Two men will be crowned World motocross champion in Spain in a little over a week’s time and for now, it seems those men might be defending champion in the MXGP class, Jorge Prado and series leader in the MX2 class, Kay De Wolf. The two men, who might have to wait another year, might be Tim Gajser and Lucas Coenen.

While Gajser is just seven points behind Prado in the MXGP championship points, the Spaniard has huge momentum and makes very few mistakes. In the MX2 class, De Wolf holds a 36-point lead over Coenen and that would seem more than enough to be handed the MX2 World title.

For Prado, it has been a rollercoaster journey of many different experiences. He has won 10 GPs in 2024, led more laps than any other riders, but it was only in China last weekend, that he was able to regain the red plate, he had held from round one in Argentina, until the 10th round at Maggiora, in Italy.

"The MXGP of China is done,” Prado said. “And it was a great weekend for me. I went P1 in practice, then finished second in the first race and first in the second race. It was very tough physically - very humid, with high temperatures. After the first race, I gave it my all and focused on finishing the weekend as strong as possible. We did that, and now we have the red plate and a seven-point lead with one round left. This gives us a dream opportunity at the end of the season, and I’m so excited for the final round in Spain. I don’t think anyone expected us to come out of this GP with the red plate. We worked really hard on the bike this weekend, and I think my riding was great. We got the points we were aiming for, and I’m super, super happy - I still can’t believe it! Let’s get the title in Spain!”

As for Gajser, he had a very cruel round in China, losing the red plate and dropped the 14 points advantage he had over Prado. The HRC man was a very sad figure as he left the Chinese Republic and will no doubt not give up on the dream of winning his sixth World title, but he also has to depend on Prado making mistakes.

“After having such a consistent season, to have a day like today at such a crucial time is hard to take. To lose the championship red plate with one round left is definitely not what I wanted to happen and now I know that with three races to go, I have to win them all. It isn’t an ideal situation, but I will keep fighting and give my all until the very end.”

Dutchman De Wolf can become the first Dutchman, whose name is not Jeffrey Herlings, to win a World motocross championship since Pedro Tragter in 1993. Having led the points since round one, De Wolf knows he has to finish well in both races in Spain to make it a sure thing.

“I gave it everything out there today,” De Wolf said. “The conditions were tough with the heat and the threat of the typhoon, but I’m happy with my performance overall. After taking the lead in the second moto, I made a small mistake that cost me, but I’m glad I managed to fight back and secure second. Lucas is closing the gap in the standings, so I know I have to stay sharp. It's going to be an exciting final round in Spain, and I’m ready to give it everything to bring home the title!”

And then there was Lucas Coenen, the young teenager will have more chances at winning a World title, but his form has been good of late, winning GPs Sweden, Holland, Turkey and China in the last six weeks and is without question the fastest guy in the MX2 class at the moment, but he handed de Wolf a big points advantage with his inconsistency.

"I need to push,” Coenen said. “I need to get every single point I can - we only have one race left now. The heat in China has been very intense; when you stop the race it is actually more, so it has been important to try to recover physically. I want to say sorry to Liam Everts, it was a total mistake to make contact, and I hope he is ok! For the championship, I’ve got my fight on now - I want to beat him [Kay de Wolf], and just win every race. I’m doing everything I can, so let’s see how things go at the final race in Spain. Let’s go!"

So, onto Spain and the final round of the series. Two championships to be won, but four men working over-time to try and win those elusive World motocross titles. Whatever happens, our 2024 season has been sensational, and the sport deserves this exciting finish.