvre (in the last two MXoNs there) and Maxime Renaux have been part of winning Nations teams, and won their classes individually, in front of their partisan crowds at this venue.
Look out for some more MXoN news coming your way this weekend.
The French crowd will have a red plate holder to cheer for in MXGP, as Febvre leads the series for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP by a large margin over Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rookie Lucas Coenen, after the pair finished first and second at the last round in Spain.
Renaux is sixth in the Championship after winning the opening round for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP and is looking to return to form in front of his home fans.
The MX2 World Championship is being led by reigning Champion Kay de Wolf for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, but hard pack lovers Simon Laengenfelder and Andrea Adamo are giving chase for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
Adamo won the previous round in France, the MXGP of Europe at St Jean d’Angely, but French fans will be urging the qualifying race winner on from that round, Thibault Benistant, who has won more on a Saturday than anyone else this season and lies fifth in the series for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2.
The EMX250 European Championship hits the halfway point with round seven of 13, and VHR VRT Yamaha Official EMX250 rider Janis Reisulis holds a solid advantage over JM Racing Honda’s Hungarian star Noel Zanocz.
Top French rider in the series is two-stroke Yamaha favourite Adrien Petit, who had his title run hit by injury but should be back in action at Ernée.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing returns for its seventh round, led by Hungarian Áron Katona for the Racestore KTM Factory Juniors squad, with a 23-point margin over Fantic Factory Racing EMX125’s Francisco Bellei.
French hopes lie with Yamaha Europe EMX125 star Mano Faure, who took a dominant win in the most recent race at Portugal and sits fourth in the standings, just six behind Bellei.
Last year’s EMX85 Champion Sleny Goyer is also looking forward to his first world class event at this venue.
The fans are bound to pack the hillsides and raise the atmosphere, especially if their riders get out towards the front. Watch for them to go absolutely crazy at Ernée this weekend.
Febvre has taken over the Championship lead from the injured Tim Gajser, and with no clear date yet for the Honda HRC man’s return, the French veteran is pressing on at the top of the series, taking his first ever GP win in Spain last time out at Lugo.
He was unable to race at the most recent GP at Ernée, and only took sixth overall here back in 2017. He did win the opening race of the 2023 Nations, however, as well as going unbeaten all weekend as the new World Champion in 2015, leading Team France to a popular victory. He has won two GPs in his home country, in 2015 & ’16.
Lucas Coenen won the second race at Lugo to take advantage of a mistake by Febvre, and he did race at Ernée for Belgium in 2023 without much success. In EMX250 the year before he finished second in race two behind Cornelius Toendel.
The teenage Belgian is currently 49 points behind the series leader with 12 rounds remaining, and won his first race in MXGP on French soil back in March.
Behind the inactive Gajser, and 60 points behind Coenen, is Glenn Coldenhoff, who would definitely like to remember his race victory and overall podium here in 2022 instead of his big crash in qualifying for the 2023 Nations that put him out for the weekend.
He also raced here alongside his current Fantic Factory Racing MXGP team-mate Brian Bogers in 2015, helping the Netherlands to sixth overall.
Spaniard Ruben Fernandez has finished third overall in each of the last two GPs for Honda HRC, passing Renaux for fifth in the standings in the process. Crashes limited his scoring for Spain here in 2023, but he took fifth overall here in 2022, ahead of Renaux who finished eighth.
Renaux had planned to take the two Iberian GPs off due to injury, but has raced through the pain and will hope to re-ignite his Championship challenge with success in front of his home fans.
Another hard-pack lover, Andrea Bonacorsi, is seventh in the standings for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP, and has great memories of finishing third in the Open class on his 450cc debut at the 2023 MXoN, helping Italy score a surprise podium overall.
Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul rider Kevin Horgmo is the top non-factory rider in the series in ninth, and he won the overall in EMX125 here back in 2017.
He sits just six points behind Calvin Vlaanderen, who is coming back to some form for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP.
Behind them is the leading Aruba.it Ducati Factory MX-Team pilot, Seewer, who took that overall victory at the last GP here in 2022 and would dearly love to be at the sharp end again for his new team.
The steep hills and massive jumps allow the big 450s to really uncork their power around the Circuit Raymond Demy, so watch for the MXGP elite to give an awesome spectacle this weekend.
© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
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STANDINGS AFTER ROUND EIGHT:
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 386 Points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, KTM), 337 Points; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 Points; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 277 Pts; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 261 Pts; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 259 Points; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 223 Points; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 201 Pts; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 195 Pts; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, DUC), 179 Pts.
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 380 Points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 365 Points; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 359 Pts; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 313 Pts; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 271 Pts; 6. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 264 Pts; 7. Camden McLellan (RSA, TRI), 241 Pts; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 203 Pts; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 196 Pts; 10. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 182 Pts.